Tips on giving meds: Indoor-only former feral suddenly has roundworm

[houseofnine]

HI all, need advice on dosing our semiferal, Aimee, for roundworm. She's been indoor-only for over 3 years (was wormed when first brought in), and none of our other kitties go out, and we don't have a dog. I explained to vet how difficult she is (she's nice enough and will sleep next to me, but no picking up, or petting with a bare hand). So I got one dose of liquid Panacur into some fishy food, and she took it. That was Monday. tried same thing last night and failed miserably. She's no dummy. I've heard Panacur is widely hated by pets. Meanwhile, I dropped off a stool sample to make sure it's strictly roundworms that we're dealing with. Any ideas? Thanks!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Try mixing the meds with any of the following:
1.) 'juice' from canned tuna and chicken, and then give him a piece of the meat as a treat afterward
2.) baby food meats (Gerber Stage 2 or Beechnut)
3.) lickable treats, such as Applaws, Wholehearted, Tiki Cat Stix, Inaba Churu, Vitakraft - just to name a few
4.) Tiki Cat Mousse (which is complete meal, not a treat)
All of these have worked well when I have to give Feeby any kind of meds, including one that caused her to foam at the mouth without it being hidden in one of the above!

 

[kittychick]

This'll be an interesting thread to watch, since your question is likely one faced by a huge amount of members on this forum! Wonder how she got it, since no one's indoor/outdoor?

Good suggestions from FeebysOwner already. Panacur is a tough one. Did your vet give it to you in a paste? I swear that's universally despised by all cats - it is disgusting smelling. If I'm thinking right, it now also comes in granules/powder so it can be sprinkled in food, making things ALOT easier. Once the fecal test is back and you know exactly what you're dealing with, you may end up with other options med-wise, which opens up options for how to give it. Usually one of these things below work on our completely "unpillable" kitties (not all of whom are or ever were feral - they're just smart!):

1) "Kitty crack" (the only one of the baby foods that works consistently for me is Gerber Stage 2 Chicken and Gravy -- which used to be called just chicken). That almost always works for anything we have to give any granular med in bc the smell/taste of the baby food overwhelms the med smell/taste.

2) Inside a piece of KFC meat (no skin though since it's likely got garlic and/or onion in it - even though the "Colonel's recipe" is a secret ) - it may take a few pieces of meat to get the dose in bc you almost want them to take the meat piece whole.

3) In a bite or two of canned mackerel. Again - smell/taste seem to be so overwhelmingly appealing that it overwhelms the smell/taste of meds. And in the can there are usually huge chunks, so if the dose needs to go into several pieces, you'll have plenty of mackerel (yum! )

4) we take a favorite treat (none of ours - of course -like the pill pocket treats) and put it in a ziplock baggy overnight with a wet paper towel, then next morning the treats are soft enough to much them around the med.

5) If the med does end up changing - or for future reference on other meds - for some of our cats we ask for the med to be made into something we can do transdermally. I know you can't touch her with bare hands, but it she'd let you get close enough with something like a q-tip, you might be able to rub in on her ear with that?


Let us know what ends up happening - - since so many of us have been in your shoes! And I'll keep thinking.

 

[houseofnine]

This'll be an interesting thread to watch, since your question is likely one faced by a huge amount of members on this forum! Wonder how she got it, since no one's indoor/outdoor?

Good suggestions from FeebysOwner already. Panacur is a tough one. Did your vet give it to you in a paste? I swear that's universally despised by all cats - it is disgusting smelling. If I'm thinking right, it now also comes in granules/powder so it can be sprinkled in food, making things ALOT easier. Once the fecal test is back and you know exactly what you're dealing with, you may end up with other options med-wise, which opens up options for how to give it. Usually one of these things below work on our completely "unpillable" kitties (not all of whom are or ever were feral - they're just smart!):

1) "Kitty crack" (the only one of the baby foods that works consistently for me is Gerber Stage 2 Chicken and Gravy -- which used to be called just chicken). That almost always works for anything we have to give any granular med in bc the smell/taste of the baby food overwhelms the med smell/taste.

2) Inside a piece of KFC meat (no skin though since it's likely got garlic and/or onion in it - even though the "Colonel's recipe" is a secret ) - it may take a few pieces of meat to get the dose in bc you almost want them to take the meat piece whole.

3) In a bite or two of canned mackerel. Again - smell/taste seem to be so overwhelmingly appealing that it overwhelms the smell/taste of meds. And in the can there are usually huge chunks, so if the dose needs to go into several pieces, you'll have plenty of mackerel (yum! )

4) we take a favorite treat (none of ours - of course -like the pill pocket treats) and put it in a ziplock baggy overnight with a wet paper towel, then next morning the treats are soft enough to much them around the med.

5) If the med does end up changing - or for future reference on other meds - for some of our cats we ask for the med to be made into something we can do transdermally. I know you can't touch her with bare hands, but it she'd let you get close enough with something like a q-tip, you might be able to rub in on her ear with that?


Let us know what ends up happening - - since so many of us have been in your shoes! And I'll keep thinking.

Hello friends!
OK..so the fecal test came back negative. Have read these tests can be unreliable, any thoughts on that?

I swear that Aimee barfed up a roundworm this past weekend. Just one..not moving. Is it possible it wasn't a worm? Haven't seen anything in her poop when scooping it, and I'm really vigilant with all our 12 kitties (we scoop all 14 boxes 2x a day).

She kind of has her own room--husband's office with her own facilities and we leave the door open with a baby gate in place. Only a couple of the Gen Pop cats go in to visit her. But I bought Aimee a new kitten box and put fresh litter in it. Going to use the steamer floor mop in "her" tiny bathroom.

Will ask vet what she thinks, but any thoughts on if I should just assume kitty has roundworm?I have to take another kitty in on Saturday, so was thinking of asking for a dose of Strongid to bring home for Aimee.

Thanks for any and all opinions. =)