Conference misery::feline_v1

    Well, we have tapeworm going around our family right now (mom and
    dad NOT included ;'} ).  I've been able to recognize which cat had
    the symptons since with tapeworm leaves these little things that
    when dried out look like sesame seeds.  My vet only wants to give
    the medication to the cat that we know has the worms, which gets
    to be a pain in the neck since it's 1 pill a week for 3 weeks, and
    by the time you finish with one cat, another cat is exhibiting
    symptons.   From my understanding there is nothing you can do to
    prevent the things, you can only treat it.  Since my 3 go outside,
    it's something we are learning to live with.
    
    	-Nancy

    Tapeworm can be eliminated with a one-time shot.
    Ask your vet about it.
    
    Donna

    Donna,
    
    Do you mean
     1 shot = No more tapeworm, not ever, gonzo forever, good riddance

    or does it just eliminate it for this 1 incident
    
    	-Nancy

    
    Nippa had a worm problem, and she got a shot and a follow up series
    of pills a blue one one week later followed by a white one two weeks
    later and then another blue one two weeks after that.  Her appitite
    has reduced to a fraction of what she used to be getting and she
    seems much happier, energitic, can't wait to get out in the morning
    type thing.  
    I would recomend going to the vet and having him take care of it
    instead of Hartz type product.
    
    My vet wants a stool sample 2-4 times a year, as a preventive type
    measure.

    We have a cat who gets tapeworms once every couple of years.  She
    cannot keep the pills down so the vet gives her one shot and she's
    all set till the next time.  I doubt that there is a "lifetime cure"
    for this.
    
    Diane (and Felix who probably gets tapeworms from eating flies)

    My vet believes in de-tapeworming a cat once every three months.
    One and a half pills of Droncit for my 11 and 13 1/2 pound cats
    does the trick (I think it's one pill for every 10 pounds of body
    weight).
    
    In any event, Droncit is usually the most effective tapeworm
    medication.  Cost is between $2-$4 a pill depending on the vet.  I
    usually worm Chauncey and Nikki as a precaution during the warmer
    months since they're outside more even though I've noticed no symptoms
    and nothing shows up in a stool sample.
    
    
    /Roberta
    

    It doesn't make much sense to me to only treat one cat at a time.
    There must be something you can do to  prevent the uninfected
    cats from picking it up.  I'd push the vet on this and if he
    can't give you a very very good reason for not doing it, find
    another vet.  It does the cats no  good to be repeatedly treated
    for worms that they are passing around to each other.
      Nancy

    Hi Nancy,
    
    By "one-time shot", I mean just for the current infestation.
    Any subsequent reinfestation would require yet another shot.
    It seems a lot easier than pilling.  When Kiwi had tapeworm
    3 or so years ago, the vet gave each cat a shot.  If your
    cats are being infested one after the other, it doesn't
    seem to make sense to treat them one at a time.  I'd rehash
    this with your vet.  I understand that a vet would be reluctant
    to de-worm a cat that does not have worms, after all, it is
    a poison that is being given.  In your case though, there 
    seems to be a reasonable justification for de-worming everyone
    at once.
    
    Donna
    

    Thanks for the info Donna.  Actually it hasn't been as bad as I
    probably made it out to seem.  First it was Elmo - Portia and Oscar's
    stool samples checked out fine.  Now it's Oscar - Elmo and Portia's
    samples are fine.  Oscar got his last pill last night, but between
    the 2 cats, this has been going on for 6 weeks.  Next week I'll
    bring samples from all 3 to the vet.  Portia hasn't had it yet,
    and since she has the FeLV, we do not want to medicate her unless
    necessary.
    
    I like the shot idea, yet I find it easier to bring 3 samples to
    the vet and pick up pills than to bring 3 cats and 3 samples to
    the vet with the possibility that only 1 will need a shot.  Besides,
    with Portia's leukemia, I'm damn good at pilling cats.  Even wriggly
    wormy cats.
    

    The reason that there is no lifetime shot for tapeworms is that
    the tapeworms are carried by fleas.  The only way to prevent your
    cat from getting them is to keep the cat free of fleas. (They can
    also get tapeworm if they eat a mouse that is infested with tapeworm) 
    
    Cats get tapeworm by ingesting either a flea during grooming, or by 
    ingesting a tapeworm segment or egg.  Tapeworm is not contagious
    between cats that are living together if the cats are flea free.  
    They can get it only from ingesting, not from sharing litter boxes, etc.
    
    Droncit is the medication that is most often prescribed for tapeworm
    in cats.  It is in pill form, one tablet for cats weighing from
    5lbs to 10lbs., one and a half for cats weighing over 10lbs.
                 
    If your cat is outside, and you can't prevent tapeworm by controlling 
    the fleas (or rodent eating) you might want to talk to your vet about 
    giving you enough medication to routinely worm him every three or four 
    months.
    
    Roundworms are quite a different story.  They are contagious to
    other cats and are more difficult to get rid of.  You usually will
    not find roundworms in your cats stool.  The vet will examine the
    sample under a microscope looking for eggs.  There are several
    different medications that can be used to get rid of roundworms.
    Strongit is the one my vet uses.
    
    Hope this sheds some light on the worm problem.
    
    Jo

    Thanks for your replies - I guess the only answer really is to keep
    worming her every three months - worming my cat is like, I imagine like
    dealing with a tiger, all claws and teeth and very bad language from
    the cat!

    Just had to deworm Autumn, she had tapeworm and I just found out
    that the others can't get it from her.  Also the vet said tapeworm
    can't be detected in their stool, but I took some to have it tested
    anyway to make sure there wasn't any other kind of worms.  Test
    was negative so I gave her a pill which see didn't like but what
    cat likes to have someone stick their finger down their throat?

    Tapeworm can be detected in the stool of cats who have it.  It is
    passed in segments, and often you will be able to see segments in
    the stool or clinging to the back of your cats legs or fur.  After
    the segments dry out, they resemble bits of rice.
    
    Most other types of worms cannot be detected in the stool without
    a microscope.  Sometimes though, if the infestation is severe, they
    will be expelled from the cats body in the stool.
    
    Jo

    My cat has just been diagnosed by the vet as having Ringworm.  He
    had been licking his fur off so I brought him to be checked and
    I just got the results.  Louie has to a pill twice a day for a month.
    (This is not going to fun!)  The vet assistant told that sometimes
    ringworm is very hard to get rid of in cats.  They also told me
    that humans CAN catch it from the cat so now I have to be very careful
    in handling my little baby - what a drag.
    
    Just wondering if anyone else has experienced ringworms with their
    cats?
    
    Thanks,
    Judie
    

    A friend's new ktiten had it and soon her family had it as well.  
    I think they just had to put some topical ointment on for a few
    weeks, or something. Not a big deal.  On the people that is;  I
    don't know what the treatment for the kitten was.
    

    I have been lucky and have not had to deal with ringworm yet.  Ringworm
    is not a worm exactly, it is more of a fungus type thing.  It is
    very contagious to you, family members, other pets, etc.  You should
    wash your hands thoroughly after handling your cat.  The medication
    that you were probably given was Griseofulvin.  Be religious about
    giving it to him.  That is the only way to ensure that he will
    eventually get rid of his case of ringworm.
    
    Wishing you luck.
    
    Jo

    What exactly does ringworm look like on a cat?  I don't think
    I have ever seen it.
    
    E.T.

    I've never seen ringworm on a cat, however I have see it on the
    horses.  I can only guess it would resemble the same thing, as it
    looks the same on people as it does on horses.  Its a circle tpye
    rashy thing, and as its itched, its spread, and then they have a
    bunch of small circles all over them.  

    On my cat Louie you can not see anything such as the round patches
    of irritated skin.  The only thing with him is that he had licked
    off alot of his fur on his stomach and hind area.  But the vet told
    me that if I did catch it, it would appear on my skin as those round
    red dry patches of skin.  I believe ringworm is a type of parasite
    that gets under the skin.  
    
    I only wish I didn't have to give him the pills for such a long time
    (2x a day for a whole month), but I will certainly do it faithfully
    so he will get better.  Only by the time this is all over, Louie
    probably won't be speaking to me anymore ! ;^)
    
    
     
    
    

         Ringworm is caused by a virus and starts as a raised, red bump
    on the skin.  It then spreads outward in the form of a raised, red
    ring and is accompanied by itching.  Supposedly, commercial dandruff
    shampoos, applied directly as a cream, help eliminate it and ease
    the itching.  There are prescription creams that will clear it up
    in a fraction of the time.  If severe enough I believe it can require
    oral medication and/or injection.
    
    
    Bob

    Hmm.  Interesting - I'm glad I've never seen it from the way
    it sounds!  Yuk  
    
    Thanks!

    re .20
    
    Ringworm is caused by a FUNGUS.  Commercial dandruff shampoos
    will NOT eliminate it.  It almost always requires oral medication
    and sometimes topical cream, usually both.  Itching is not
    necessarily a symptom.
    
    Ringworm doesn't actually *look* like anything except bald spots.
    Usually there's little patches of area where there is no longer 
    any hair.  The patches spread if untreated.  The cat usually is
    NOT licking the hair off, rather the fungus is 'killing' it.
    
    You must be really diligent with the medication to eradicate
    ringworm.
    
    Donna
    
    

    Re: .22
    
         And just what do you quote as the source of your "facts"???
    I happened to be referring to it's appearance, etc.. as regards
    a human....since .19 was saying what it would look like if caught
    by a person.  If you're referring to feline-related only, I won't
    take exception...otherwise I would debate much of what you refer
    to as "facts".
    
    
    Bob

    The source of my facts is the veterinary book "Diseases
    of the Cat" and my own personal experience with ringworm.
    I don't believe .19 is saying what it would look like if
    caught by a person, perhaps you mean another reply.  There
    was nothing in your reply to indicate that you were refer-
    ring to humans.
    
    Feline ringworm is caused by a fungus.  If I catch it from
    my cat, it's still caused by a fungus.  I fail to see where
    a virus has anything to do with this method of transmission.
    
    I would be curious to know how humans contract ringworm via a
    virus, but it's probably not appropriate to this conference.
    
    

    Re: -1
    
         Reread .19.....she refers to it being catchable from her cat
    and what it would look like.  You're correct...it is a fungus.
    My main point was how to treat it in humans...from experience. 
    I'd say it's appropriate to discuss as it can be caught from our
    feline friends.
    
    
    Bob

    I didn't mean that it's not appropriate to discuss it in 
    terms of catching it from our cats.  I meant that if humans
    are suseptible to it via some other means (virus or whatever)
    that that would be more appropriate to the medical conference,
    not FELINE.
    
    I'd really prefer not to continue to argue over it since I
    don't think we're in any disagreement here.  It was not clear
    to me at all from reading your original reply that you were
    talking about humans, not cats.  I know, I know...the fact that 
    you recommended commercial dandruff shampoos should have been a
    big clue.  The only issue in contention then was virus vs. fungus
    and that has been resolved.  It is a fungus.
    
    Donna
    
    
    

    Re. 13:
    
>    Tapeworm can be detected in the stool of cats who have it.  It is
>    passed in segments, and often you will be able to see segments in
>    the stool or clinging to the back of your cats legs or fur.  After
>    the segments dry out, they resemble bits of rice.
 
    That info was really useful.  Yesterday morning my cat walked by
    with a small white worm clinging to the fur around her rear end.
    I managed to capture the live worm in a plastic bag.
    By the time I got the worm to the vet (several hours later),
    the worm had dried out and resembled a piece of rice.  

    The vet confirmed that it was a tapeworm and I left with
    2 1/2 Drovcit (sp?) pills ($3.15) [as mentioned by .6 and .10]. 

    After 6 attempts I was able to get Tasha to swallow the pill and 
    saw no side-effects.  The guidelines my vet used for cats was
    1 pill if under 11 pounds and 1.5 pills if over.
    Tasha weighs 7 lbs.
                                         
    And yes she is an outdoor cat and I'm currently doing battle with
    fleas.  I've enjoyed learning the life cycle of the tapeworm,
    particularly, the death part 8^).
    
    thanks muchly,
    dennis                               
    
    

    Dennis,
    
    Glad to have been of service to you and your cat.  
    
    Jo

    Dennis,
      Fleas also carry Feline Infectious Anemia.   If your kitty
    starts acting tired, stops or decreases eating, and/or has her
    nictating membranes partially closed all the time go back to
    the vet.
      Good luck with the fleas
        Nancy DC
    

    Are there any other types of worms besides tapeworms or roundworms
    that cats can get?  Saturday morning I found that one of my kittens 
    had gotten sick (they're both 4 months old).  I also found two worms 
    which I brought to the vet.  She said they're roundworms and gave me 
    pills to treat both cats.  I pilled them when I got home on Saturday, 
    then Sunday when I went to scoop out the litterbox, I found a worm 
    just outside the box.  It was fatter than the other roundworms and 
    it was dark brown.  Anyone seen this before?  I'm not sure if it's
    just an overgrown roundworm or something else altogether.  Thanks
    for any info you can give me.
    
    Paula
    

    It takes a pretty bad case of roundworms for them to be seen outside
    the body.  I would take the worm to the vet to find out if it really
    came out of your cat, or if the cat drug it in from the yard.  Doesn't
    sound like any worms I have every seen, except maybe earthworms.
    
    Most of the time, the only evidence of worms you will find are tapeworm
    segments that look like pieces of rice clinging to your cats back
    end.  You may also find those in the stool.  
    
    Check with the vet.
    
    Jo

    My little Meg had roundworms, and she let me know by throwing them up
    on the floor.  I also found what you describe by the box.  The
    treatment was easy and very effective, even if I did have to worm 10
    cats at the same time, and of course, everyone got a different dose,
    depending on size...let's see, the adopted kitten got 1/4 tablet once a
    day for two days, the 4 other kittens got 1/2 tablet once a day for two
    days.  Meg got 1/2 tablet twice a day for two days.  The boys all got
    one tablet twice a day fo two days.  Whew....
    
    It did solve the problem and it was the cheapest vet bill I've ever
    had!
    
    Mary