How to deworm cats

Content

Steps
Method 1 of 4: Diagnosing a cat with worms
Method 2 of 4: Treating a cat for worms
Method 3 of 4: Oral Anthelmintic Technique
Method 4 of 4: Preventing future worms
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Several types of worms can affect cats. The four most common types are roundworms, hookworms, tapeworms, and heartworms. Worms not only pose a threat to your cat, but they can all infect the rest of your pets, and some of their species even affect humans, so in addition to deworming kittens, newly introduced cats and cats with worm symptoms, all pet owners should discuss with a regular veterinarian program to check animals for worms. Knowing when to deworm your cat is just as important as knowing how to do it.

Steps

Method 1 of 4: Diagnosing a cat with worms

1 Check your cat's droppings. The most common symptom of the appearance of worms is their visible actual Availability. Examine your cat's stool to spot them. Often tapeworms break up into segments that are expelled with the feces. These segments are like grains of rice. If they are fresh, they can wiggle like small worms.
- Pay attention to diarrhea. Diarrhea can have a variety of causes, but intestinal parasites, including roundworms, hookworms, and tapeworms, can also potentially liquefy fecal matter. In other cases, your cat may develop rectal bleeding or intestinal irritation.
- Take a bag to collect your cat's stool for a veterinarian to check for worms.
2 Pay attention to vomiting. Roundworms in cats can lead to vomiting. Adult roundworms can even be seen in the vomit of cats. They look like spaghetti. Vomiting is also a symptom of the potential presence of heartworms.As with fecal matter, you should try to collect the vomit in a small bag. The veterinarian will want to check them for parasites or signs of other medical conditions in the cat. Remember that vomiting is not a completely accurate indication of the presence of worms, it can have a variety of other possible causes.
3 Monitor the dynamics of the animal's weight. Cats with intestinal worms or heartworms may suffer from weight loss. Sometimes weight loss is very dramatic, while other times it is insignificant. It all depends on the size and number of worms. In other situations, the cat may have an enlarged belly, often referred to as a “barrel belly”. If your cat's belly has become round, she may suffer from roundworms.
4 Check the condition of your cat's gums. Normal cat gums should be pink in color. Parasites, like many worms, can make the gums pale due to the onset of anemia in the animal or shock from blood loss. If your cat has trouble breathing or is lethargic, seek veterinary attention immediately.
5 Understand what type of worms your cat is infected with. To start treatment, it is important to understand what type of worms the cat is affected by. The veterinarian will be able to tell you this and will prescribe the appropriate means and methods of treatment. The following are the main types of worms that cats most often encounter, although there is no urgent need for you to try to understand all the individual characteristics of each of their species separately.
- Roundworms are most common in cats. Newborn kittens can be infected with them through their mother's milk, while adult cats are infected with them through contaminated feces.
- Tapeworms are segmented parasites whose segments can often be found on the fur of the animal around the butt. They can be infected by eating fleas.
- Hookworms are smaller than roundworms and settle in the small intestine. The cat can become infected with them through skin contact or oral route. Most often, these worms affect dogs.
- Lungworms inhabit the cat's lungs and are much less common. They can be infected by the oral route by eating a carrier, such as a bird or rodent.
- The most dangerous parasites are probably heartworms. The mosquito bites the infected animal, capturing the heartworm larva with its blood. The larva continues to grow, and the next time a mosquito bites another animal (such as your cat), it infects its circulatory system with heartworms.
6 Show your cat to the vet. Do not think that you can cure the animal yourself, you need to show the cat to the veterinarian, who will check its feces and confirm the presence of worms. If you can, try to collect a stool sample ahead of time before visiting your veterinarian. If your veterinarian suspects your cat has heartworms, he or she may take a blood test. There are many types of worms, and some medicines are not suitable for treating other worms, so it is important to know exactly who you are dealing with before starting treatment.
- Usually, deworming is done in stages at intervals of two weeks or a month. This is not a one-off procedure.
- On some sites you can find information that you can get rid of worms in a "natural" way at home by using herbs and spices. Ignore this information and ask your pet to see your veterinarian for professional help.
- Newly acquired or newborn kittens must be shown to the veterinarian for deworming. This is a routine procedure that does not depend on whether the animals actually have worms. Kittens should be dewormed every two weeks, starting at 6 weeks of age until 3 months of age, and then monthly until they are six months old.Purchased kittens should be treated immediately for worms with at least two repeated subsequent treatments at intervals of two weeks. Cats can also transmit worms to their kittens.

Method 2 of 4: Treating a cat for worms

1 Give your cat the prescribed medication. Purchase the medication you need from your veterinarian. You should not purchase a worm remedy yourself without first telling your veterinarian, especially for kittens. While your cat is likely to be prescribed pills, there are also other forms of anthelmintic release, such as capsules, granules, chewable tablets, liquids, and topical products.
- Do not try to choose a medicine yourself; listen to your veterinarian's instructions on how to administer the medication and how often to do it. After prescribing the medication and receiving instructions for its use, it is important to complete the entire course of treatment recommended by the veterinarian. Regardless of whether you are using oral or topical treatments, you must provide your cat with the full course of treatment.
2 Be prepared for side effects. The principle of action of anthelmintic drugs is that they are more toxic to parasites (worms) than to the carrier (your kitten). Therefore, it is very important to use the drug exactly as your veterinarian tells you. Among the side effects of the use of anthelmintic drugs, diarrhea and vomiting can be observed. Talk to your veterinarian about possible side effects that you can and cannot expect from a particular drug, and make sure your cat is responding normally to it.
3 Cure roundworms and hookworms. The most commonly used medicines for roundworms and hookworms are pyrantela pamoate, milbemycin and selamectin. Pirantela pamoate and milbemycin are oral medications, while selamectin is an external remedy. Your veterinarian will be able to find the right medicine for your animal. It should also be remembered that selamectin should not be used on kittens under eight weeks of age, so other oral agents are given to get rid of worms.
4 Fight tapeworms. Two drugs are most commonly used to control tapeworms: praziquantel and epsiprantel. All of this applies to oral medications. Your veterinarian can help you decide between praziquantel and epsiprantel.
- Typically, after deworming, your veterinarian will want to retest the stool sample to make sure the procedure was successful. Be sure to follow your veterinarian's instructions on how to take your worm medication and be sure to come back for a follow-up check to make sure the treatment is effective.
5 Return to your vet. Your veterinarian will tell you when you should show up next. Do not forget to follow his instructions and return with the kitten to the clinic when the veterinarian has to prescribe the second stage of treatment or just check that the problem is completely resolved. For the animal to be healthy and happy, it is very important to visit your veterinarian when your appointment is made.

Method 3 of 4: Oral Anthelmintic Technique

1 Prepare your medicine. Shake the bottle or remove the tablets from the jar if necessary. You may need to draw the liquid into a syringe or pipette. Your veterinarian will tell you the best way to administer medication to your animal.
- Try to stay out of the cat's line of sight. Your cat may notice the pill or bottle of liquid and prudently run away. Sometimes it's a good idea to prepare the medicine ahead of time and wait a few minutes for the cat to calmly return to you so that you can safely handle it.
2 Calm the cat down. Once you are prescribed the necessary medications to treat your cat's worms, you will need to learn how to use them correctly. It can be a little difficult to administer oral medications, but keeping your cat calm and happy can be doable. Therefore, if you have been told to administer an anthelmintic drug at home, you will need to calm the cat down first to successfully give it the medication it needs.
3 Swaddle the animal. Wrap the cat in a small blanket, pillowcase, or towel so that one head sticks out. This will prevent her from scratching you or starting to fight you. However, make sure the cat is not overly frightened or strangled by this operation. You can give the medicine without swaddling the cat. This will reduce the animal's experience, but it will be more difficult for you to cope with it.
4 Clamp the cat securely. Sit on the floor and place the cat between your legs or on your lap. You can also ask someone else to hold the cat. The help of another person can greatly facilitate your task.
5 Grasp the animal's head correctly. Place your thumb on one side and your index finger on the other side of the animal's mouth. Be careful, your cat may try to bite you at this stage, but it all depends on the correct placement of the fingers.
6 Tilt the cat's head back. At the same time, use your fingers to apply pressure to the sides of the animal's mouth until its mouth opens. Try to stay calm as much as possible during the procedure. If you are nervous, your cat will feel it and will also start to worry more than necessary. With your other hand, you should press down on the cat's lower jaw to open the mouth harder.
7 Place the medicine in your cat's mouth. Place the pill on the root of her tongue or squeeze the liquid medicine onto her cheek. Be careful not to drop the pill down the throat to prevent the cat from choking.
8 Help your cat swallow the medicine. To get the most effective intake of the medication by your cat, you should follow the steps below.
- Let the cat close its mouth.
- Lift the cat's jaw so that the nose is pointing up.
- Gently rub your cat's throat to induce a swallowing reflex.
- Stay in the same position for a few seconds or until the medication is swallowed by the cat. Exercise caution throughout the entire procedure. You don't want the cat to choke on the medicine.
9 Make sure the medicine has been swallowed. Let go of the cat's mouth, but keep holding it in case it doesn't swallow the medicine and tries to spit it out. Only release the cat when you are sure the medication has been swallowed.
- Spitting out the medication is most often a problem with the pill. Liquid products are much more difficult for cats to spit out.
10 Praise the cat for successfully completing the task. Remove a blanket or other covering from the cat and praise for good behavior. Give the cat a treat, give it attention, and give it a lot of affection. This will make it easier to carry out the procedure next time. The cat should begin to associate it with something good, not with something scary. If the cat has had a bad experience with the medication procedure, then in the future she will resist even more.

Method 4 of 4: Preventing future worms

1 Perform preventive deworming of your cat regularly. Ask your veterinarian in more detail. Some drugs, such as selamectin, are broad-spectrum and protect the animal against fleas, heartworms, hookworms, roundworms and other parasites.
2 Consider keeping your cats only within the walls of the house. Since other infected cats, fleas or rodents carry the parasites, keeping the cat completely at home will reduce the chance of direct contact with worms.Some cat owners feel guilty about keeping pets locked up in their homes. It seems to them that they are depriving animals of something important. They think, "Shouldn't my cat be able to give free rein to her natural instincts in the fresh air under the rays of the sun?" The answer to this question drives their choice. To make the right decision, you need to weigh the pros and cons.
- Are the dangers for cats on the street great? When making a decision, consider the traffic intensity, the possibility of contracting the animal with diseases, the state of the environment, the likelihood of unpleasant collisions of the cat with other animals and people. If you choose to keep your cat at home to protect it from these risks, be sure to provide scratching posts, window resting areas, and playgrounds for it to climb to simulate outdoor conditions.
3 Protect your home and yard from fleas. If your overall skin is at home, then you shouldn't worry about outdoor areas. Cats are quite professional in killing fleas themselves, unless they are constantly infested with them. Therefore, concentrate on removing fleas in the areas where the cat spends the most time.
- House... Your primary flea control strategy should be sanitation. Wash your cat's favorite pillows, blankets, and other things your cat often rests on regularly. You need to wash off fleas, their eggs and pupae from them. Vacuum carpets thoroughly for the same reason. If your home is badly infested with fleas, consider using a flea spray. Make sure the brand of spray of your choice kills fleas in addition to the fleas themselves. During the application of the product, people and all animals will need to leave the room for the period of time specified in the instructions. Then it will be necessary to wipe all surfaces and vacuum the floor to collect dead fleas, eggs and residues of the toxic agent.
- Courtyard... Controlling fleas on the street is much more difficult. Start by picking up organic debris that might hide fleas, such as clipped grass, leaves, and straw. Fleas love to hide in dark, humid places. Buy an environmentally friendly flea spray and use it as directed on the label.
4 Clean your cat's litter box regularly. Remove excrement from the tray in a timely manner to prevent the spread of worms. When doing this, wear disposable gloves and, if possible, a protective mask, so as not to inhale dust from excrement. Dispose of toilet filler in the trash bag. Treat the inner walls of the litter box with natural antibacterial agents using paper towels. Also consider washing the tray thoroughly in soapy water. Fill the washed tray with clean filler. Do this once or twice a week, depending on how often your pet uses the litter box.