To worm or not to worm?

longforgotten

Need advice about a farm cat, the owner does not let him in their home....

This cat visits just about everyone I think and is a lovely affectionate cat. It has had worms for some time now and I would like to give it tablets to get rid of them.

My question is what would happen if I give it tablets then someone else on 'its rounds' does the same. Can the poor cat be overdosed with the stuff !

Is there anything more herbal than medical that I could give him that would be ok ?

bumble-bee_3

I've been using this for our dogs

http://www.holisticpetsupplies.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=32_176&products_id=87

I wonder if you should mention it to the owner though?

longforgotten

Thank you bumble-bee. I may well get some, easy to use too.

If I saw the owner I would try and bring it into the conversation but as I rarely bump into them I would have to actually visit their home. I don't thnk they would welcome the only reason for my visit is me saying their cat had worms. I maybe wrong.....their cats are looked after but are primarily 'working cats' and considered capable of looking out for themselves.

simontheiceman

longforgotten wrote: »

Need advice about a farm cat, the owner does not let him in their home....

This cat visits just about everyone I think and is a lovely affectionate cat. It has had worms for some time now and I would like to give it tablets to get rid of them.

My question is what would happen if I give it tablets then someone else on 'its rounds' does the same. Can the poor cat be overdosed with the stuff !

Is there anything more herbal than medical that I could give him that would be ok ?

The risk of overdosing on wormers would be very small in this case. Most of the parasiticides on sale have wide safety margins apart from the ones that clearly state "Not for use on cats" but these are easy to spot. I would worm it with a combined flea/worm treatment such as "Advocate" as the cat almost certainly has fleas if you have seen tapeworm (life cycles are inextricably linked). If you have seen roundworms then any wormer would do.

As a point of note most wormers only kill the adult worms that are found in the bowel at the time fo worming. This leaves behind the immature stages and this is why regular worming is essential. If you wanted to worm a pet daily it would do no harm apart from to your pocket.

foreign_correspondent

After reading simontheiceman's advice i would go for it!
I think the chances of someone else giving it a dose on the same day is remote anyway.

longforgotten

Dare I ask how do you know which 'worms' the cat has...

White, about 1cm long and don't wriggle.....

yuk I know but I had to ask.