Bloody cat STILL has bloody worms - what to do?

[Queen0fFlamingEverything]

We have a 3 yr old castrated male cat. Treated regularly every 4-6 weeks with Frontline and Milbemax, prescribed by the vet at the right dose for his weight etc. Wormer given this frequently on vet advice because DCat likes eating all manner of small rodents on a daily basis.

We moved into a flat in a converted house last winter and when spring came it turned out the house had a major flea problem. After a horribly itchy summer all round, with Frontline and home flea sprays doing little to help, we found out about Stronghold which we were told treated fleas and worms. Applied first dose 2 weeks ago and it seems to be working well against the fleas.

But then 1 week ago DD saw a worm on the cat's arse [vom]. Gave him a Milbemax tablet as saw that Stronghold is only effective against most worms and wanted to be on safe side.

Then today we've seen another worm! How? What next?

[bzoo]

Have you tried food grade diatomaceous earth?

[Queen0fFlamingEverything]

No... What is it and where can I get it and does it work and will the fussy sod eat it?

[bzoo]

You can get it on eBay. You must get food grade though. 250g will last ages :). Mix it in with his food

[bzoo]

Rub it into his fur too to treat fleas. And scatter under large items of furniture to kill off eggs larvae etc

[Bakingtins]

Stronghold (and the other spot on combined flea/worm treatments) covers hook, whip and round worms, but not tapeworms. It is mainly tapeworms they pick up from hunting and from eating fleas, so you need to persist with regular drontal or milbemax tablets or profender spot on wormer ( which does all the worms but is not a flea treatment)
None of the workers last for any period of time, pretty much in one end and out the other, so if you have a current flea problem or a cat that is a prolific hunter you just need to be giving a regular clear out.

[Queen0fFlamingEverything]

The ones we've seen are roundworms, at least I'm pretty sure they are anyway.

He was getting Milbemax 6 weekly until very recently, then he went 8 weeks between doses as we used the Stronghold at the 6 week point. Then when it didn't work we gave Milbemax again but that doesn't seem to have worked either Out of Milbemax now anyway so will have to ask the vet tomorrow.

[Nigglenaggle]

If they are good hunters they can get tapeworm within 2 weeks of you worming them. Milbemax works fine and will be killing them - its not unusual to still see them passing out a day or two after worming, but the little bastards will be dying. Don't waste money on any over the counter remedies if you're having a problem. Maybe where you have moved to has more hunting opportunities? The fleas also spread tapeworm so will have been contributing until you quashed them!

[Queen0fFlamingEverything]

He's a bloody brilliant hunter. I just don't like him being in the house when there's worms falling out his arse, even if they are dying as they do so! But vet told us not to give Milbemax more than 4 weekly though so not sure what to do, will we have to banish him?

[Queen0fFlamingEverything]

Any other ideas or advice anyone? Vet constantly engaged so will just go in when in town tomorrow if I can't get through.

[Bakingtins]

Are they roundworms (like spaghetti) or tapeworms (like grains of rice) ?
Are they moving? If he's picked up a lot and you've just wormed him it's not unusual to see dead/dying ones being passed out in the faeces.

[Queen0fFlamingEverything]

Small thin white ones that wriggle and this is a full week after being milbemaxed.

Vet said worker has no residual action so won't be killing them now, but not to dose again for another week. Confused as surely if no residual action then we could give it again now its worn off...?

[Queen0fFlamingEverything]

Wormer not worker!

[Nigglenaggle]

You have to be a bit careful. In certain circumstances they can be used as often as daily but you run more risk of side effects. Particularly with cats (compared to dogs) you need to be careful. If you are still worried speak to your vet again and maybe see if they can speak to the manufacturer about it, but don't use more often than recommended unless under supervision.

[Nigglenaggle]

I know you don't want to hear this but it's also worth collecting some up (job for DH :P) and taking them into your vet to double check what they are, as all the advice given here will be null and void if they aren't actually tapeworms.

[bzoo]

Diatomaceous earth works on all types of worms, larva, fleas etc

[Queen0fFlamingEverything]

They aren't tapeworms, because tapeworm segments don't move (do they??) - these are maybe 1-2cm long and wriggle...

Vet said to ring back if he still has visible worms next week, she seemed a bit stumped though to be honest and said it probably just meant the wormer was working which I can't understand because surely if it was working he wouldn't have live worms on his arse 7 days later.

I'm going to order some diatomaceous earth as willing to give anything a try.