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Original poster

help advice needed urgently - just pulled a worm from my new cat's bum!!

21 replies

juicychops · 18/08/2009 20:11

rescued 2 cats on sunday from a woman who didn't want them anymore. they are in the worst state. both skinny, flea ridden and one has a bad leg. she admitted to them not getting attention.
she hasn't had them injected - they have been living outdoors.

one has a bad leg and the other has a bald patch on his leg

just found an inch long white worm on one of them on their bum! what is it? how do i treat it?

are worms contageous to the other cats or humans? what must i do? obviously worm treatment wont work straight away

do i need vets?

OP posts:

diedandgonetodevon · 18/08/2009 20:12

You don't need the vets (for the worms at any rate) just worm both the cats and make sure any other pets you have have been treated recently.

Goober · 18/08/2009 20:14

Drontal, to worm the cats, both of them.
This is the reason they are both thin.
Feed them oilly fish for a while to improve their skin.
Get the vet to check them over too.
The bald patch may be ringworm, or just malnutrition from the worms.

TaxiLady · 18/08/2009 20:15

wash your hands!

worm tablets for both, make sure tablets cover tape and roundworm

afaik worming them is pretty much instantly effective, may be an idea to follow up with anothe dose....like for nits, kill the unhatched

and yes thay are contagious

i would also get worm tabs from vet rather than supermarket, i assume they are more effective.

Goober · 18/08/2009 20:15

And Frontline for the fleas. You may need to get some spray for your house too if they are infested.

Original poster

juicychops · 18/08/2009 20:18

ok il ring vets tomorrow morning. prob wont get an appointment til at least friday. gotta go pets at home in the morning to get flea comb for them so i will have a look at what they have if i cant get an appointment straight away.

would i be able to tell by looking at the bald patch if it is ringworm?

gunna text the woman i got the cats from to tell her what awful state they are in!!

any type of oily fish?

OP posts:

TaxiLady · 18/08/2009 20:22

if you register the cats at the vets and make an appointment, you will probably be able to pop in and buy worm tabs before they are seen.

Goober · 18/08/2009 20:24

Sardines are best, in oil not sauce/brine.
No ringworm not visable.
Shop strength worm tablets and flea treatments are not good enough. A waste of money, as the infestation will still be there.
Sounds to me like their fur is not in good condition, so maybe a flea comb would not be a good idea yet. Frontline is dripped onto the skin and kills ALL fleas instantly. When they are gone the skin will improve loads. Fleas can also leave the cat anaemic for a while. He/she will be drained and not themself.

Sounds like they are lucky you came along.

Original poster

juicychops · 18/08/2009 20:31

no their coats are horrible! they are dull and greasy looking and feel horrible. they just look completely different to my other cat, although now she's probably gunna catch all the fleas and worms!

when i ring the vets il find out if i can buy the stuff before they are seen, however, i dont think i am allowed as when i took one of my other cats to the vet i wasn't allowed to buy flea stuff for the other cat that wasn't with me, only the one who the vet had seen that day

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Original poster

juicychops · 18/08/2009 20:33

and now one of them has just done a shit on the sofa!! great

OP posts:

Goober · 18/08/2009 20:34

Poor little things!

You should report the previous owner.

Goober · 18/08/2009 20:35

Tis not the cats fault, it 's the bloody woman's fault for not training them!

If your cat is wormed it won't catch them.

Original poster

juicychops · 18/08/2009 20:44

yeah i know, didn't shout at him as he's so scared of everythin at the moment anyway. he prob doesn't even know what a litter box is yet if he's been living outside

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Original poster

juicychops · 18/08/2009 20:45

cant report the woman as dont know her address. i picked the cats up from her friend's house

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differentDM · 18/08/2009 20:50

Drontal and Front line. If you can make a game of grooming gently, then try and get them used to it- it will help with their socialisation and that in turn can help with the litter training.
Poor little creatures.

CMOTdibbler · 18/08/2009 20:57

Get Stronghold from the vet rather than Frontline - it kills fleas, ticks, ear mites and worms on a long term basis, as well as being more effective on flea control imo.

As they have worms, I'd def do Drontal as well.

I think they need to see the vet soon - would you really not get an appt till Friday ? My vets always see you same day

Original poster

juicychops · 18/08/2009 21:03

because i get some housing benefit i go to PDSA. it always takes the majority of the day to even get through so friday will prob be the earliest i can get an appointment

as they have been living outdoors without having injections, coould they have any other illnesses? would they have obvious symptoms if they had anything seriously wrong with them?

OP posts:

Original poster

juicychops · 18/08/2009 21:11

im being thick - keep thinking its wednesday today!! i meant to say, should get an appointment for thursday

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Goober · 18/08/2009 21:53

I wouldn't have thought there was anything seriously wrong with them.
Nothing that worming, proper food and cuddles won't cure.

Original poster

juicychops · 21/08/2009 13:28

hello. took one cat to vets today. not allowed to take the other one until my recently dead cat has come off their system in Feb.

so got lots of flea stuff which i will use on the other one too. and got worming tablet for one which luckily he can only have half so gave the other half to the other one as im assuming he would only be allowed half too as he' sthe same age and size.

the cat on the journey there shit and weed in his carry case so was a total mess when we got there. had to give him a bath when we got home which got rid of a lot of flea dirt and 3 fleas. il do his flea stuff once his fur is dry

had fun and games doing both their flea tablets. had3 claw marks on my leg which were all bleeding just from one cat

OP posts:

girlywhirly · 21/08/2009 16:06

Juicychops, I put pampers disposable nappy-changing mats in my cat carrier, they absorb mess quite well. (My old cat suffered with car sickness) To stop the mat rucking up, I used to tape it to a stiff base, like a thick newspaper. Easy to dispose of at the vets/cattery.

I also used to give my cat a teaspoon of cod liver oil on his food, which made his fur really glossy, you can get a bottle for animals at pet shops. This will also improve flaky skin.

Definitely only get veterinary strength medication for worms and fleas, once they are eradicated it's easy to keep under control with regular dosing.

Original poster

juicychops · 21/08/2009 19:31

thanks girlywhirly thats a great idea. will be trying that next time. could of done with that today!

for 3 months of flea stuff and worming was 13.80 for each cat so 27.60 in total. bit pricey but also got a 4th flea treatment free so 4 months for each cat. so enough to share out with the 3rd cat. hope it all works quickly! the flea stuff is 'stronghold'. cant remember what the worming stuff is called

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