Following on from the tapeworm thread, do I need to worm the cat?

[Corygal]

Still can barely sleep from the hardcore pix of That Thing on MN this week. Apparently OP caught a tapeworm off the cat.

Do I need to worm fat tabby Mr Cory? He has fleas & they can carry tapeworm, allegedly.

I still feel positively violated by MN after the appalling denouement (that really isn't the right word, is it) of the lady crapping what she thought were 'beansprouts'.

Read \link{http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/the_litter_tray/2007427-For-the-want-of-a-worming-tablet?msgid=45425000\this thread} which Lone posted, Corygal.

We had the x-ray out that lead to opening the cat up the other day. The poor cat had been vomiting everything for 48 hours so we x-rayed. Saw what looked like button about 2cm in diameter on film so opened cat up. The 'button' was the tapeworm's head!

Oh yes bare minimum worming once every three months good quality product like milbemax or drontal.

2 cm? Yeuch!

Mr Cory is a house cat isn't he? If we assume he isn't coming into contact with mice does he need a wormer?

Thanks cozie. Do I need to worm an indoor cat? I reckon I do, esp as Mr C has fleas. And fleas can carry tapeworm?

Mr Cory is livid with me, a propos of nothing - I was grooming him, with him flat on his back waving his paws as I tackled the fluffy white belly - when I hit a knot. His Furriness shot up, bit me, and is now sulking in his Amazon box. Lord knows how he will take the Drontal.

I am getting my own back on him by putting out his cloudy white belly fur for the pigeons.

Lone - oh, that is grim.

Incidentally, how likely is it a two-leg can catch a tapeworm from a cat? I feel quite queasy at the thought, I'm hoping it's not that common.

As far as I know (but maybe Lone would comment), the risk of worm infestation for an indoor cat is pretty low - but not absolutely zero. (Eggs etc perhaps tracked inside on shoes and so on.) Personally, I'd worm but not nearly at the frequency of an outdoor/hunting cat.

He took it in a less than stoical manner then? At least he doesn't bottle his feelings up I suppose.

When I got Mr Cory from Battersea they said: "He likes a cuddle. But when he's had enough he lets you know."

A euphemism worthy of Henry James, it turned out.

Six years on Mr C is a million times more cuddly, but miles more vocal and indignant when I make a mistake. He reckons I've had enough training by now to know what I am doing - I sometimes feel like I've been sacked from the massage parlour by a grumpy old tycoon.

Maybe this is a stupid question, but how do you worm a cat that you cannot pill?

Use a spot on - but make sure you get one that does all the worms and not just one type.

thanks, I'm not even sure I'll be able to do that, but I'll give it a go.

My old boy is completely pill-resistant (even his vet wouldn't attempt it) so I've always used a spot on. I used to use Profender for worms - it does all of them - but now I've switched to the new Broadline which does fleas as well. It also has a very neat new type of applicator. In fact Seniorboy didn't actually notice when I used it for the first time!

I would, especially after reading that thread! I have to give mine 2 different types because one cat eats things she catches so I really don't her giving me or the kids anything.
I have a cat who somehow caught toxoplasmosis. She only went out in the garden with me and I only ever saw her catch a mouse then let it go alive, so have no idea how it happened. We only used to flea and worm treat her before she went to the cattery a couple of times a year.

Mice come inside the house. She could well have been catching prey on the sly when you didn't notice.

Scaredycat will not allow any kind of treatment unless she is fast asleep. Flea treatment is a matter of keeping it next to the armchair and wait for an opportunity and then she invariably wakes up and jumps the moment I think I'm about to succeed.

Actually, there's a point there - about mice. Many people say 'My cat is indoor only' but that cat could well be mousing inside the house on mice who have come in from or go outside. These days, Seniorboy would probably merely yawn if a full mouse marching band paraded up and down in front of him but I think he had a few in his younger days. (My mom lived in a older house.)

And I know that The Lodger had at least one mouse inside this house. (I had to dispose of the carcase.) This is an older house as well.