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I think my cat has tapeworm- any advice?

4 replies

Ski37 · 08/02/2018 20:27

As the title says really! If it isn't one thing it seems to be another with my cat at the moment.... I've been monitoring him closely for the past week or so as he managed to eat some dental floss but he seems to be fine regarding that. Because of this I did, however, start to notice what looked like grains of rice stuck to the fur around his bum. I didn't think much of it until I saw one that was still 'alive' (for want of a better word) yesterday. I made the mistake of googling it ( over breakfast- I'll never make that mistake again! ) and it seems pretty clear he has a tape worm. I spoke to the vets receptionist yesterday and she knew what it was as soon as I mentioned the 'rice' . I'm picking up a prescription wormer for him tomorrow. He was wormed by the vet 8 weeks ago, has monthly stronghold spot on treatments and has absolutely no signs of fleas/ flea dirt ( and was at the vets last week with no mention of fleas) which makes me think that he has picked it up from eating rodents- he is a bit of a mouse hunter (he sicked up a half eaten one on my kitchen floor the other day 😡 ) I'll speak to the vet when I pick up the prescription tomorrow but was wondering if anyone had experienced this? Is it easy to treat and given that it is more likely to be the 'mouse' kind of tape worm will I need to worm him every few weeks or more? I know a majority of cats will get some kind of worms during their life but to be honest I'm a bit creeped out and queasy about it all. Cat seems absolutely fine and not bothered one bit by the potential parasite living in his gut and still insists on greeting me by jumping on my knee and sticking his bum in my face 🙀!

OP posts:
Grumpyoldpersonwithcats · 09/02/2018 07:30

Don't worry about it - just treat with what the vet gives you. Last time one of mine had a tapeworm one trip to the vet for a worming tablet sorted it within a few days.

Ski37 · 11/02/2018 20:21

Thanks!
I spoke to the vet and she gave me a tablet for him ( luckily I had the foresight to buy some new treats which I could squish the tablet inside!) and she's also changed his flea regime from stronghold every month to stronghold / broardline alternate months plus regular worming tablets as apparently they are starting to have problems with resistance. I don't think I'll ever stop looking for the 'grains of rice' though 🙀 Luckily he's a black cat so easy to see!

OP posts:
Grumpyoldpersonwithcats · 11/02/2018 20:39

As an aside fleas round us are completely immune to Broadline/Frontline. Advocate seems to still work though.

Ski37 · 11/02/2018 21:10

I think that’s what my vet is worried about. Stronghold works for most things (but not tape worms) but is still extremely good against fleas and tics in my area. They said I should alternate between the two as my cat is a hunter and will always be at risk of tape worm as long as he hunts but that fleas are becoming/ are resistant to broadline so it’s a case of balancing it 🙀

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