Reaction after being wormed

[Optimistic2021]

Hi,

Just looking for advice re worming. My cat is wormed monthly with a spot on treatment from the vets however after they changed the brand he has started having seizure like reactions (lies down, meows and drools) that last around 5 mins then he is ok. It has happened on three occasions since may and it is always 5/6 days after being wormed. They then changed him back to his original brand and I wormed him in September however he had the same reaction so I'm now at a loss as what to do.

He has a minor heart murmur although after the episode in July I took him to the vets and they said it's now a grade 4 and he suspected heart problems. He completely dismissed my concerns re the wormer and ruled it out but seems too much of a coincidence tbh.

I have dc so don't think stopping worming him completely is an option but I worry that if I keep worming him it'll end up killing him.

Any suggestions? 🙂

Go to a different vet.

My rescue reacted very badly to the annual vaccinations and my vets bent over backwards trying to find a solution so she could continue to have them, even questioning the manufacturer if it was a known side effect.

Tbh, these wormers are poisons and unless your cat is a hunter and eats it's catch there is no real need for it to be monthly. I wonder if your cat's system has been unable to metabolise it all before the next dose and now it's built up to dangerous levels.

Yeah I need to speak to a different vet as the one I took him to just dismissed it completely and said it was his heart, I'm not so sure as it first happened in May then July and again in September, I gave him a break in august from being wormed and he was absolutely fine. I thought he would be ok this time as he was back on the original wormer but sadly not.

He's not a prolific hunter that I am aware of and is really fussy with food so I can't imagine he actually eats anything he catches but obviously I can't say for sure.

I wonder whether over the counter stuff might be better as it'l won't be as strong and then maybe just worm him every three months and see if that helps.

What do you use for flea/wormer treatment?
I use stronghold plus monthly and that treats fleas and some worms. Every 6 months I use profender wormer and that gets the worms that stronghold doesn't.

You could also try a tablet wormer like milbemax

Mine had a neuro reaction to a spot on wormer, changed her to Milbemax (or similar) tablets and she's absolutely fine. Vet suspected it was the carrier not the active ingredient. Mine isn't a prolific hunter so I mostly just keep an eye on her condition, check her poo occasionally when she uses the tray, and she gets a tablet at her annual vaccination/check up appointment.

The vet has ordered me frontline to try but says if he has a reaction to that then we've basically explored all worming options as a spot on anyway, he won't take tablets!

He was back on his original wormer this month though which he has always been fine until this month when he had a reaction? Wondering if he had a reaction because his system can no longer tolerate it since changing to the new brand which seems to have been what's caused it, imo anyway. Seems to much of a coincidence that it keeps happening 5/6 days after being wormed for it to be his heart.

You get granules and pastes for worming too

He's so fussy I don't think he would eat them 😂 he will only lick the sauce from a pouch and leaves all the meat but it could be worth a shot in the hope that he doesn't notice the granules

It's because I can't get tablets in mine (ex semi-feral who goes full honey badger) that I have the vet do it.

Does your cat like ham? If so buy that wafer thin ham, put a squeeze of primula cheese spread in it with the tablet (cheesespread holds it in place). I do ham, ham, tablet inside ham, finally ham again as it helps to get rid of taste but more importantly it means they swallow not spit 😂 Worked every time including for steroids and chemo tablets. Worth a try maybe.

I wish my cat liked food! It's impossible to hide anything in a cat biscuit and that's pretty much all she eats. She might have the tiniest lick of other things but not reliably and not enough volume to hide anything in.

Your cat sounds like my cat 😂😂 he loves biscuits but that is about it. Doesn't eat chicken, tuna, ham etc. Very fussy which makes it harder!

Spoke to vet today who said they can build up an intolerance over time and we need to work out if it's a reaction to the carrier in the spot on which helps it absorb from the skin into the system or if it's a reaction to the flea ingredients or wormer ingredients. They have given me frontline to try and if no reaction then it's the wormer that's causing it but if he reacts to the frontline then it's likely to be the carrier so the next step would be trying tablets and taking him to the vet for them to give him them. So no further forward but some things to try!

Thanks for everyone's suggestions 🙂

Good luck.

Mine is fine with Advantage spot-on for fleas*, it was just the worming spot-on that caused problems.

*when I say fine, I mean it has no neuro effects, but she hates me applying it and I get evil looks for at least a day after.

That's a shame about the ham. But at least you now a plan with the vet to work out how to sort this. Good luck, please update if it works!