Worming!

Moderator

This is the thing I hate doing most! Worming! 691671

I started off using Drontal tablets, but found it so difficult that I searched around for something else and found there was a spot on wormer. At the time I only had 2 cats (Pearl and Saph) so I got it from the vet (it's prescription only) and used it just like Frontline on the back of the neck. I can't really remember how much it was - about £5 each I think.

Anyway I now have 5 cats and feel it's just too expensive, so looked around for something else. I saw Bob Martin Spot on Wormer in the supermarket so have been using that for the past year. But last time I went to get some in the pet shop the assistant warned me that it only killed certain species of worm, and the only way to get something that did all of them was to go to the vet Worming! 414761

So today I decided to give Drontal a try. I started with Sparky. Got the tablet in his moth three times and 3 times he spat it out. He was getting a bit upset by this time, so I wrapped him in a towel, crushed the pill a bit into some soft cheese and tried again. He managed to spit it out so I gave in!

Dex was next. He spat it out first time, but crushed in some cheese I got him to swallow it!

I only have one tablet left (there are 8 more in the post!) and so will try with Saph or Pearl later in the day. I don't think I even dare try to give Meg one, so might just do her with the Bob Martin stuff.

What does everyone else use. I just feel a total failure not being able to give them their medicine, and I feel like I'm traumatising them too! I was thinking of buying some of the Panacur suspension that the vet prescribed for Cleo, thinking it wouldn't be so easy to spit out, but seeing the way she reacted to it, then I'm not sure.

Help!!!!!!!

Top Cat

We have only used the tablets. Like you we have problems giving them to them. Jerrry is daft enough to munch on it if it is in his food.
Georgie on the other hand suspects something and eats around it. This usually ends up in holding them still and putting the tablet to the back of there mouth then shutting it and waiting untilt hey swallow. Last time Georgie seemed to hold onto it for ages before giving in. She wasnt any worse off for it though.

Moderator

I used one of those pill popper things to try to get the tablet to the back of the throat without getting my fingers bitten off, but it still didn't work. The trouble is Drontal tablets are quite big. I tried cutting it in 2, but that just meant twice the hassle!

Moderator

It has always been a real job getting pills down my two cats. But a couple of years ago a friend of mine started to work at a Vet surgery. She gave me some new worming pills for my cats (something new out) and they just ate them like sweets. Sadly, she has now moved out of the area and we have lost touch ... I cannot remember the name of the pills but you must be able to get them somewhere.

Admin

I know the feeling, Gemini, I find worming day a right chore!

I gave up crushing and sprinkling the wormer on cat food years ago because both my previous and current cats always seem to know that the wormer is in the food and refuse to eat it, which means it then costs me more to replace with new tablets.

I buy drontal from Vetuk.

What I've found works best for me when dispensing them is:

a. Place cat on a surface that's at your waist level (gives you much better control) and preferably next to a wall or something so that when the cats naturally push backwards away from you, they have nowhere else to go lol.

b. Gently squeeze the sides of the jaws (both sides) with one hand so that the mouth automatically pops open (the vet once showed me how to do this) although it doesn't always work this easy lol.

c. Pop the tablet in quickly and place it right at the very back of the tongue and push it with your finger, so it seems that you're putting your finger down the throat but you're not really - if that makes sense. Done quickly, they swallow automatically before they even realise what's going on.

d. Then right away, follow up with a treat of some sort. I have bite size cooked chicken pieces to hand on worming days and the girls immediately forget about the tablet and lunge forward for the chicken lol.

e. Administer to one cat at a time while the others are out of the way. I have found that if Daisy witnesses one of the others having their wormer, she is immediately on the defensive. I try and isolate them one at a time and even stagger the times so they don't see each other having it done. This gives you an element of surprise and stops them freaking in advance lol.

I used to use feline tablet pockets with Poppy and she'd eat the pocket with tablet stuffed inside without even blinking, but because of her food allergy now, she can't have them - which is a shame. The pockets wouldn't work with Daisy though.

Recently, I stuffed the drontal inside a bite sized chicken piece and she ate the lot, so I didn't have to follow the above method with her at all.

It can take time to learn how to administer the tablets swiftly, I know, but the more experienced you become at this, the more confident you get when handling them and the easier it gets.

Btw I've tried coating the tablets with a bit of butter etc, but that just makes them slippery and becomes harder to administer.

I've just done a search for the tablet pockets as Vetuk don't seem to be selling them at the moment and come up this these links:

Greenies Chicken Feline Pill Pockets
http://www.greenies.com/en_US/Products/felinepillpockets.aspx this one is hypoallergenic, which Poppy could eat, but not for sale over here Worming! 22427

Waltham/Royal Canin table pockets:
http://www.pet-supermarket.co.uk/products-Royal-Canin-Veterinary-Diet-Pocket-Tablets_CA4454.htm

Moderator

Thanks Flower Girl. I've seen the pill pockets on various websites, but never tried them because I think that my cats, like Poppy, would eat the pocket and spit out the tablet!

I'll just have to persevere. Thank goodness I don't have to do it again for another 3 months!

Admin

Sorry, Gemini, if I confused you... Poppy loves the tablet pockets and will eat both the tablet and pocket in one, so they are a great success!

I have some spare ones I could pop into a sandwich bag and post to you. If yours eat the pocket, then they will probably eat one with a tablet in too.