Treating my cat for tapeworms, what can I do to get rid of eggs/larvae/whatever other gross stuff is involved?

Question

I just started my cat on OTC tapeworm meds and I was wondering what I can do to make sure she doesn't just get reinfested because of stuff in the environment.. of course I am washing the bedding but everywhere in my apartment is carpeted.. is a quick vacuum going to be enough to take care of these critters? I'm so grossed out! :(

Answer 1

your vet will have answers.

Answer 2

The newest over the counter meds by Tradewinds is the real stuff. The problem is it only kills the Tapeworms but it is the same as Vets use. The only difference is the vet usually will give a triple wormer that will kill Tape, Hook, Round.

The Combo Triple Wormer still requires vet visit etc.... I have always found this kind of crazy. Since if your human child get worms no Dr. visit needed you can just buy wormer right over the counter, but if it is a pet gets them, oh no..... we will need to do a complete exam with tests etc.....
The cool thing about this is did you know that this same OVC med for human Pinworms is the exact med they use to get rid of the other 2 worms (Round and Hook) not covered by the Tradewind tape worm med. Thats right go to Walgreens and get a Medicine called Reeses Pinworm med liquid and use 1CC for each 10 lbs of pet weight. It is Banana flavored and most pets take it quite well. For pets who hunt or go outside, Do this every six months along with the OVC tapeworm meds and no More GROSS WORMS. Oh ya make sure and keep him flea free with Advantage this is the safest flea control on the market.

Answer 3

My guess that the same thing that causes tapeworms in dogs causes tapeworms in cats.

The main culprit is fleas.

To make a long story short, if you can keep your pet from eating fleas, mouse or rat viscera it won't get a tapeworm. Sometimes it is difficult to keep tapeworms from reoccurring over and over again. First of all you need to get rid of the fleas. Use Frontline TopSpot to effectively rid the pet of flea infestations. This takes care of the Dipylidium species which uses the flea as an intermediate host. Where you have problems is with the cats that are hunters. They often get the Taenia species which use the mouse as an intermediate host. With these pets, it is often necessary to prophylactically worm two or more times a year.

Answer 4

Okay cat's get tapeworms from swallowing a flea that is infected with them while they were grooming themselves, kill the fleas and your cat can't get them. No OTC meds will get rid of all of them. It is easy to get rid of them though, go to the vet and say my cat has tapeworms give me a cestex pill, they will ask the cats weight and give you one pill. Also put your cat on frontline and you won't have this problem anymore. Don't worry about the surrounding environment that much, once they are deprived of the blood in the cats body, they dry up and die and look like a grain of rice.

Answer 5

tapeworms are from fleas, you need to treat your cat for fleas as well or he could re-infect himself. Sorry to tell you but most of the OTC stuff you can buy does not work..you probably just wasted your money. Unless you purchased a medicine called Praziquantel, you are out of luck. Here is a site that you can purchase this, it is the same stuff the vet would give you. You need to worm the cat twice, initial dose, then repeat in 4 weeks to get any unhatched eggs or larvae.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=7588&Ntt=tapeworms%20cats&Ntk=All&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&pc=1&N=0&Nty=1

Answer 6

I would guess that the worms do not live long away from the cat. I think they shrivel up and die quickly. The medication should kill everything on the cat. Cleaning the bedding, etc. should remove the dead worms. You can always run a lint roller over the carpet after you vacuum. I use a lint roller on all of my carpets and furniture to pick up cat hair and other things that vacuums have a hard time with.

Answer 7

Cats will get tapeworm, you cannot prevent it. Fortunately, they like the paste meds and it doesn't hurt them. It is not anything you did, in fact all kittens and puppies are born with tapeworms, completely natural in the animal world.