Are most dewormer's safe to use on cats?

Question

My cat has worms I believe I found a small white worm around his anus. I have no idea how he got worms because him and all my other cats are inside animals. I have liquid wormer that can be used on dogs and cats and I was wondering if piperazine is safe. Thanks.

Answer 1

Piperazine is the active ingredient used to treat common roundworms (ascariasis) and pinworms (enterobiasis; oxyuriasis) in cats, dogs and even humans. Read the label of your dewormer and give your kitties the correct dosage.

However, the worm you saw stiking on your cat's butt may be a tapeworm segment, which wi indicate that your cat has tapeworm. Cats and dogs get tapeworm from ingesting fleas. If the "worm" you saw looked like a grain of cooked rice, then it is tapeworm segment. That segment is full of eggs which gets released into the environment when the segment dries and bursts open. Flea larvae eat the eggs and pass them on to the cat or dog which eats the adult flea.

If it is tapeworm, then Piperazine will not work. You'll need Praziquantel. You can buy a bottle of Tapeworm Tabs at Petco or PetSmart and follow the directions for dosing very carefully. You'll need to weigh your cat. Also, if it is tapeworm, you'll need to treat your pets and their environment for fleas, otherwise, they may ingest an infected flea again and the tapeworm problem comes back.