Just found worms in cat. Cannot afford vet? Help!?

Question

I am only 17 so I can't do anything and my parents... well, We are having money problems right now. ANYWAYS we just found a worm on our six month old kitten, hanging near it's tail that is white and moving so I have gathered that it IS a tapeworm and it is NOT contgious to humans, but it IS contagious to our other cat if it comes in contact with the fleas or feces. Am I right about all of that so far? In any event we are buying flea and worm medicine tonight but we cannot afford to take the kitten to a vet at least until next month which we will deffinately do but we want the worm[s] GONE. What kind of medicine has worked for you? I do understand about worms but please help with anything at all that you can tell us, things to do, etc. As much information as possible is needed because I'm worried for her =[

And I don't appreciate being called negligent [sp.] to my animals, if they were REALLY sick we'd borrow the money or do something more and these money problems are permanent they are just right now for reasons you really don't need to know about.

AREN'T* permanent.

Thank you to everyone who has answered so far we will try them all and in a few weeks deffinately take her to the vet which was our plan to begin with :] I just want to know what I can try/do right now.

Answer 1

you need Droncit for tapeworms (this is the exact same stuff the vet uses)...the stuff you buy in the pet store is usually a waste of money. You can order Droncit online here:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=7588&Ntt=droncit&Ntk=All&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&pc=1&N=0&Nty=1
Also, your cat cannot give it to your other cat unless it eats the feces of the cat with worms or swallows a flea. Keep in mind you will have to treat your cats and home for fleas or they will continue to reinfect themselves and it will cost you a fortune to continually deworm them.

Answer 2

As you figured out, this is a tapeworm. At the vet hospital where I work, you don't need to bring a cat in for this problem. You need to know about how much the cat weighs so the correct dosage can be calculated, and you can just buy it.

A dose for a kitten would cost less than $20.

As you know, tapeworms are spread via fleas. Be sure to get a safe, reliable flea medicine for your cats, and that means Advantage or Frontline, both of which you get from a vet. Do not use anything you can buy at a grocery, pet, or feed store. They don't work in the first place, and they contain ingredients that can harm a cat and kill a kitten. A dose of Frontline or Advantage costs about $13, lasts at least a month, and is very effective. In fact they're guaranteed.

Answer 3

In all truth, you may want to reconsider owning a pet at the moment if you cannot afford something simple like deworming medication. You can look into low cost clinics for basic things like that. EDIT: Comment #1 claims to be a vet tech assistant, but no knowledgeable vet tech assistant would recommend purchasing over-the-counter deworming medication to treat an animal, especially when the type of worms is unknown! Dewormers do not treat all types, and until you know the type, you cannot expect to get the right kind of dewormer. No matter what, you cannot expect to get the kind that will actually work, when it's not directly from the vet.

Answer 4

There is a place just outside Madison, Wisconsin, a mail order pet supply business that was started by two veterinarians, Drs Foster and Smith. They used to have a veterinarian on call to let you know which of the products they sell would be the safest and most effective for your particular animal. I don't know if they still have an on-call vet, but they do have people with animal skills.

They are a pretty good bunch. They have developed some of the products they sell themselves; they are very much a family operation, so they are folksy. And they have survived in the midwest, where people are real choosey about vets.

There was a guy who posted a question here in answers yesterday who had put an over the counter flea spray on his cat, and she was having a very toxic and potentially dangerous reaction to it. So it pays to be cautious, and to pick your over the counter medicine carefully, and with some expert advice. A kitten may well be sensitive to certain kinds of medicines that a cat would not.

You can give these vet's business a call by getting their number from www.drsfostersmith.com. Or you can call your own vet, and tell him your problem. Tell him you will be coming in to him, but you are strapped for money this month. He is a human being; he will understand. Then ask him to recommend for your specific kitten.

And that little worm you saw sunning itself on your kitten's behind? He would just as soon be sunning himself on yours.

The famous opera star, Maria Callas, now long dead, had weight problems, and she wanted to lose weight to impress a millionaire boyfriend and because she was a performer. She accomplished a stunning weight loss, it was whispered, with the assistance of exactly the kind of passengers your kitten is carrying around right now. And then she wormed herself.

Answer 5

The tapeworms are not transmittable from cat to cat. They contract tapeworms by ingesting fleas - so the other cat would have to also ingest fleas.

I shouldn't tell you this because I work at an animal hospital and I fully support having your cat examined, diagnosed, and treated by a veterinarian - but like you said, you're young and your family is having financial problems. What I suggest is go to petmeds.com and look for a drug called Cestex. It's more than likely what you'd get from the vet if you took them in. It's $4.99 per pill and because your cat is 6 months old it probably doesn't weight too terribly much so she probably only needs one pill. It comes in 12.5mg and how many pills depends on how much she weighs so you need to call your veterinarian and tell them you plan to buy Cestex 12.5 milligrams from petmeds.com and ask what her dose would be. It might not be a bad idea to go ahead and treat the other cat even if you aren't seeing tapeworm on the other.

The most important part of treating all of this, however, is flea control!

Good luck.

Answer 6

To be totally honest with you, it would cost just the same (if not cheaper) to take the cat to the vet.
I'm being totally honest with you.

I worked at a pet store, and let me tell you, using that medicine isn't going to work just the first time.
You are going to have to treat it about 3 times in order for it to be totally taken care of.
If you go to the vet, it's 1 bill, which will be less, then the 3 times you are going to have to treat it with the store medicines.
And that's because the store medicines are not strong enough to take care of it the first couple times. That's why you can buy it over the counter.

I hope I caught you in time, before you go to the pet store.
The vet bill will be atleast the same, if not cheaper, and you'll only have to take him the 1 time.

You don't want to mess around with the worm problem.
Your cat can die from the worms, not to mention, it can be carried over to you.

Take care of it the right way.
It's the same as if you were sick and didn't want to go to the doctor. The doctor would put you on antibiotics which would cost more than over the counter drugs, but it's going to work.
Not like when you buy over the counter drugs, sometimes they work and sometimes they don't.
And then you're going to have to go get something different.
So how much is it really saving you?
Do it right the first time, and it will be cheaper in the long run.
Good luck ;)

Answer 7

It is contagious to humans too, so wear gloves when your handling your cat.

You can go to a pet store and find de-wormers that arent very expensive, you can ask the people who work there for some help. Give your cat the medicine and save up some money so you can take it to a vet. Would getting a part time job be an option for you?

But I think you should still take it to a vet anyways. Most of the time, theyre really nice and they want to help you, so they would probably be willing to work out some type of payment plan, so you can par part of it now and the other parts later.

Or try taking the kitten to a local humane society clinic. They offer veterenary care for a very small price [like half the price of private vets], so call them and ask about it.

Good luck!

Answer 8

That does sound like tapeworms and while they are disgusting and could infect your other cats, tapeworms cannot live outside the cat's body so they won't kill your cat. However, once you can afford to get your cat to a vet, do so. The usual worm medication doesn't kill tapeworms and the vet can give you the proper medication to get rid of the tape worms. The problem is, they tend to get them again if they ingest another flea or rodent with tapeworms. My vet is really cool and will just sell me the medication without having to see my cat so it's only about $9 for the pill. Getting her to take it is another problem all together.

Answer 9

I had the same problem. I tried using cheap tapeworm medicine sold at Pet smart but the worms kept coming back even though he didn't have fleas. I ended up taking him to the SPCA and they gave him deworming shots. These turned out to be cheaper than what I got at pet smart and now the worms are finally gone. If there is an adoption clinic around you, they can sometimes help you out with the price.

Answer 10

Just listen to Kayty and Vet Tech1016--they know what they are talking about. These are simply tapeworms--egg packs from the adult tapeworm living in the pets digestive tract. TOTALLY harmless to you or other pets. ONLY by eating fleas can the pets get them. Medicine is cheap and over the counter--just make sure it says for tapeworms, and know how much your cat weighs. They rarely cause health problems and are not an emergency to treat. Do your best with what you can do! :)

Answer 11

Even if the worm you saw is gone, there are probably more inside her. You might see some in the presents she leaves in the litter box...if you know what I mean. If I were you, I'd call my vet (that should be free). If he/she thinks medicine from a pet store will be fine then that's great! If not, talk to the vet. Maybe, he/she will let you bring your cat in now and pay later.

Oh yeah....one more thing. People CAN get worms! It's important to keep your hands away from your mouth!!!

~Hope This Helps...And Good Luck!~