Knowing which cat worming product to use can be confusing. What worms do your cats need to be protected from? Why should your cat be treated? Is your worming product compatible with the flea and tick treatment you use for your cat?
The vets at CanadaVet want to make it easy for you to choose the best cat worming product - here’s the advice you need!
So….why do I need to worm my cat?
Make no mistake - if you don’t treat your cat for infestations of worms, it can be dangerous, or even fatal, for your cat. And just as frightening - these worms are zoonotic, meaning humans can catch worms from their cats, especially children! You need to worm your cat to protect the health of your cat and to protect yourself and your family.
Let’s look at the four most common intestinal worms in cats:
- Hookworms suck blood from the intestinal lining, causing anaemia, diarrhea and weight loss in cats. They are also a health risk to humans.
- Roundworms are found in the small intestine of infected cats. Symptoms of roundworm infection are diarrhea, stunted growth, lung damage, bacterial pneumonia and these issues can result in death of your cat. They also pose a health risk to humans.
- Whipworms are found in the cat’s large intestine. Transmission is via the fecal-oral route and whipworms can also cause weight loss, anemia and bloody diarrhea.
- Tapeworm can cause poor coat quality, irritability, diarrhea or lethargy. There are two types of tapeworms - cats contract flea tapeworm from ingesting infested fleas, usually when they are grooming. Hydatid tapeworms are contracted by eating infected raw meat or offal. Hydatid tapeworms have significant human health implications, and infection can lead to the development of painful cysts in humans, which must be surgically removed.
These intestinal worms are separate to the parasitic Heartworm. Heartworm infection is less common in cats, as the worms don’t thrive in a cat’s body, but because of the smaller size of cats (compared to dogs), it takes fewer heartworms for your cat to become seriously unwell. Both indoor and outdoor cats are susceptible to heartworm, as a single bite from an infected mosquito can cause serious (and often fatal) heart disease in cats. You can read more about heartworms in cats (and dogs) on the FDA website.
There are lots of different products on the market that treat intestinal worms and heartworms in cats - and it can be confusing to decide what product your pet needs.
Here are some of our most popular cat worming products at CanadaVet -
- Revolution for Cats - an easy to use, monthly spot-on treatment, that protects against fleas, heartworm, intestinal worms and ear mites.
- Revolution Plus for Cats - has all of the protection of Revolution as well as the added benefit of also protecting your cat against ticks!
- Bravecto Plus Cats - this spot-on treatment kills fleas for 3 months, controls ticks for 10 weeks and prevents heartworm disease for 2 months, as well as controlling roundworm and hookworm and earmites. This is not the same product as Bravecto Spot On for cats (in a white pack) which only controls fleas and ticks, and does not protect your cat against worms or heartworm.
- Drontal - this tablet protects your cat against intestinal worms including roundworms, hookworms and tapeworms, and is perfect for combining with other (flea & tick) parasite protections like Advantage for Cats or Bravecto Spot On.
- Profender - an easy to administer spot-on treatment that protects your cat from hookworms, roundworms, and tapeworms.
- Aristopet Allwormer - available as a paste or tablets to treat hookworm, roundworm, and tapeworm in cats and kittens over the age of 8 weeks, and is given every three months (kittens may require more frequent worming).
How do I choose the best wormer for my cat?
When you choose the best wormer for your cat, in addition to considering the protection your cat needs, think about these things:
- How good are you at remembering treatments for your cat - would it be easier for you to remember if you treat your cat on (say) the first of every month with something like Revolution Plus for Cats? How does this work with your cat’s treatment regime for fleas and ticks? Or would you rather treat your cat less frequently with a treatment like Bravecto Plus that only requires application every 2 months to protect against heartworm?
- How good is your cat at taking tablets? Getting a tablet into a cat can be difficult - would it be easier to use a spot-on treatment like Bravecto Plus, or a paste like Aristopet Allwormer?
- How old is your cat? Some products, like Milbemax are safe to give kittens from 6 weeks of age. Others can be safely used by pregnant cats - look at products like Drontal Allwormer
Knowing which cat worming product to use can be confusing.
- What worms do your cats need to be protected from?
- Why should your cat be treated?
- Is your worming product compatible with the flea and tick treatment you use for your cat?
The vets at CanadaVet want to make it easy for you to choose the best cat worming product - here’s the advice you need!
So….why do I need to worm my cat?
Make no mistake - if you don’t treat your cat for infestations of worms, it can be dangerous, or even fatal, for your cat. And just as frightening - these worms are zoonotic, meaning humans can catch worms from their cats, especially children! You need to worm your cat to protect your cat's health and protect yourself and your family.
Let’s look at the four most common intestinal worms in cats:
- Hookworms suck blood from the intestinal lining, causing anaemia, diarrhea and weight loss in cats. They are also a health risk to humans.
- Roundworms are found in the small intestine of infected cats. Symptoms of roundworm infection are diarrhea, stunted growth, lung damage, bacterial pneumonia and these issues can result in death of your cat. They also pose a health risk to humans.
- Whipworms are found in the cat’s large intestine. Transmission is via the fecal-oral route and whipworms can also cause weight loss, anemia and bloody diarrhea.
- Tapeworm can cause poor coat quality, irritability, diarrhea or lethargy. There are two types of tapeworms - cats contract flea tapeworm from ingesting infested fleas, usually when they are grooming. Hydatid tapeworms are contracted by eating infected raw meat or offal. Hydatid tapeworms have significant human health implications, and infection can lead to the development of painful cysts in humans, which must be surgically removed.
These intestinal worms are separate to the parasitic Heartworm. Heartworm infection is less common in cats, as the worms don’t thrive in a cat’s body, but because of the smaller size of cats (compared to dogs), it takes fewer heartworms for your cat to become seriously unwell. Both indoor and outdoor cats are susceptible to heartworm, as a single bite from an infected mosquito can cause serious (and often fatal) heart disease in cats. You can read more about heartworms in cats (and dogs) on the FDA website.
Our most popular cat worming products at CanadaVet -
There are lots of different products on the market that treat intestinal worms and heartworms in cats - and it can be confusing to decide what product your pet needs.
- Revolution for Cats - an easy to use, monthly spot-on treatment, that protects against fleas, heartworm, intestinal worms and ear mites.
- Revolution Plus for Cats - has all of the protection of Revolution as well as the added benefit of also protecting your cat against ticks!
- Bravecto Plus Cats - this spot-on treatment kills fleas for 3 months, controls ticks for 10 weeks and prevents heartworm disease for 2 months, as well as controlling roundworm and hookworm and earmites. This is not the same product as Bravecto Spot On for cats (in a white pack) which only controls fleas and ticks, and does not protect your cat against worms orheartworm.
- Drontal - this tablet protects your cat against intestinal worms including roundworms, hookworms and tapeworms, and is perfect for combining with other (flea & tick) parasite protections like Advantage for Cats or Bravecto Spot On.
- Profender - an easy to administer spot-on treatment that protects your cat from hookworms, roundworms, and tapeworms.
- Aristopet Allwormer - available as a paste or tablets to treat hookworm, roundworm, and tapeworm in cats and kittens over the age of 8 weeks, and is given every three months (kittens may require more frequent worming).
How do I choose the best wormer for my cat?
When you choose the best wormer for your cat, in addition to considering the protection your cat needs, think about these things:
- How good are you at remembering treatments for your cat - would it be easier for you to remember if you treat your cat on (say) the first of every month with something like Revolution Plus for Cats? How does this work with your cat’s treatment regime for fleas and ticks? Or would you rather treat your cat less frequently with a treatment like Bravecto Plus that only requires application every 2 months to protect against heartworm?
- How good is your cat at taking tablets? Getting a tablet into a cat can be difficult - would it be easier to use a spot-on treatment like Bravecto Plus, or a paste like Aristopet Allwormer?
- How old is your cat? Some products, like Milbemax are safe to give kittens from 6 weeks of age. Others can be safely used by pregnant cats - look at products like Drontal Allwormer
