My cat died after deworming. Was it whipworms or the medicine?

I'm very sorry to hear about the loss of your kitten! How awful. To answer your question, the odds that his death was related to the dewormer he received at the vet are essentially zero. All of the commonly-used dewormers in the US are extremely safe, and I have never seen a single serious problem related to a dose of dewormer in my entire career. It's much more likely that your kitten had some type of unrelated illness that caused his death. If you want to try and find out what happened, the only way to know would be to have an autopsy done, called a necropsy in animals. Your veterinarian should be able to advise you on where you can have this done, if it's something you want to pursue. Again, I'm very sorry for loss.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I am so sorry for the loss of Kitty! The most common side effect of antibiotics is tummy upset: vomiting, diarrhea or not wanting to eat. My concern is that there was something else going on with Kitty. If she had a large parasite load maybe when the dewormer killed them it caused an obstruction or intussusception. I also wonder what symptoms she had when you took her to the vet and what the other injections she received. Antibiotics are not typically prescribed for just worms. I'm assuming more than just worms were affecting Kitty. Again I am sorry for you loss. Feel free to post again with further details or questions. I hope this helped in some way.

Poor Frodo! Some cats do vomit during deworming due to the strength of the medication combined with the parasites moving through the GI system. These side effects should only last a few days, so if it's been longer than that, I would be concerned that it could be due to something else, such as a GI illness, a foreign body, or pancreatitis. I recommend withholding food for 12 hours, then feeding a bland diet of boiled white meat chicken (no bones) in small amounts several times a day for a couple of days. Then slowly add back in his normal diet. If the vomiting continues in the absence of food, he vomits the bland diet, develops diarrhea, stops drinking water, starts vomiting water, or becomes very lethargic, he will need to see a vet right away.

It is very uncommon for a pet to pass away just from intestinal worms. I would like to know what kind of worms your pets are vomiting up. Typically roundworms come out of both ends, and are not significant enough to cause death in most cases. There was likely something else also going on with your pet dog and I am so sorry for your loss. Obviously you are dealing with an infectious agent that both pets have contracted and this shoudl be dealt with by your veterinarian. I suspect that both pets have both worm infestation and a possible toxin ingestion that needs to be treated for right away. Again I am so sorry for your loss and hope that you can intervene with Mister before anything tragic happens to him as well. Poor guy. : ( Best of luck to you and take care!

I am so sorry your cat died recently, please accept my condolences for your loss. The massive wounds may have been the cause of his death. He could have had internal injures you weren't aware of it, and that could have lead to him vomiting food and then blood. Unfortunately, without seeing him in person, I can't say for certain what caused his death. I recommend having a necropsy (an autopsy for animals) done on him, which may give you some answers as to what caused his death. Again, I'm so sorry for your loss :-(

I'm sorry that cat died! How terrible for you! Without seeing the cat in person, I can't say for certain what caused him to die, but he could have been injured or attacked leading to his symptoms. To protect the cats, yes you want to vaccinated and deworm them. Regular vet visit is recommended, and letting them stay indoors at night would also help protect them. I'd also recommend getting them spayed and neutered. I hope this helps!

It could be they had worms previously and you didn't know it. It sometimes can take until there is a heavy infestation of worms for you to see them in vomit or feces. Typically only eggs are passed in the feces, and those eggs can be seen with a microscope, not the naked eye. You have to repeat the deworming treatment to kill all the worms. The first one treats the adults already present, while the second in two weeks will kill the ones that had not yet hatched at the time of the first treatment. Hopefully you will stop seeing dead worms in the next couple of days, but it means the treatment is working. Best of luck.