My cat's rear is swollen after tapeworm medicine. Is this normal?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This will depend on certain factors. One of them is which deworming medication was given and for which parasite. She could probably receive more deworming if needed at this point. I would recommend that you have Jewel evaluated by a veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. They would be able to make this determination based on her medical history and exam. Good luck!

Hello, and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. In this case, if follow-up fecal testing isn't possible/practical, I recommend repeating the treatment 2 weeks later. However, I would encourage you to call your primary vet and talk about your options. If your outdoor cats have tapeworms, they very likely have roundworms and/or hookworms as well, so ideally the cats should be treated with something a bit more broad-spectrum. You're right that vets certainly prefer doing an exam on each animal prior to dispensing medication (we are legally required to have a "doctor/patient relationship" to dispense medication).....but depending on your relationship with your vet, some vets may make exceptions when it comes to deworming outdoor/feral cats. It's worth asking what they recommend in this case! Hope this helps - it's great that you're caring for these outdoor cats!

Hello. The two extra holes you are seeing are the anal glands, all dogs & cats have them. Sometimes it takes more than one deworming to remove all worms or he picked up another case of tapeworms. If he hunts or has fleas, he will always be exposed to the possibility of picking up a new tapeworm infestation. Keep him indoors & on a flea preventative & this will curtail the tapeworm problem. Otherwise, it is OK to deworm whenever you see the tapeworms. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

These do indeed look like tapeworm segments, so BV will definitely need to be treated again. Normally, to make sure that all life stages of the tapeworms are killed, the initial deworming dose needs to be repeated in 14 days - so if this wasn't done the last time she was treated, this could by why the problem has recurred. She may also simply have become re-infected, either from fleas or from eating dead rodents or other animals if she hunts outdoors. I would recommend calling your vet to let them know that you are seeing tapeworm segments again - they may be able to have you come and pick up another dose of dewormer for her, rather than requiring another exam since she was just seen for this problem two months ago.

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question. It’s fine to give them the tapeworm medicine but I would wait until tomorrow. Then give it to them with some food like white meat chicken (no bones). I hope this helps!

Puppies and kittens need a series of repeated deworming medications. And even if they have been dewormed, it is common for them to have other intestinal parasites since there are so many different types of parasites and they each require a specific type of deworming. What you are describing is likely tapeworms, so hopefully the tapeworm medication will work. I am including more information about tapeworms below. https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4951442 Since tapeworms are transmitted by fleas, you will also need to make sure that Ariel doesn't have fleas or she may have tapeworms again. I would also make sure that your veterinarian has checked a fecal sample on her to see if there are any other microscopic intestinal parasites that need to be treated, but may require a different type of dewormer. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

Yes, this is normal. The medication is working and due to the lifecycle of the worms, that other dose is need to kill all of them. This second dose should help kill them all and he should stop shedding the worms with a week after the last dose. I hope this helps!