Can I deworm my kittens at home to avoid vet stress, cost, or cold?

Many times you will not see intestinal parasites until the animals are critically sick. It's recommended to deworm young puppies and kittens every two weeks for at least three cycles, due to the lifecycle of the parasites. I would recommend getting a product labeled for kittens such as pyrantel pamoate. Make sure you weigh them and get accurate weights to dose the medication. As soon as you are able I do still recommend a veterinary exam as they will need vaccines, feline leukemia testing and there are other parasites that the pyrantel may not address. Look in your area as there are often low cost vaccination clinics available through pet stores or feed stores if a full service clinic is not possible. Also check with your local veterinarian as many times they may offer a rate for a litter of kittens versus charging each animal individually. Best of luck and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Most OTC dewormers are safe to use as long as you follow package directions. Confirm the product can be used for cats first. Ideally, you should speak with your vet prior to administering any medication to a pet.

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. There are many over the counter products available in pet stores in the U.S. that are good dewormers. Milbemax, Revolution, Drontal, Strongid, Panacur, are some examples. I recommend calling your local vet to ask which products are most efficacious and available in your area, and you can get them from the store. For feral cats, the biggest problem is getting the medication into them, so you can talk with your vet about pills vs. liquids. If you are feeding them then a tablet in the food might work, but only if you are feeding them separately. Best of luck with the kitties!

I am a little concerned about many over-the-counter deworming products as they are often not effective and sometimes even cause some toxicity issues. I recommend a full exam for these kittens by your veterinarian, and a product like pyrantel as a dewomer because it is safe and effective for kittens. This way your vet can see if there is something physically wrong with the kitten that is having trouble passing stools.

While there are different types of deworming medications available over the counter you would need to know what type of intestinal parasites your kitten has to choose the appropriate one, and that would most likely require a fecal analysis with your veterinarian. If your kitten is eating and drinking normally and seems active I would wait until your appointment. Your kitten has probably had the worms since birth! Most intestinal parasites are transmitted through stool so you should isolate the new kitten from the adult cat and give them separate litter pans.

Tapeworms are killed by a medication called praziquantel, which is prescription only. A dewormer containing that can only be gotten at the vet. A great deworming medication is Drontal which kills tapeworms, roundworms, whipworms, and hookworms. OTC dewormers will only kill roundworms, whipworms, and hookworms. Personally I always recommend a deworming medication from the vet, as they are stronger and better than anything you get OTC. Drontal is safe and healthy for kittens. Bambi should get a dewormer now, and another in two weeks. After that she will need to be dewormed monthly until she is six months of age, and then every three months thereafter. It's perfectly safe to give them a deworming medication even if they don't have worms, it prevents them from occurring. I never recommend getting OTC flea and tick medications. Many brands of them, such as Hartz, are terrible products that do not work and can have serious side effects in cats. I personally recommend getting a flea and tick medication from the vet such as Frontline, Advantage, or Revolution. When you make an appointment with the vet to get her vaccines, you can also get the deworming treatment as well as the flea and tick medication. I hope this helps!

You may have luck going to the pharmacy to ask your question since your options sound very limited. If the pharmacist isn't positive the medication is safe for cats, post a new question here with the medication and we can help. Most worms in a kitten are roundworms, which can be treated with pyrantel (commonly found over the counter in a pet store in the US). It needs to be dosed twice, 3-4 weeks apart. Tapeworms are flat, and there are also over the counter dewormers for that, as well. It is most likely that Penny has a lot of worms in her digestive tract and that, after vomiting, one of the worms was in her nose and came out when she sneezed.