Do pet tapeworms go away? My cat's keep returning despite treatment.

Tapeworms are relatively straight forward to treat, so sorry you are having such a hard time. However you should do the following: 1) Give tapeworm medicine - Praziquantel (you may have to visit your vet for this if not available over the counter). Typically you only need 1 dose. 2) Get Boo-butiful on a good monthly flea preventative. My top recommendation is Revolution topical or Advantage Multi. Tapeworms come from your pet either ingesting a flea or eating another pets poop with "live" tapeworms in it. I hope this helps you get rid of your fur baby's pesty friends!

What you're seeing is most likely tapeworms. Tapeworms are intestinal parasites of the cat and dog. They belong to a different family than hookworms and roundworms, which are the other common intestinal parasites of dogs and cats. Fleas are the intermediate host for tapeworms. In other words, the tapeworm is unable to complete its life cycle without the presence of fleas in the environment. Regardless of whether the owner may have seen fleas, the cat must have ingested a flea in order to have tapeworms. Consequently, tapeworms are more common in environments that are heavily infested with fleas. Most commonly, owners recognize that the cat has tapeworms and bring this to the attention of the veterinarian. When segments of the tapeworm break off and pass into the cat's stool, they can be seen crawling on the surface of the feces. These proglottid segments look like grains of cooked white rice or cucumber seeds. Less commonly, segments are seen moving around the cat's anus. A variety of products are available to treat tapeworms in cats but they are not all equally effective. For the best advice on the type of de-worming preparation most suitable for your cat, you should seek the help of your veterinarian. The most effective worming products are only available by prescription from a licensed veterinarian. Flea control, both environmental and on the cat is necessary to help prevent this from recurring.

Great question! No, one pill is not enough. Due to the life cycle of the worms, Chiron will need another Drontal tablet two weeks after the first one was given. This will kill the worms who had not yet hatched from eggs when the first tablet was given. I would get another Drontal for him. Best of luck.

Hello and thank you for using pet coach. Tapeworms are typically treated with a drug known as praziquantel. The drug that we use at our Clinic to treat tapeworm is called drontal Plus. Only a single dose with drontal Plus is typically required. A follow-up dose 1-3 weeks after the initial treatment may be given if needed. I hope this helps! Please do not hesitate to contact me with any other questions or concerns that you may have. I am also available via consultation if needed

Due to the lifecycle of tapeworms, more than one treatment is needed to kill all the worms. At least two treatments need to be given two weeks apart. The first kills the adult present, while the second kills the adults that had not yet hatched at the time of the first treatment. You need to take your kittens back into the vet.

Great question! You are correct that Sassy could have tapeworms based on your description. Tapeworms require praziquantel to treat, which is available by prescription only from your vet. The OTC deworming treatments won't have that medication in it, so that's why it isn't working. I would have Sassy seen by a vet tomorrow to get Drontal (it contains praziquantel). It is an excellent deworming treatment, and also kills roundworms, hookworms, and whipworms in addition to tapeworms. Sassy will need another Drontal two weeks after the first treatment to kill all the tapeworms, and then she should receive it every three months. I hope this helps!

I can certainly understand being frustrated with this problem! Drontal, in my experience, is a great deworming treatment, and it often takes at least two treatments to kill all the worms. That's because the first treatment kills the adult worms already present, and the second kills the ones who had not yet hatched at the time of the first treatment. Preventing worms does require treatment with a deworming medication every three months, and each dog in the house should be treated to prevent reinfection. I would recommend giving all the dogs in your home Drontal, and giving them this treatment every three months. You can also give them Panacur instead of Drontal, it's a good deworming treatment that works well in my experience.