Why do I need to worm my cat regularly?

17 Oct 2018

Cats and kittens are most commonly affected by two types of worms: roundworms and tapeworms.

All kittens become infected with roundworms when they feed on their mother's milk.  Adult cats become infected mainly by grooming and hunting.

Roundworms can cause poor growth in kittens, and vomiting, diarrhoea, dull coat and lethargy in cats of all ages.

Cats become infected with tapeworms by swallowing fleas (which are infected with the intermediate life stage of the tapeworm) when grooming, and by hunting and eating raw meat.

Due to the potentially very serious health risks that worms pose to humans, we recommend three monthly worming of all adult cats that have access to the outdoors, and monthly worming if they are fed raw meat, are in contact with children under five years of age (this includes cats that go near areas where children play such as sandpits, playgrounds etc), or live with individuals who are immunocompromised.

Recommended worming protocols:

Kittens

Kittens should be wormed every two weeks from two weeks of age until twelve weeks. We recommend using Milpro or Drontal all wormer tablets, or Nexgard Spectra if flea treatment is also due. From twelve weeks until six months of age we recommend monthly worming, and there after monthly, 3 monthly or 6 monthly depending on lifestyle.

Adult Cats

The frequency of worming in adult cats is determined by their lifestyle and flea control regime. Not all worming products are the same, and often those stocked in supermarkets and pet stores are ineffective and or not a complete wormer.  If you struggle to give your cat a worming tablet, we have some great complete topical wormers such as Nexgard Spectra (also treats fleas), and Profender Allwormer. Please have a chat with our team about what will best suit you and your cat.

The worming dose required depends on your cats weight. If you are unsure of your cats weight feel free to bring him/her down to the hospital for a free weight check. We can even pop the tablet down or apply the treatment for you!