Expert: Becky - 7/26/2006

Question
I have a homeless cat that I have been taking care of for about 1 year now. I wish I could bring him in the house, but my father has a thing about cats. I am pretty sure he has worms. The vet needs a stool sample before she can give me medication. But I can not seem to find where he go to the bathroom. He eat 3 meals a day and he does not gain any weight. He licks his bum alot, and also scratches or drags his bum on the floor. Can you recommend a safe over the counter dewormer for cats. Thanks Tami

Answer
HI Tami!

God bless you for taking care of this poor cat.  You can go to any pet store, maybe even Walmart has dewormer, and buy what you need.  It doesn't really matter what the brand name is, just read the label and make sure it takes care of all worms.  There are roundworms, hookworms, tapeworms and whipworms.  Tapeworms are hard to get rid of, and you may need to deworm with a tablet made just for that.  You will need to weigh your cat.  Just weigh yourself, then hold your cat and get back on and subtract the difference.  Be sure to read the label carefully and deworm again in two weeks unless it says you don't have to.  Some are pill form and others you can hide in the food, which is probably what you will want to get.  Good luck!!

God Bless,
Becky