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Let's keep this simple:
All pets are in danger of worms.
Even indoor cats occasionally get exposed to worms
Outdoor pets are exposed to lots of worm eggs and worm larvae.
Puppies, kittens, young pets, pregnant pets, are especially vulnerable to intestinal parasites.
Also vulnerable are any pets with weaken immune systems from old age, disease, poor nutrition, and stress.
Cestodes or tapeworms are spread by fleas and are resistant to most types of regular deworming products. Tapeworms are big enough to see (about the size of a piece of rice), but if your pet has tapeworms, you will see them on the stool only ocassionally.
Roundworms are also big enough to see with your naked eye, but the two most deadly intestinal worms are MICROSCOPIC.
Hookworms and whipworms are microscopic and very bad for health.
Dogs and cats with these worms will look and act normal for
months before becoming deathly sick.
Even our most effective deworming products will not kill 100%
of the hook and whip worms in your pet with a single dose
Hook and whip worms have become resistant to many of our
previous treatments.
Having a program for controlling these very destructive is very important. Luckily it's easy. I just want you to know it's not something you can ignore.
Puppies and kittens: Nemex, the most famous over the counter dewormer is no longer working well. Instead, 50mg of pyrantel should be given every 3-4 weeks for several months. This product is very cheap and very safe. We'll dose your puppy or kitten for $3 each time they come in for their puppy or kitten boosters (ideally at 6 weeks old, 10 weeks old, and 14 weeks old)
All cats: Revolution is by far the best bet for cats. It kills intestinal worms, heartworms, fleas, ticks, ear mites, and mange. Less expensive choices include using panacur or pyrantel at least twice yearly.
Dogs: I use Revolution on my dogs for fleas and to prevent heartworms but it's not the most effective product for intestinal worms in dogs. Here are several good plans:
1. - Revolution for fleas and heartworm prevention
- A large dose of pyrantel once a year given during the annual exam
- A dose of Panacur once a year given during the midyear exam
- A fecal exam once a year to be sure
2. - Frontline or Vectra 3D or Comfortis for fleas & ticks as needed
- TriHeart or Inteceptor or Sentinel for heartworm prevention
(these products also help control intestinal worms)
- a dose of pyrantel once a year and a dose of panacur once a year
- A fecal exam once a year to be sure
3. - Advantage Multi doesn't kill ticks like Frontline or Vectra 3D but
otherwise is a pretty good flea control product and excellent at preventing heartworms and a super intestinal deworming product.
- we still recommend a yearly fecal check to check for resistant
worms.
Any of the above programs will do a good job protecting your pet and family from intestinal worms
For a comparison of the major flea & tick control products please go to our flea and tick page
There are a couple of other intestinal parasites of concern but we don't recommend any preventive measures.
Coccidia is an organism that affects very young puppies and kittens and is ocassionally fatal. We can treat this disease but have no effective preventive measures.
Giardia is another organism that frequently causes dairrhea in pets as well as people. We can treat this disease when it occurs but we don't have an effective preventive. (there is a vaccine for giardia but it's not very successful)
Controlling & Preventing
Intestinal Parasites
in Dogs & Cats
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On your right I've written about how to prevent and control intestinal worms in your pets. It's an important subject.
But what if you need to treat a worm problem?
As you might expect, some of the products discussed on this page are used for both prevention and treatment, but below I summarize what we have ... the very best ... for actually treating different types of parasite problems:
ProFender for Cats and Small Dogs: I think this product is too expensive for big dogs, but it's excellent for cats and small dogs; 1 application is close to 100% effective for all types of intestinal worms including tapeworms.
$16 for pets under 15 lbs
High Dose Pyrantel: Very safe and inexpensive flavored liquid that works well on round worms in kitten and puppies and fairly good on hook worms. But not very effective on resistant hook worms, whip worms, or tape worms.
$2-5/single dose and much less if bought in quantity
Panacur Liquid or flavored granules: very safe for cats and dogs and effective against everything except tapeworms but only if multiple doses are given ... usually 3 days in a row and then repeated for 3 days a few weeks later.
$2-7 a dose depending on the size of your dog.
Praziquantal for Dogs: Effective generic tablets for tapeworms but for best results should be repeated in 3-4 weeks.
$4-20 per dosing depending on the size of your dog
Cestex: Effective tablets for tapeworms in cats and dogs. Single dosing may be adequate.
$4-30 per dosing depending on the size of your dog
