Do cats REALLY need worming every month?

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

I give flea treatment once a month - 6 weeks from about April to Sept, then usually again at christmas because they generally go into a cattery then.  I give them a break from it during the winter months.  I worm them about 3 times a year.  They are indoor cats.

[Ela]

My case are only wormed occasionally as they are indoor cats only. However, for indoor/outdoor the interval depends on what treatment you use. For instance it was recommended that Drontal should only be given every 3 months now vets recommend once a month. We also need to remember that it is only when the a worm problem is endemic that we may  notice the signs.

[Kucinta]

My two are indoor cats and only get wormed at the annual check up, which the vet reckoned was fine. If she'd recommended doing it more often I'd use the Profender spot on. So far we haven't needed to use any flea treatments - hope it stays that way!

[zoe (tiggy + pipins mum)]

I thought it would be more expensive, One of the veterinary nurses there does free bug busting clinics and i normally take her there and they give her the pill to save me the hassle as everytime ive tried its been a complete disaster twice she managed too bite her gum and made it bleed and ended up with an infection which made me have a £50 vet bill

[Team Svartalfheims]

The spot on wormer is Profender but I found it expensive (Bilbo had it once) so you'd prob be just as well sticking to the Milbemax for the difficult to worm one. You can get a prescription for Profender to buy it online but with vets now charging for prescriptions it's prob not much different price wise to buying it at the vets.

[zoe (tiggy + pipins mum)]

Im going to carry on the flea treatment every 4-6 weeks as i cant stand the thought of me bringing fleas into the house but will cut the worm treatment down to every 3 months, Atm 3 have drontal one has milbemax, My vet suggested a spot on wormer for tiggy (cant remember what it was called) Anyone have experience with these?

[Millys Mum]

Ruth panacur isnt that great so it would pay to do a drontal or milbemax treatment, iv used it on kittens for several treatments and upon being drontalled out come the roundworm, its just not cutting the mustard 


Even indoor cats need regular worming as they dont need to hunt to get infected, its happens when they are tiny and become infected by their mother.

[Tiggy's Mum]

We worm every 3 months (ish) they only have supervised access in the garden so don't really hunt.

Flea treatments I do every month, mainly because there are dogs in my office so I get paranoid I'll bring something home!

Same as me, worm every three months. I'm religious about doing flea treatment monthly as by the time you see a flea to prompt you to apply flea treatment it's too late.  The eggs are laid    I'm also highly allergic to flea bites and come out in huge red spots so really want to avoid getting bitten!

[Leanne]

We worm every 3 months (ish) they only have supervised access in the garden so don't really hunt.

Flea treatments I do every month, mainly because there are dogs in my office so I get paranoid I'll bring something home!

[koscha (Ruth M)]

Mine get flea treatment when signs of scratching is seen, with the exception of Keli woh has flea allergies.
They get wormed every 3 months (in fact it was done today), As RW was awol for a month i'm assuming that he hunted so is in need of a dose! 
I use Panacur liquid as it quarentees that some ends up going down,whereas with tablets there is no way to get it down thier throats...even with cream cheese! 

 

[Rosella moggy]

I dont worm or flea treat on a regular basis and all mine go out.  They get flea treatment if needed and wormed once a year at health check.
I do not like putting chemicals on them on a regular basis but thats just me.

Snap    Did I ever mention Noni can swivel her head half way round and lick frontline off in a jiffy (with consequent frothing) if not really careful at putting on the back of her head    A bit like a Meryl Streep impersonation 

[Janeyk]

I dont worm or flea treat on a regular basis and all mine go out.

They get flea treatment if needed and wormed once a year at health check.

I do not like putting chemicals on them on a regular basis but thats just me.

Mine only get wormed once a year at health check too but they rarely go out unless with me in the garden in the summer and 2 minutes some days for a quick potter or bit of grass.  Very lucky never had to give any of ours flea treatment.

[Kirst]

I frontline at the sign of scratching or fleas , and they all get wormed once a month as they are very enthusiastic hunters (Except Beavis , he gets done every three months)

[Desley (booktigger)]

i Can't comb Molly, so have to rely on flea treatment for her, and that can take days to make sure she is in the right mood. AFter nearly 3 years, she is still a very wary cat, I also ned to do her claws, but that can take a week, and generally a few at a time.

[JackSpratt]

That's true Desley. I comb my lot regularly (they view it as part of fuss time luckily) to check for fleas so I can catch it quickly. I agree with Gill and Gillan with regards to putting lots of chemicals on my mob.

[Desley (booktigger)]

The only problem with waiting till you see fleas is that for every flea you see,there are lots more eggs. Mine get Frontlined about every 6 weeks at present,as they dont leave the bedroom much less the house (I frontline with fostering in the house), but I do only worm them 6 monthly now, due to not going out - the closest Molly gets to hunting is chattering at birds through the window!! The main reason for the change in recommendation is for people who have children, as obviously humans can get worms from pets, and they are more likely to be at risk

[Liz]

We use Program for Flea control - 2 injectins per year and worm the whole lot quarterly - in some cases takes us that long to convince some of the ferals to take the worming tablets - several think we are trying to kill or posion them!

Program is £30.00 a hit and we use Millibex and Drontal for worming at a cost of £150 quarterly - this is for the cats only the dogs are also done with Drontal  and have Program tablets

Note not one of ours would eat the palatable worming tablet

[JackSpratt]

I worm and flea my cats every six months unless it's apparant it's necessary more often.

[Gillian Harvey]

I dont worm or flea treat on a regular basis and all mine go out.

They get flea treatment if needed and wormed once a year at health check.

I do not like putting chemicals on them on a regular basis but thats just me.

I only worm Harry every 3 months or so (he is an occasional hunter), and flea treatments only if fleas seen, Like Gill, I don't like putting chemicals on them unless abosolutely necessary.

[Mark]

My vet said every 3 month for worming and once a month for fleas.  I only do it once a month in warm weather and every 6 - 8 weeks in the winter.

[Christine (Blip)]

Well, with the usual proviso that I'm no vet, I give Blip (who goes outside every day and brings in the odd mouse) flea treatment (Stronghold) every six weeks and a worming tablet (Milbemax) every three months.  This seems to do the trick for us.

Oh yes, Blip is ten years old.

[zoe (tiggy + pipins mum)]

I dont worm or flea treat on a regular basis and all mine go out.

They get flea treatment if needed and wormed once a year at health check.

I do not like putting chemicals on them on a regular basis but thats just me.

This is exactly what me and the veterinary nurse where discussing as none of them have fleas and don't ever go out she doesnt see why i need to worm or flea treat them so regualy as everytime i do tiggy ends up extremely stressed and refuses to eat for about 3 days

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

I dont worm or flea treat on a regular basis and all mine go out.

They get flea treatment if needed and wormed once a year at health check.

I do not like putting chemicals on them on a regular basis but thats just me.

[Team Svartalfheims]

I flea treat anyone who goes outside once every 4-5 weeks. Anyone who is indoor only gets done around every 8 weeks. I also spray the house with Indorex each summer.

[zoe (tiggy + pipins mum)]

None of them go out and 3 of them are just over a year old,
Im going to carry on doing sooty every month as he is only 6 months and was badly infested with worms when i got him,

Cheers for the advice,

What about flea treatment? I do that monthly aswell atm is this neccarasy?

[Team Svartalfheims]

This is just my personal opinion but I do the following with mine:

Cats that hunt: once a month

Kittens 6-12 weeks: every 3 weeks

Kittens 3 - 6 months old: once a month

Kittens 6-12 months: every 2 months

Indoor adult cats/outdoor access but doesn't hunt: every 3-4 months

[zoe (tiggy + pipins mum)]

Ever since ive had my 4 cats i have been worming them every month which my vet advise me too but when i took them in for a 6 monthly health check the veterinary nurse said it is only neccasary every 3-4 months?

Any advice much appreciated thanks x