can I get, and is this going to infect the cat now too? the cat is indoor only and, I was wondering do I have to treat both now? I dont have the cash for 2 vet bills right this second.
Answers:
If by almond shaped you mean they look like little oatmeal, or rice kernels what your cat has is tapeworms, which can be treated with a newly over the counter drug called praziquantel. Most pet stores now carry it.
Don't ignore the fact that your dog probably have fleas as well (dogs usually get tapes by eating mice or fleas on their body) and treat those too!
If the worms don't look like what I described, you should take a stool sample as the above suggested, because it might be something totally different. And from now on, but $5 in a jar each week so you can afford medical treatment for your dogs in the future.
(I first wrote this for cats, what the hell? I guess I need to finish my coffee =P same rules apply, though)
Its best to take a stool sample to your vet. They can tell you exactly what type worms exist and what is best to treat them.
worms effect the whole family, it could also effect you and your family... id take the dog to the vets asap as worms can be very dangerous in animals.
Worm medication is prescription only from a vet because the vet has to determine what kind of worms you are dealing with. You can't get it over the counter. The cat might be involved too depending on the type of worms. Worm treatment is not expensive. You do need the advice of a vet right now, so you'll have to come up with the money somehow.
go to a vet, don't mess with it
It sounds like flat worms. You can go to the vet and ask for a wormer called "nemex". Here it only cost $9.00 and it can be used on both dogs and cats. I would treat the cat as well because worms spread easily. But if you do not want to go to your vet you can just go to your local Wal-mart and go down the pet aisle and they will have liquid wormers there.
Call your vet and ask if you can only bring in a stool sample. If they have seen the dog before. Some vets will allow you to bring in a stool sample and give you the medication needed to get rid of them. This will save you an office visit charge.
Just bring a small, fresh stool sample of both the dog and the cat to the vet. You don't need to bring the animals in. They will do a fecal flotation test which will let you know exactly what parasite(s) you are dealing with and they will be able to give you the proper medication, dosages and instructions.
You only need to go to the vet and buy some tablets from them. They do not need to know the exact type of worms present - veterinary worming medication is broad-spectrum and will treat most types.
Don't even bother with medicines from pet shops or supermarkets - they treat very few types of worm and are very ineffective.
Just drop in to your vets.
Chalice
Fact of the matter is, you don't know which type of worms your pet has unless checked by a vet under the microscope. Nemex doesn't kill tapeworms and other over the counter wormers don't kill all kinds of worms depending on what you get. Get your vet to run a fecal and go from there!
First of all, if you can use the internet to ask this
question, you can use it to educate yourself. Just
because you can see one type of worm, doesn't mean that is all there is. Worms can be transmitted to children and adults. Also,
when you take on the responsibility of a pet, no
matter how good your intentions are, if you can't give it what it needs, you shouldn,t have one. Get a goldfish...less suffering on its part with you as an owner.
If the worms are moving in the poop and then as they dry, shrink up to the size of a grain of rice, then you have tapeworm. General wormers will not work on tape. There is an otc wormer for them. It's called Pranziquantel. Most larger pet stores have this for both cats and dogs. It works, I've had to use it on quite a few rescues.
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