dewormers

[Whaler]

anyone have a good recommendation for an online place to buy dewormers, specifically drontal? i have found a couple of sites that will sell it without a prescription but i am a bit leery as to if they are legit.

one of my guys (blackie) has worms in a pretty bad way. i normally would ask either my local animal control officer or the head of the local shelter but with it being the holidays everyone is very busy so i hate to have to impose.

the vet will only give them to me if he has been in within a year but it has been just over a year since he was there. i really don't want to trap him and bring him in right now since i have been working with him and building his trust so that he can become fully socialized. it has been going really well and with the fact that he was a very feral boy before i tnr'd him i worry that trapping him right now would be a major step backwards.

[my5kitties]

Originally Posted by Whaler

the vet will only give them to me if he has been in within a year but it has been just over a year since he was there. i really don't want to trap him and bring him in right now since i have been working with him and building his trust so that he can become fully socialized. it has been going really well and with the fact that he was a very feral boy before i tnr'd him i worry that trapping him right now would be a major step backwards.

Maybe if you explain it to the vet the way you explained to us he/she may make an exception?

[wallycat]

When I lived in WI, a farm-horse-all-goods type store sold the pills for cats and dogs over the counter for $10. My vet charged more than that for one pill. I think amazon sells these. I switched to a topical wormer since pilling my cats is asking to be mutilated. I use Profender, which I order from an online canadian company and it requires no Rx through them. Total pet supply is where I order that and the Advantage II flea topicals I use. Revolution requires a rx and it is a hassle to bother my vet to phone these things in.

Editing to add, when I lived in WI, I used topical on a feral that allowed me to finally touch him...I set out his bowl of food and gently tried to apply the meds. If they taste anything funny in their food, they may not come back. I did ask a spay/neuter program if it is worth worming and they said no. They said within 3 months, feral cats will have worms again.

[Whaler]

Originally Posted by my4kitties

Maybe if you explain it to the vet the way you explained to us he/she may make an exception?

thanks, that is a good idea. the vet practice that i use is very large and it seems that the policy is pretty set in stone but there is one vet that is quite "feral friendly" and she would probably be willing to bend the rules in a situation like this.

my other option is to tell them it is for pretty girl (my former feral). she was just there a couple of months ago. and since she needs to be drugged to get her in a carrier that should make it no problem.

Originally Posted by wallycat

When I lived in WI, a farm-horse-all-goods type store sold the pills for cats and dogs over the counter for $10. My vet charged more than that for one pill. I think amazon sells these. I switched to a topical wormer since pilling my cats is asking to be mutilated. I use Profender, which I order from an online canadian company and it requires no Rx through them. Total pet supply is where I order that and the Advantage II flea topicals I use. Revolution requires a rx and it is a hassle to bother my vet to phone these things in.

i have used profender in the past but have had little if any luck with it. the reason i prefer to get drontal is that it is what has been the most effective med for the ones i have been able to use it on.

i will check out total pet supply, thanks for the tip!

Editing to add, when I lived in WI, I used topical on a feral that allowed me to finally touch him...I set out his bowl of food and gently tried to apply the meds. If they taste anything funny in their food, they may not come back. I did ask a spay/neuter program if it is worth worming and they said no. They said within 3 months, feral cats will have worms again.

yeah, it is more than likely that he will have worms again but probably not until spring rolls around and the mice are around in larger numbers. right now with the cold having set in the cats are not very active in the hunting department. my concern is that he has both roundworm and tapeworm and is excreting a lot of sections of each. that, along with the fact that his belly is taking on the "potbelly" look (although that could be since he is a total pig when it comes to food) make me feel that he has a pretty bad infestation. with the temps dropping i would like him to have as few stressors as possible.

[KittehLuv'n]

My local PetSmart store sells Drontal. There is simply a tag that you pull and take to the register- the pills themselves are not on the shelf.

[Whaler]

really? where are you located? in my area (connecticut), and i thought all of the u.s., it is a prescription. that is why i am very hesitant to try and order from an online store that will sell it to me w/o a script. even 1-800 petmeds requires a script to order it.

[KittehLuv'n]

Hmmm, maybe I'm wrong, but I sure thought I remembered seeing it. I will check next time I am in there. I am in Michigan- metro Detroit area.

[lyle]

Originally Posted by my4kitties

Maybe if you explain it to the vet the way you explained to us he/she may make an exception?

At the risk of bending the topic of the post some, this (establishing a rapport with a local "feral-friendly" vet) is very valuable especially for someone who is a caregiver for ferals. As Whaler mentioned, it's tough to re-trap a feral in any case and unnecessary in most cases. It takes time, but having a relationship with a few vets who understand and support what you are trying to do helps a lot. I think that many would be willing to bend some rules for the good of the cat if they understood and trusted in the caregiver. Time. And once again, good on 'ya Whaler.

[Whaler]

Originally Posted by lyle

At the risk of bending the topic of the post some, this (establishing a rapport with a local "feral-friendly" vet) is very valuable especially for someone who is a caregiver for ferals. As Whaler mentioned, it's tough to re-trap a feral in any case and unnecessary in most cases. It takes time, but having a relationship with a few vets who understand and support what you are trying to do helps a lot. I think that many would be willing to bend some rules for the good of the cat if they understood and trusted in the caregiver. Time. And once again, good on 'ya Whaler.

that is a great point lyle. in the near future i want to re-trap mommie, my FIV+ feral and get her to the vet for a checkup and any needed dental work. since the local hospital has a policy against returning FIV+ cats i am working on finding a vet that will work with me on this. hopefully i will be able to develop the type of relationship you are talking about. as far as dewormers, i ended up just getting some drontal from the shelter. i got 16 pills so that is enough to treat the two that will eat pill pockets 4 times each - at least i won't have to worry for a while.