Among all types of cat medication, one of the most important cat pills to provide your pet is worm medicine. Cat worm symptoms and complications are often harsh and unpleasant for your pet, and may even lead to long term health problems or death. Before you subject your pet to cat diseases associated with intestinal worms and their complications, ensure that he is properly protected by an adequate worm medicine.
Prevention Is Key
Regardless of the type of worm medicine that you provide to your pet, one of the most important things to keep in mind is that feline worm infestations are almost entirely preventable with proper medication and other precautions. Because young cats are especially susceptible to worms and complications from worms, most veterinarians recommend starting cats on preventative worm medicine from the time that they are kittens. There are a variety of medicines to choose from, however, and making a selection can be difficult.
Know Your Options
Some of the leading cat worm medicines include brands like Drontal, Popantel, Felex and Virbac. These medicines all serve to protect your pet against worms or to eliminate worms from his system if they already exist. However, these medicines are not all the same and provide unique functions, so selecting a cat wormer is not as simple as picking the first one that you come across.
Types of Worms
The primary types of feline worms are roundworm, tapeworm, hookworm and heartworm. Of these, heartworm is likely the most damaging to a cat's health, although any of the four may prove to be harmful to your pet. You may wish to speak with a veterinarian in order to determine exactly which of these worms are found in your area. In some environments, certain combinations of worms are not a likely risk to your cat, and you can save money and time by avoiding medicines that protect against those worms. When in doubt, however, it is best to overprotect your pet against all of these types of worms.
Of the four medicines listed above, the first three protect against roundworm, tapeworm and hookworm only. The fourth, Virbac, only protects against tapeworm. None of these medicines will guard your pet against heartworm, and it is important to search for other options in order to take all of the necessary precautions to keep your pet safe and healthy. Heartgard is one of the leading brands of heartworm prevention medicine, although there are other varieties as well.
Cater to Your Cat
Each cat is unique, and one animal may react positively to any combination of worm medicines while another reacts less favorably. Your veterinarian is the best source of information regarding which medicines are best suited to your particular animal. As with any other medication, it is always important to monitor your pet's overall health while he is on any worming medicine. Take him to the veterinarian at the first sign of any adverse reaction or complications.