For any pets raised at home, deworming is a crucial aspect of maintaining the pet's health, particularly for felines. Among other health risks, worm infestation can cause serious health issues when not treated on time. From minor discomforts to life-threatening cases, it can lead to weight loss, make your pet anaemic, stunted growth, digestive problems, and the list goes on.
Deworming helps keep your pets in good condition, and in the case of cats, deworming becomes the most essential for newborn kittens and pregnant queens. If you own a cat, you should have complete knowledge of the best wormer for cats, deworming methods, how to deworm kittens, how to deworm pregnant cats safely, and everything that is to know about managing worms in an effective way.
Why Deworming is Essential for Cats
Felines are susceptible to a wide range of internal parasites, including but not limited to roundworms, hookworms, and tapeworms. These worms can manage to get into your pet's system easily in no time and induce various symptoms that might affect your pet's health. Some of the critical conditions caused by these parasites range from vomiting, weight loss, diarrhoea and digestive issues, and sometimes lead to serious complications such as immune suppression and intestinal and respiratory blockages.
In cases of pregnant cats, such parasites pose additional risks of transferring larvae to the kittens they carry or even to the newborns through the feeding of milk. Deworming on time helps stop the parasites from causing such serious damage to your cat, assuring them a healthy life in the long run, and also prevents the spread of the parasites from your cat to other pets or even humans at your home.
Deworming Pregnant Cats: What You Need to Know And What Dewormer to Use
If your female cat is in the breeding stage, this is the best time to deworm her. But even if the queen gets pregnant unexpectedly, make sure to learn all about treating worms when pregnant. It will protect both your pet and her unborn kittens. Here's all you need to know.
- Timing is important to deworm your feline. While prior to breeding is the best stage to deworm, the initial stages of pregnancy also work with the right dewormer solution.
- Fenbendazole-based wormers like Panacur are mostly suggested for pregnant cats. However, it is advised to consult your vet before going for any medication.
- Fleas are intermediate hosts of these internal parasites so controlling them with the right solution is also critical.
- Deworming and flea treatments are suggested to be continued after the kittens are born to safeguard the health of both the mother and her nursing kittens.
- Make sure to clean their litter boxes, bedding, and surrounding areas regularly to prevent reinfestation risks.
For safe treatment, choose the best wormer options that are specifically available to treat during pregnancy and lactation periods, such as:
Panacur Liquid Oral Suspension & Granules
Available Form: 10% Oral Suspension and Granules
What It Treats: Effective in treating roundworms, hookworms, and several other intestinal worms.
Key Features:
- Gentle on your pet while treating
- Can be administered directly or mixed with food
- Pregnancy-safe and lactation-safe
- Can be used for kittens even from their 2 weeks of age
Flea Control in Pregnant Queens & Kittens
As important as deworming, controlling fleas is critical for your cat's health as they are the hosts of the common tapeworm - Dipylidium. Also, fleas tend to cause fatal conditions like anaemia in newborn cats. Hence, be sure to treat your pregnant cat pre-pregnancy and post-pregnancy stages to keep both the mother and the kittens safe and protected from flea infections.
Be careful about the flea treatment products you use as not all solutions are safe to use during pregnancy. Consult with your vet and get suggestions on the suitable products you can use to treat your pregnant pet.
There are some spot-on flea solutions available for instant relief from flea infestation. These are in liquid form, you can directly apply to the scruff of your cat's neck by pulling apart the fur. Such spot-on products include adulticides that act on adult fleas rapidly and remove them within 24 hours of application on your pet.
Here are some products to treat fleas:
Frontline Spot-On For Cats
- Stops flea infestation within 24 hours of application
- Eliminates ticks within 48 hours window
- Effective for up to 5 weeks till chances for flea reinfestation
- Reapplication is recommended every 4 weeks to control fleas during peak periods
- Tick control for up to 1 month till reinfestation
- Suited for kittens from 8 weeks old that weigh a minimum of 1 kilogram
- Safe during pregnancy & lactation
Frontline Plus for Cats
- Fleas: Eliminates within 24 hours and reinfestation prevention is provided for up to 8 weeks
- Ticks: Eliminates within 48 hours and reinfestation prevention is provided for up to 4 weeks
- Effectively kills biting lice
- Prevents the eggs and larvae from further advancement
- The best option to prevent the health of your pets and your family members
Advantage for Cats, Dogs, and Rabbits
- Provides rapid prevention from flea biting within 5 minutes of application on the infested area
- Just takes 1 hour to kill adult fleas
- Flea protection for up to a month
- Safe for pregnancy & lactation periods
- Good for kittens over 8 weeks of age
- Water-resistant and durable for better prevention
When to Deworm Kittens
Deworming is suggested for kittens right from the time they attain 2 weeks of age as they have a high chance of worm infestation by the passing of larvae through milk feeding from their mother. There are several best kitten dewormer products available and you have to choose the one that best suits your needs. Mostly, go for the ones including fenbendazole that treats a range of parasites - Roundworms (Toxocara cati), Hookworms (Ancylostoma sp), Tapeworms (Taenia sp), Giardia infections (Giardia sp), etc.
Deworming frequency:
- Keep deworming your kitten once in two weeks from 2 weeks of age till 12 weeks.
- Then switch to a routine of deworming once a month from 12 weeks of age to 6 months.
- After 6 months, they become adults, from which they can be dewormed once in 3 months.
In short, by staying informed of the deworming practices and proactive on the treatment procedure, you can ensure healthy living for your pet and also avoid unnecessary parasites and flea infestation at your home.
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