Worming for Cats - your guide 

You might be confused about which cat worming product to use. What worms do you need to protect your cats from? Why treat your cat for worms? Is your cat's worming product compatible with your cat’s flea and tick treatment?

Our team of vets and vet nurses at VetProductsDirect make it easy for you to choose the best worming product for cats - here’s the advice you need! 

Do I even need to worm my cat? My cat doesn’t have worms…or so I think! 

All cats need to be wormed. Worms can infect your cat through its self-grooming (over half of the fleas on a cat are eaten by the cat during grooming) or by being walked into floors by humans - even cats that never go outside are susceptible to worms.

 If you don’t treat your cat for infestations of worms, it can be dangerous, or even fatal, for your cat. And some of these worms are zoonotic, meaning humans can catch worms from their cats, especially children!  You need to worm your cat to protect the health of your cat and yourself and your family.

Here’s a quick look at the four most common intestinal worms in cats:

1. Hookworms take blood from the intestinal lining, resulting in anaemia, diarrhoea and weight loss in pets. They pose a health risk to humans.
2. Roundworms live in the small intestine of infected cats. Cats with roundworm infection can suffer diarrhoea, stunted growth, lung damage, bacterial pneumonia and these issues can result in the death of your cat. Roundworms also pose a health risk to humans.
3. Whipworms are found in the cat’s large intestine. Transmission is faecal-oral and whipworms can also cause weight loss, anaemia and bloody diarrhoea.
4. Tapeworm can cause poor coat quality, irritability, diarrhoea or lethargy. There are two types of tapeworms - cats contract flea tapeworm from ingesting infected fleas, usually when they are grooming. Hydatid tapeworms are contracted by eating infected raw meat or offal.  Hydatid tapeworms have significant human health implications, and lead to the development of painful cysts in humans, which must be surgically removed.

 

Parasitic heartworms are different to the intestinal worms outlined above.  Heartworms are less common in cats, as the worms don’t thrive in a cat’s body, but because of the cat's relatively smaller size (compared to dogs), it takes less heartworms for your cat to become seriously unwell.  Indoor and outdoor cats are susceptible to heartworm, as a single bite from an infected mosquito can cause serious (often fatal) heart disease in cats.  

Here’s some of our most popular cat worming products at VetProductsDirect - 

• Revolution for Cats - this monthly spot-on treatment is easy to use, and protects against fleas, heartworm, intestinal worms and earmites. Revolution Plus for Cats does all this, and has the added benefit of also protecting your cat against paralysis ticks! 
• Bravecto Plus Cats - this spot-on treatment not only controls roundworm and hookworm and earmites, it kills fleas for 3 months, controls ticks for 10 weeks and prevents heartworm disease for 2 months.  Please note - Bravecto Plus Cats is not the same product as the cheaper Bravecto Spot On (in a white pack) which does NOT control worms or heartworm (it only controls fleas and ticks).
• Drontal - Drontal tablets protects your cat against intestinal worms including roundworms, hookworms and tapeworms, and is perfect for combining with other (flea & tick) parasite protections like Advantage for Cats, Bravecto Spot On or Comfortis
• Profender - Profender protects your cat from hookworms, roundworms, and tapeworms in one easy spot-on treatment.
• Aristopet Allwormer paste or tablets treat Hookworm, Roundworm, and Tapeworm in cats and kittens over the age of 8 weeks, and is given every three months (kittens may require more frequent worming)

 

Which is the best product for worming for cats?

Here’s some things to help you decide which product is best for worming for your cat:

• Are you good at remembering treatments for your cat - would it be easier for you to remember if you treat your cat on (say) the first of every month with something like Revolution Plus for Cats? How does this work with your cat’s treatment regime for fleas and ticks? Or would you rather treat your cat less often?
• Are you good at giving your cat tablets? Getting a tablet into a cat can be difficult - would it be easier to use a spot-on treatment like Bravecto Plus, or a paste like Aristopet Allwormer?
• How old is your cat? Some products, like Milbemax are safe to give kittens from 6 weeks of age.  Others can be used by pregnant cats- look at products like Drontal Allwormer 

Where can I buy worming products for my cats at the best price?

Vet Products Direct is a company of veterinary surgeons, vet nurses and skilled warehouse staff. We have been providing high quality professional pet and animal products in conjunction with professional advice since 1998. 

The team at VetProductsDirect sells a full range of worming products for cats, so you can be sure that you select something that (together with your cat’s flea and tick protection) gives your cat protection against all the parasitic worms! 

If you don’t know what your cat needs, after looking through the products on our website, call our friendly Customer Service Team! We are the only online Australian Pet Company to have calls answered by fully qualified and experienced Veterinary Nurses.