[witchypoo]

Hello from Healesville, Australia.

I have rescued 4 'strays', and they need worming. Unfortunately, none of them can be handled well enough to give a pill. I tried "pallatable worming chews", but only one cat wolfed it down, and tried to eat all the others. They all love cheese: I'm considering wrapping tiny pieces of pill in cheese and doling it out, but I know the pill tastes revolting, and I don't want to put them off cheese, as it is really helpful in the taming process. I could wrap pieces of 'chew' in cheese, but it would be an awful lot of cheese! Any suggestions would be most gratefully received. Thanks!

[Advert]

---

[Catspjamas]

Can you handle them long enough to put Revolution on them? Revolution is a spot on flea prevention that also deworms, and there is also a new dewormer, Profender, which is applied topically. I don't know about availability in Australia. But that would probably be the best way to ensure that they did get dewormed, without having to pill them or give them a liquid.

[Sobriquet]

I use revolution on my wild boy Zuess the Maine Coon, you can scruff them then squirt it near your hands at the back of the neck,

[rocanrole]

I am now using Milbemax worming tablet for my adults. They are tiny and VERY palateable, no more chomped fingers. For an adult you only need 1/2 a tablet, so it is only the size of a grain of rice, very easy to hide in some tasy treats. Good luck

[furball]

Can you mash up the tablets and mix it in with wet food?

[AustralianKiwi]

Hi there from NSW, Australia. Tough part about this is there is more than one cat..... I had the same issues when I tried to worm a group of shed cats I inherited with the property I brought. I found that one cat seemed to eat all doses..... and when I did the mix with wet food same thing happened... the wee cat that showed signs of worms is yet to have any worm treatment, however I don't want to try now as the others have had multiple doses.....
Slowly I am taming them and the moment she is in the shed alone I plan to shut the doors and put her wormer and food out and leave her inside till its gone....
Regards Kirsty

[burmeselover]

If you can touch the cats (e.g. pat them over their shoulder blades), then the easiest way to worm them is to apply a dose of Profender. Profender is a liquid spot-on intestinal wormer that is applied on the skin and it is absorbed into the body through the skin. It treats for all intestinal worms. Revolution does not treat for tapeworms.
If you can get a worming pill into their food, then I agree that Milbemax is the absolute best because it is a very small beef flavoured tablet that is easily hidden in some moist food. It will be a cheaper option compared to Profender too.

[Avalon]

I know you dont want you fingers bitten, however one trick the vet recently showed me when pilling the cats is to hold them from behind and gently open their mouth pop the pill in ( i know it sounds easier) then make sure you have a needless syringe with water and place it i the corner of mouth and squirt the water, they have to swallow the water and the pill goes with it. Works a treat here but with ferals hmmmmm my be more challenging. Although I pill my best friends cat as she cannot due to illness and her cat is feisty and just takes it as long as I am not holding it on my lap lol.

Cherie

[witchypoo]

Thank you to everyone who responded, and my apologies for taking so long to reply; my mother suddenly became ill and has been in and out of hospital. I will be contacting my vet today in the hope that Milbemax is available. Failing that, I will probably use the Revolution drops (or something similar). My only worry with the drops is that they do smell, and my pampered inside kitties won't talk to me for days after their treatment. With the 4 new rescues, I can handle one boy very well now, though pill popping would still be out of the question. The others can be gently petted at the right moments, but that's it. All of these cats have been injured by people, (one has suffered torture, according to the vet) but they are now enjoying a life without fear. I think they'd enjoy it even more without worms! So thanks again to all who gave me such thoughtful advice.

[catissi]

i use profender now on all my cats its heaps easier and quicker no more bitten fingers ask your local vet good luck ..kay

[Calyco]

I found my strays love cheese too
Crush the pills and squish them between two thin peices of cheese (potato peeler gets it nice and thin!)- they won't even notice its there. I had to give one of mine 3 pills a day for an eye infection, and this was the only way I found I could do it without scratches She was even begging for them by the end of it!