Question: Curing cat->human worm infestation

Gerard Anthony Gold:

Hello,
I have been feeding & petting this feral cat. It has these little (less than an inch long) white, thin worm-looking things in its anus. I kind of guessed they could be worms, but since I did not see any movement, I lost that rain of thought. Recently, when I sit on the couch, the cat has been getting on to my lap & grooming & sleeping.
Yesterday, I noticed a large sore on my lower thigh. Today, one of these things dropped on to my sofa and started crawling on it with this expansion-contraction motion, so I'm pretty sure it's a worm or a maggot. I suspect one of these things has got into me using the skin-penetration route.
What can I get off the shelf (I've got a 2-office visit limitation on my health plan, so I'd rather avoid using the second so early in the year) to kill this worm off before it does any critical organ damage?

Thanks,
Gerard

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Matthew:

First what you have and what your cat has are two different things. If your cat has that he needs a pill from a VET
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tapewormhttp://www.hsus.org/pets/pet care/cat care/keys to a healthy cat/cats common health problems.html you have something else and probably required a doctor visit to determinethe cause. You could have something as simple as a chigger"Gerard Anthony Gold" wrote in messagenews:C3TVh.167139$(Email Removed)...> Hello,>> I have been feeding & petting this feral cat. It has these little (lessthan an inch long) white, thin worm-looking things in its anus.

I kind ofguessed they could be worms, but since I did not see any movement, I lostthat rain of thought. Recently, when I sit on the couch, the cat has beengetting on to my lap & grooming & sleeping.>> Yesterday, I noticed a large sore on my lower thigh. Today, one of thesethings dropped on to my sofa and started crawling on it with thisexpansion-contraction motion, so I'm pretty sure it's a worm or a maggot. Isuspect one of these things has got into me using the skin-penetrationroute.>> What can I get off the shelf (I've got a 2-office visit limitation on myhealth plan, so I'd rather avoid using the second so early in the year) tokill this worm off before it does any critical organ damage?>> Thanks,>> Gerard>

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Gerard Anthony Gold:

It's a feral cat & lives outside, so I'm really not equipped with gear or experience to capture it & take it to the vet - besides which, I don't really want to pay for a vet.
I think I'm just going to buy roundworm & whatever other cat medication is available off the shelf in the pet section of a department/grocery store & mix that with it's food every time. If my stuff does not fix at least the visible problems, I guess I'm going to have to disconnect my 1-year friendship with this cat.
Matthew, thanks for the suggestions.
Gerard

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Matthew:

Please don't get a over counter med for the cat you can purchase for almost he same amount from a vet. Many over the counter med have caused deaths in the past.

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Dave F:

You said in your first post the cat was on your lap on your couch, and now you say you can't catch him??
Please do the right thing and take the poor cat to the vet so the worms living in it's body are killed off. The cost will be minimal. have ti spayed/neutered too or there will absolutely be more feral cats soon.

Dave

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Gerard Anthony Gold:

Being on my lap is it's choice. I do not handle the cat or carry it - it jumps or walks on to my lap. Also, it is not used to being handled, and it has not been de-clawed. So it could be a less pleasant experience than taking a domesticated cat to the vet.
Anyway, if I do decide to restrain it & take it to the vet - since I do not have a cat carrier, presumably I could try to entice it into a bag of some sort, tie the opening once I do so,and use this to transport it to & from the vet?
Alternatively, I could just decide to call the vet & ask him/her to sell me various worm meds without looking at the cat.
What I am probably going to do, anyway, unless I find evidence of cat fatalities - is buy off the shelf worm meds & put them in the cat's food.

Thanks,
Gerard

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Jeffrey Kaplan:

It is alleged that Gerard Anthony Gold claimed:
[nq:1]Anyway, if I do decide to restrain it & take it to the vet - since I do not have ... of some sort, tie the opening once I do so,and use this to transport it to & from the vet?[/nq]
You can get a cardboard cat carrier from Petco for about $5.

And get your leg looked at by a doctor.

Jeffrey Kaplan www.gordol.org The from userid is killfiled Send personal mail to gordol

Peter's Top 100 Things I'd Do If I Ever Became An Evil Overlord, #67. No matter how many shorts we have in the system, my guards will be instructed to treat every surveillance camera malfunction as a full- scale emergency.

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Veloise:

[nq:1]You can get a cardboard cat carrier from Petco for about $5..[/nq]
Or use a cardboard box with some holes cut in it. Cats have an innate fear of being in closed-up bags, but boxes and similar containers (which they can see out of) are less scary.
A beer crate or vegetable container might be perfect. And if he's jumping onto your lap, he's not as feral as you might think!

HTH
Karen D.

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Question: Curing cat->human worm infestation

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