tapeworm treatment

Question
I have a cat that has tapeworms. Should I treat my ferrets, even though I do not see them in the litterbox? What do I use and what is the dosage?

Answer
Hi Suzanne,

I'm so sorry to hear your kitty has tapeworms! That must be awful! I don't *think* there is much of a risk for your ferrets to get them. I know that there is no over the counter medicine acceptable to give a ferret, so you are going to want to at least call your vet and find out a few things:

1) How likely is it that your ferrets will catch these worms from your cat?
2) Are there preventions you can take at home (besides keeping them apart and making sure your ferrets don't ingest any cat poop)
3) What are the treatments if your ferrets do get the worms?

That is my advice in dealing with this problem. Do you have an exotics vet? If you don't, here are some links to help you track one down in your area. Just give them a call and ask them those questions.

VETS USA:
* http://www.quincyweb.net/quincy/vet.html
* http://ferrethealth.org/vets/
* http://www.ferret-universe.com/vets/vetlist.asp
* http://www.ferretsanctuary.com/vets.shtml
* http://www.ferretcentral.org/for-others/db-vets.html
* http://ferrethealth.org/vets/


I hope this helps and if you need anything else, please don't hesitate to ask.

Sincerely,
Emilee Andrews