Dogs
All puppies are infected with roundworms either via their mother’s placenta or via their mother’s milk. It is therefore very important that your puppy is wormed with a suitable product from a young age. Hopefully this will have been started by the breeder. We recommend that once you get your puppy, you should worm them every 2 weeks until they are 12 weeks old. Worming should then continue monthly until they are 6 months old. It is very important that we have an accurate weight for your puppy in order to give them the correct dose of wormer, we can then be confident they are adequately protected.
In adult dogs it is unusual to see problems with worms, however due to human health implications it is still important to worm them on a regular basis -both round worm and tapeworm treatment is necessary. We would recommend all dogs over 6 months of age are wormed every 3 or 4 months preferably with a product that we advise. The frequency of treatment may need to be increased depending on the dog’s lifestyle.
Cats
Kittens are infected with roundworm from a very young age, this occurs via their mother’s milk and so it is assumed that all kittens are infected. It is therefore very important to worm your kitten with a product active against roundworm. The vet can advise you of this while your kitten is in for its first vaccinations and check-up.
Tapeworm is also a very common infection of cats. They can become infected through hunting birds and rodents, but it must also be remembered that they can be infected by fleas. It should therefore be assumed that all cats with fleas may also have a tapeworm infection. There are multiple products that can be used to treat tapeworm, in both tablet and spot-on form. Please ask one of the vets which product would be best for your cat. The frequency of treatment will depend on the cat’s lifestyle. Again please ask the vets for their advice.