Has anyone else had any experience of this wormer?

I gave these to my 5 cats yesterday evening after purshasing them from my vet. I'd read / heard about the dangerous side effects of other wormers (ie Bob Martin) and thought i'd be safe with these.

Within 90 minutes of having the tablets, 2 of my 5 cats started displaying worrying side effects. One was slightly "off" quite lethargic but responsive and fairly alert. The other became almost comatose, muscle tremors and twitching, very unsteady on his feet ... almost as if he'd lost all the strength in his back end. When he could manage to get onto his feet and try to walk, he'd fall over or sway to one side. These two cats are unrelated, have no underlying health problems - the only difference between these 2 and my others are the fact that they are both neutered males over the age of 2.

It's the first time (and the last) i've used this wormer on my cats. I googled the side effects of this particular wormer and they listed lethgargy and tremors as "rare" side effects ... 2 out of 5 cats effected doesn't strike me as being particuarly rare.

I'd appreciate any thoughts or experiences on this!

Thanks

J

I've not had problems with it when used at the correct dose, even with kittens, but there have been a at least a couple of people on here [I think it was this forum] who had had the wrong dose given to them by their vet, and had seen side effects. The dose should be calculated by body weight I believe, and it is important that it's done properly. My vet wouldn't sell it to me without weighing my cats first . If I were you, I would get your vet to recheck that they gave you the correct dose and instructions. Hope your cats are ok now.

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I was given these for my kitten when she went for her first jab. As she was small for her age they advised that i only give her half a tablet each time she needed worming, and so far she has had no problems at all.
The vet wants me to have her weighed before she's next due for worming just to make sure they are giving her the right dose for her size.

Hi, my kitten sumi had her 3rd milbemax tablet last July, at the age of 10 weeks. At 1.1 kg, she weighed just over the recommended weight for the adult dose. I questioned this, as she had only had the kitten tablet before, twice. The vet assured me that it was fine, but I had reservations, as I couldn't see that a 1.1 kilo kitten could safely take the same dose as a 4 kilo cat. My fears were founded unfortunately. Sumi had a terrible reaction; first she threw everything out of her tiny body from both ends, then 5 days of severe diarrhea. She was in the emergency vet, on an IV line, then my own vet again being hydrated every day. I brought her home every evening and syringed fluids and home-made chicken broth into her mouth to keep her nourished. We nearly lost her. I will never give her Milbemax again, as I think she developed a sensitivity, or allergy to it. I have been treating her with a homeopathic parasite remedy over the past month, and she is very healthy again. She is also on a raw diet, which I hope will strengthen her immune system and her resistance to parasites. A fecal sample was taken when she was so ill, and a small amount of tapeworm eggs were found. This is hard to understand, as by that time the tablet had wreaked havoc in her system. The vet said milbemax will have these side effects when there are parasites present, but how could they have survived that?

I've used this for my dogs with no problems at all, they worked really quick which is great. I'll be using them on my puppies before they leave also.

When I had a cat many moons ago, every kind of treatment she had, be it worming or defleaing, would cause her problems. She'd make this awful howling noise and froth at the mouth whilst wandering around in what could be described as a drunken state. This usually lasted about 2-3 mins. I found giving her some scrambled egg at the same time as treatment cured this strange behaviour.

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ShazaLhasa
My fabulous furry friends

The vet prescribed Milbemax when my kittens were 9 weeks old. Johnny weighed in at a fairly average 800g for his age, but Bettie was a bit small at 650g. They didn't have worms at the time, as far as I know, so this was simply a preventative measure. The vet told me to use only half a tablet for each kitten and they were fine, no side effects. I deliberately gave them a little kitten milk afterwards which they love and that may have helped it go down. I think they are supposed to take another dose soon.

Since your affected cats are unrelated it's unlikely that they are both particularly sensitive or allergic to a common ingredient, so I reckon your vet prescribed too high a dose, like other people have suggested. Are they smaller than average for their age and breed?

I really hope your cats are doing better now.

Our rescue centre uses this for all of the cats so all three of mine have had it with no problems

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I wanted to bump this thread because my vet (PDSA) has done the exact same thing that eleniki describes below. My kittens went to the vets for their boosters & microchipping last week so I picked up some extra flea & worm treatments whilst I was there. At 12 weeks old, Bettie was only just 1kg (slightly bigger now) and Johnny was 1.4kg, but the vet prescribed the adult dose of Milbemax instead of the kitten dose which they've had before. They're due to be wormed tomorrow but because of what I've read here, I've decided to continue with the kitten dose until they're bigger. Guess I shouldn't mention that to the vet...

I have heard numerous times now of vets prescribing the wrong dose of Milbemax - it is very scary, I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. Vets should know what they're doing, but obviously these tablets are confusing and are not labelled clearly enough. Someone needs to take this up with the manufacturer before any more cats suffer.

I use Profender spot on wormer, it's so much easier than giving pills anyway.

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