# Deworm or no



## catlady2010

Some of you guys probably already know that I'm on a tight budget. I have taken up the responsibility to spay/neuter as many cats I find in my neighborhood. So far I have already done 10 within a month (definitely not as much as I wanted to but I finally just received traps today so I can officially begin trapping rather than grabbing strays with my hands). I am not a huge fan of PETA but they said "Consider the costs of what will be needed for each new cat: spaying/neutering, ear-tipping, a full exam, ear-cleaning, a three-year rabies vaccination, deworming, and long-lasting flea control. Estimate your budget depending on the number of cats in the colony. Be sure that you can cover these expenses, in addition to unexpected costs for taking care of injuries or illnesses." Basically they're saying that spaying and neutering is NOT enough. And they're completely opposed to what I do from what I read. They're saying that "if the cats are in a safe place, i.e., they are isolated from roads, people, and other animals and located in an area where they do not have access to wildlife and where the weather is temperate" then only it is safe to TNR. I live in a neighborhood so I am definitely not isolated from people. Don't they understand that feral cats are everywhere? They are not opposed to euthanasia for feral cats! "PETA cannot in good conscience oppose euthanasia as a humane alternative to dealing with cat overpopulation." Every single day I drive to the other side of my neighborhood to feed the cats in the area I TNR'd. I am a firm believer of the vacuum effect (capturing and killing feral cats, which is Animal Control’s traditional approach to feral cats. Trap-and-remove attempts may temporarily reduce the number of feral cats in a given area, but two things happen: one, unsterilized survivors continue to breed prolifically and, two, other cats move into the now-available territory). and although I don't think euth. feral cats is cruel, I think it's unnecessary and ineffective because of the vacuum effect.

PETA also believes that it is completely unacceptable to feed feral/stray cats if you do not have the resources to spay/neuter and I think that it is cruel to not feed an animal that is starving right in front of your doorstep. I have been in a situation not to long ago where I did not have any money to TNR and there was no way I was going to stop feeding the cats. 

Sorry for the long rant. So anyway, do you think it's necessary for me to deworm (costs $15) and flea med. (costs $18) each cat? I mean I can spay/neuter a whole different feral cat with that money! Which is why I choose not even though I know it would be in the cat's best interests. What do you guys think? If I start deworming and giving flea medication then it will take me longer to TNR as many as I can every two weeks. I can do up to 6 or more cats in 2 weeks if I don't deworm and get flea meds.


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## Jeanie

In an ideal world, with unlimited funds, you would give every feral a complete treatment. Perhaps, if you can find an organization which will help (see the stickies at the top of the page), that will be possible. However, doing something, especially spaying and neutering, is much better than nothing!


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## Vivid Dawn

I'm starting to think PETA is more concerned with fame these days, than true animal welfare.
Anyhoo...

I agree... doing something is better than nothing at all. I am waiting for financial aid for spaying. Right now, I can't even afford food... I have $20 to last me until Aug. 4 and I have no idea how I'm gonna keep feeding after the current bag of food, which is already half gone, runs out. I still need to buy groceries to feed ME! (my indoor cats have enough, as I bought a 6 month supply a couple months ago...partly why I'm so broke now)
I know there's a link on this site somewhere about where to get help for vet bills... I need help with food bills, instead.

Anyway, about deworming. I've heard that only kittens really need it. Unless an adult eats something contaminated with worms, they usually don't get bothered with it. So my rescue group always deworms kittens before adopting them out. I don't think, in the 2 years I've been there, that an adult needed it.
In Utah, we don't really have fleas, so I would have no idea what advice to offer on that. The spray thing sounds good, if you're careful (I've heard some flea products can actually make cats sick and/or die from it).


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## Jeanie

I would not use Hartz Mountain or any flea treatment with a high percentage of pyrethrin. Revolution, Frontline, and Advantage are effective, more expensive, but safer.



> Low concentrations (2 percent) of permethrin, as in flea sprays labeled "for cats," are not considered toxic to cats. It is only the spot-on flea products that contain *high concentrations (45 to 65 percent) of permethrin and are approved for use on dogs only that are considered dangerous. *They are liquids, usually come in small, single-use ampules and are to be spotted onto an area of the skin once a month. Most mammals, including dogs, tolerate permethrin well because it is quickly detoxified by the liver. However, cats lack glucuronidase, an enzyme that the body uses to detoxify certain compounds. This deficiency is believed to be responsible for cats' sensitivity to concentrated permethrin, as well as to acetaminophen and other substances.


http://www.petfinder.com/pet-health/fle ... -cats.html


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## Mitts & Tess

I think you need to listen to everyone’s opinions and then make up your own mind on how your going to approach this. PETA also believes that pit bulls ought to be put down and the breed done away with which I don’t agree with. I find a lot more organizations to get my information and encouragement from other than PETA. 

First off you really need to hook up with a TNR group to help you defray the costs or a rescue, which would help you with getting supplies or reduced rates to do the s/n and vaccinations. If you don’t do that then you need to become a good negotiator with the vet you are using to see how much hed come down to help you with your mission of TNRing.

We get up to 30% off our vet visits and procedures with some vets in our area. We negotiate with every vet we use. We go all out when there is free s/n months at the low cost spay neuter clinics. People donate to us supplies because they believe in our mission. You need to involve others in what your doing.

We decided when we first started our TNR group every cat we trapped would get everything they needs in vet care. Does that strap us at times? Absolutely, yes. But we’ve also had people come forward and generously give to us to keep us afloat. Do we take money out of our own pockets? You better believe it. It may sound like an extra expense but fleas can create major health issues in cats. Worms in cats can affect them not getting nutrition from the food they consume which affects their quality of life. Vaccinations are important so they won’t spread diseases among the colonies. 

I would personally go at it slower and get all these things done for the cats. If you just s/n the cats would we be disappointed in you? No. Anything helps. But these issues are happening to you to maybe move you out of your comfort zone and get you to work with others because you suppose to make a huge difference in your neighborhood. 

Would people TNR with you even if they are physically trapping in your area? Of coarse. You just need to make them part of what your doing by informing them of what is going on, keep them posted! People want to be involved in positive fruitful efforts. They can get you the discounts, grants, etc needed. 

Don’t get discouraged. Your making a difference and feral cat issue is solved one cat at a time. Keep it up the good work.


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## catlady2010

They really feel that way about pit bulls? That's just sad. I personally love HSUS and ASPCA way better. PETA can be a joke sometimes, with all the naked women campaigns. 

I did get extremely reduced rates for spay and neuter surgeries. Rabies vaccinations, ear notching, the surgery itself and any other complications that may arise are all covered by the $30 fee for males and $40 for females. I got this discount because I'm a volunteer for the humane society. I am now getting help from a feral cat assistance program who has already given me two FREE traps that I wasn't able to afford before (and they also ask me if I need more but I really don't since my vet only allows us to bring in two ferals at a time each day). They also have been fostering my ferals during their 2-3 day recovery period after surgery!  In the email, she also said she can come down to physically help me but I really don't think I need help. Well I do, but I don't want to hassle her too much since she's already doing SO much. She lives so far away and we always meet up out in the country, she drives like an hour to pick up the cats and then meets me again to give me the cats after 2 days so that I can release them back to their home. So basically this vet has already agreed to take up to 30 bucks off of the surgery price. I mean it is originally 60 dollars per cat which is already a huge discount but then he took 30 bucks off more. I mean what more could I ask? 



> We decided when we first started our TNR group every cat we trapped would get everything they needs in vet care. Does that strap us at times? Absolutely, yes. But we’ve also had people come forward and generously give to us to keep us afloat. Do we take money out of our own pockets? You better believe it. It may sound like an extra expense but fleas can create major health issues in cats. Worms in cats can affect them not getting nutrition from the food they consume which affects their quality of life. Vaccinations are important so they won’t spread diseases among the colonies.


This makes so much sense. What kind of vaccinations do you do? I would definitely be able to do dewormer if you're saying it's that important. My only concern was if they would get worms again from being outdoors so isn't that pointless? And it costs $18 to put flea medication on each cat, don't you think that's too expensive? They charge $15 for dewormer though which I think is a good price but the flea medication should be way cheaper. Next time I take more ferals to the clinic, I am definitely going to ask the vet if he can give me a discount on the flea med. and dewormer, maybe if I'm lucky he'll say $10 each. I need to know what vaccinations are the most important, i'm thinking FeLV and FIV. Maybe he can give me a discount on those too. 

If he doesn't then there's another vet that does TNR surgeries in my city and the feral cat assistance program takes their TNR cats to that clinic everyday. I mean these women go all over my city TNRing cats everyday! Sometimes they do it everyday of the week. So hopefully that vet will be a little more understanding. 

I did think about deworming and defleaing several times, but I always thought they'd get the worms and fleas again from being outdoors so I figured I'd be wasting money. 

The FCAP lady asked me if I needed financial assistance and I said no. I am too shy to say I need money. I guess I'm not desperate at this point. It's just going to take me some more time to do this, it's like everyday I see a new cat in my neighborhood. But I am going to try my best to do all of them. I already did like 11 cats so I'm proud of that. In another 2 or 3 weeks, I should already have 10 more cats done since I have these traps now so it'll be a quicker process.


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## Jeanie

The more help you get, the more cats get help! The money is for the cats, so I would take it!


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