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How can you prevent your dog or cat from getting roundworms in the first place?
Unfortunately, there are no treatments like a vaccine to prevent roundworm infection in your dog or cat, but if your dog or cat has these roundworms, there are great drugs available to kill the adult roundworms (and other nasty parasites). Your veterinarian would know best what treatment’s right for your dog or cat depending on several different things. Do I have to take my pet to a veterinarian to get treated for roundworms? Only if you want to make sure your pet will be healthy during the treatment. “Deworming” medications work very well and frequently kill other kinds of parasites, like heartworms. That’s a good thing. The problem is, if your pet is infected with heartworms and you give them deworming medication, you can end up accidentally killing your pet. I don’t think you want to take that chance. My recommendation is to take your pet to a veterinarian and get your pet checked out before treatment. Talk to your veterinarian about what’s best for your situation and your pet. How does your veterinarian know if your dog or cat is infected by roundworms? Simply put, they need to check the poop. Take a fresh fecal (poop) sample from your dog (when you walk your dog) or cat (from the litter pan) using a pooper scooper, place it in a small plastic bag pre-labeled with the animal’s name, your name, and the date it was collected, and wash your hands. Then take the sample to your veterinarian so they can look for the roundworm eggs under the microscope (they’ll also check for other intestinal parasites). Sometimes they’ll send the sample to a special laboratory that can look for more intestinal parasites. Then your veterinarian can tell you what medicine your dog or cat would need if they have a problem. How do people prevent from getting roundworms? Because you can’t see where roundworm eggs are- and they can be found just about any place an animal can poop- the Companion Animal Parasite Council has some easy steps you can take to protect yourself. Luckily, most are cheap and easy, and can also protect you from getting other diseases caused by parasites, bacteria, or viruses.- Take your pet to the veterinarian regularly- depending on the age of your pet this can mean at least once a year or more if you have a puppy or kitten- and make sure they get all the recommended vaccines and deworming medicines.
- Wash your hands after petting an animal, being outdoors gardening, or enjoying the great outdoors. Regular soap works just fine.
- Don’t allow your child to eat dirt.
- Cover sandboxes when your child is not playing in them. Nothing looks so inviting to a cat for a toilet!
- Pick up your pet’s poop daily and throw it out in the garbage (not down the toilet!), and wash hands afterwards. Be especially careful if your immune system is not healthy.
- If you eat meat, cook it well, especially if your immune system is not healthy.
- Wash or thoroughly rinse fruits and vegetables before eating them.
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Dr. Anna M. van Heeckeren has degrees in biology, genetics, and veterinary medicine. She is founder and Executive Director of The van Bakeren Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public non-profit with a mission to prevent the spread of diseases between animals and people through research, education and outreach, and providing veterinary medical care to animals in underserved communities using a One Health approach. She is also Chair of the American Veterinary Medical Foundation, which is committed to embracing and advancing the well-being and medical care of animals. She lives her husband Ned and two children Marta and Elise, along with her two cats, Bing (pictured with Anna) and Eva (camera shy), her rabbit Wallace, and several fish.
