Over-The-Counter Dewormers?

[Archimedes]

Well, Sophie's showing her first signs of worms, yay~ It was a big problem when we had kittens in the house, but a dose of dewormers usually got it out of their systems. Anyone know if there's anything over-the-counter readily available for kitties? Recommendations, moreso, as I know it's available, just not sure what to get.

So far, only symptom is a larvae segment visible around her excretion area, no vomiting, appetite loss, etc.

[regiusloki]

Sounds like tapeworms... Tapeworms shed "proglottids" which are egg packets from the worm. You'll see them often stuck to the behind or on the poop, and they look exactly like flat grains of rice. But without actually seeing them (and if you've never seen them before) it can be difficult to tell. Dewormers are chosen based on the target parasite, so again it's hard to pick a dewormer if you're not entirely sure which parasite you need to kill. Now, there are broad spectrum deworming medications available on the internet, and maybe someone on here has some experience with them and can better help you in that direction. Ultimately, the best course of action is having a fecal sample check to verify (and bring the thing that's stuck to the kitty's butt with to show them) and letting a vet prescribe the correct deworming medication (also best because you can base the dose more accurately with the weight of the cat). Also as a side note: tapeworms and fleas generally go hand in hand (because fleas can be intermediate hosts for the tapeworm). There are several monthly preventatives that can safely be given to cats that prevent heartworm, several intestinal worms, fleas, ticks and sometimes ear mites (again, based on the cocktail of anti-parasitics). As far as over the counter preventatives, I don't recommend any; I've seen a lot of bad reactions due to permethrins in the mix which are toxic to kitties. Probably a lot more info than you were looking for, but as a vet tech that teaches, I love parasitology!