The Not-So-Pretty Truth About Milbemax: What You Need to Know About Side Effects in Cats

I bought Milbemax for my cats after they'd been living their best lives outdoors for three months, since I'd brought them home and wasn't letting them out anymore. My eight-month-old kitten had come down with a nasty case of tapeworms, which, of course, needed treating. So, did the job, and was I able to get rid of the parasites? Read on to find out.

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Elanco's Milbemax Tablets for Adult Cats

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Description

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Milbemax, tablets for cats, is a product from Elanco that helps get rid of the most common types of worms – roundworms and tapeworms – and also prevents infection with the heartworms, or dirofilariasis.

Milbemax has small, easy-to-give tablets with a beef flavor and a coating to mask the bitter taste. It's safe to use on kittens from six weeks old, pregnant cats, and nursing cats. Made in France.

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Price: around 900 rubles for 2 tabletsWhere I bought it: BagiraWhere to buy: marketplacesQuantity: 2 tablets per packAdditives: beef, flavoringManufacturer: ElancoAge: from 6 weeksxa0

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Packaging and appearancexa0

The packaging is pretty small, about the size of a palm or so. It's not a huge box, but it gets the job done. I've got some other Milbemax tablets for kittens that are in a lower dosage, but my pets have outgrown those.

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One thing that caught my eye is that the packaging on the front has all the information you need about the parasites it targets, the dosage, and how many tablets are in each pack.

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The back of the packaging has all the same information, but in more detail. It lists the full composition, dosage, and when to use it. You can also find storage instructions, the manufacturer's contact info, and safety precautions.

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The expiration dates are also printed on the bottom of the box. I noticed that the tablets I got are only good for 2 years, and the packaging I got has some of the worst expiration dates I've seen.

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Of course, there's also an instruction manual inside with all the extra information you need. It covers the recommended usage, side effects, safety precautions, what to do in case of an overdose, and more.

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I was a bit confused about the dosage table, which lists the weight and age of the animal for each tablet. My cats weigh around 3-4 kg, but they're pretty big because their mom's a purebred, even though they're mostly mixed-breed themselves.

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The packaging comes with just one blister pack made of foil material, and it's got the expiration dates and product name duplicated on it.

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There are only 2 tablets in the pack, and the rest of the cells are empty - I guess that's just a design choice. I also noticed that there are little cat illustrations on the packaging.

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Removing the tablets from the cells was a breeze, and I didn't encounter any issues. However, if you press too hard, you can push the tablet back into the cell, but I'm not sure how long it'll retain its properties in that state.

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The tablets are tiny, red, and have a risk in the middle. They're so easy to break in half if you want to divide them.

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Key Features:xa0

Number one in Russia among anthelmintic and anthelmintic combined preparations for animals in terms of sales on the retail market. According to RNC Pharma AB's "Audit of Retail Sales of Veterinary LP in Russia" for 2021,a wide range of action – 6 types of parasites*, heartworm prevention, a small tablet with a beef flavor, easy dosing, for kittens from 6 weeks and 2 kg weight, pregnant and lactating cats, the package includes stickers for the animal's passport, 3-year shelf life, a product of Elanco, manufactured in France. xa0

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Indications:xa0

Milbemax is a broad-spectrum anthelmintic that acts on:

different types of roundworms (toxocara, ankylostoma, dirofilaria),different types of tapeworms (dipylidium, echinococcus, tenia).Milbemax acts on the larvae of dangerous heartworms – dirofilaria, adult specimens of which parasitize in the cardiovascular system.

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Pharmacological Action:xa0

Let's talk about the active ingredients in this product. Milbemycin oxime is a macrocyclic lactone that's super effective against roundworms and their larvae in a cat's digestive tract, as well as against the larvae of the heartworm Dirofilaria.

The mechanism of action of milbemycin oxime involves increasing the permeability of cell membranes to chloride ions, which leads to hyperpolarization of nerve and muscle cell membranes, paralysis, and ultimately, the death of the parasite.

Praziquantel, on the other hand, is a pyrazinoisoquinoline derivative that's got a strong action against roundworms and tapeworms. By increasing the permeability of the parasite's cell membranes to calcium ions, it causes depolarization, muscle contraction, and disruption of the parasite's protective coating, leading to its death and eventual elimination from the animal's body.

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Active Ingredientsxa0

milbemycin oxime and praziquantel.Milbemycin oxime targets the larvae and adult roundworms that infest a cat's intestines, as well as the larvae of heartworms – Dirofilaria. It paralyzes the worms, which are then eliminated from the animal's body, helping to prevent the toxic effects of the parasites' waste products.Praziquantel, on the other hand, targets tapeworms in the intestines, leading to their death.xa0

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Overall Impressionxa0

My cats spent the whole summer living the high life on our outdoor enclosure. When autumn rolled around, we brought them back inside for good, but before that, we did our usual pre-move parasite treatment. We broke it down into three stages. The first was a special shampoo to get rid of the usual suspects like fleas, ticks, and the like.

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I'm not sure if you can skip this step, but we don't take any chances. Since they'd been spending all summer outdoors, they only came inside to eat, and they still needed a good scrub to get rid of dirt, dust, and whatever other stuff they might have picked up. I don't remember the name of the shampoo, but they're all pretty much the same.

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For us, this is always an Adventage - it's a tried-and-true method for getting rid of fleas, and we've had our fair share of those on the cats. They were crawling all over them because they spent so much time outdoors. And the third step - treating the cats for internal parasites like worms - is just as important. Even if they don't show any signs of infection, it's still essential to do it.

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I'm not doing it just for preventative measures, I want to make sure they're not infected. Luckily, our cats didn't have any worms, but they did have tapeworms. That's a nasty thing that attaches to the walls of your stomach and releases little rice-like grains through your anus. It's not a big deal for humans, but it's not exactly pleasant either.

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Milbemax is the one product that really does the trick, and it's mainly outdoor cats that can get infected with this parasite, which is essentially a gastrointestinal infection from dirty water, food, and so on. We had the parasite in our cat, but it's obvious that we treated both of them. And while our cat was in quarantine for about a month, the other cat lived in a separate room to avoid getting infected from her.

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How to give a Milbemax tablet? We didn't try too many times. First, we let the cat (and the cat, of course) just sniff the tablet, see if they'd eat it or not. The taste is supposed to be like beef, which might make it appealing to the cat. Our cat, Semen, sniffed the tablet for a couple of minutes, but he didn't show much interest in eating it.

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I didn't wait around, I just opened the cat's mouth and placed the tablet on the back of his tongue. 2 seconds and the tablet was swallowed. No complaints from the cat afterwards. I kept an eye on him for a bit longer, but he didn't spit out the tablet or choke on it.

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I also gave the medication to my cat, and the process was pretty straightforward. No sniffing around, just opening their mouth, dropping in the pill, and letting them swallow. My cat reacted pretty neutrally, just ate it and that was it. My kittens are about 8 months old, but they still act like little furballs. They're already getting quite big for their age, and their mom is a purebred, so I guess that's where they get their size from.

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I spent a while trying to figure out the right dosage for them. Online reviews didn't really help, with some people giving them a whole pill and others splitting it in half. The instructions were a bit vague, so I had to read them multiple times to understand what to do.

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So, I decided to give them a whole pill each. It's convenient that the box comes with two pills, which is perfect for a household with multiple pets.

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There were no side effects to speak of. I read that overmedication can cause weakness and a decrease in appetite, but my furballs didn't experience anything like that. Their appetite was normal, and they drank the same amount of water as usual. No signs of discomfort or illness.

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And the most important thing - the effect. I'll remind you that my cat had a worm infestation, with tiny grains appearing under her tail. It was clear that the medication worked immediately. The 'discharge' under her tail disappeared within two days. She was sleeping on her special bed in a separate room, where the grains would accumulate.

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I cleaned up after her every day to avoid a mess, and by the second day, all the grain was gone, and the diarrhea had stopped. No more symptoms of tapeworms. On the third day, I was confident enough to let my cat out of quarantine and back home. We've also been using Milbemax on my cat and my grandma's cat for a couple of years now. They're 2 and 3 years old, and they take the pills every three months as a preventative measure. I haven't noticed any issues or side effects.

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Here are the pros:

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Two tablets in each pack;My cat likes the smell;It's easy to give them the pills;No side effects in cats of different ages;No need for a special diet;Can be taken every three months for prevention;Effective against four types of parasites;Helped get rid of tapeworms;xa0

And here are the cons:

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Nothing to complain about;xa0

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