# Milbemax side affects



## ninemile (Mar 16, 2012)

Hi I have a 14 year old cat that has had a very bad reaction to Milbemax wormer he had it adminstered on Tuesday morning and within hours developed neurological symptoms, falling over. he has gone deaf ( he was not before) and will not drink or eat. Now its Friday and he still has no appetite and will not touch any food though he has been going in garden and may be drinking from bird bath. have been back to vet and she cant offer any suggestions, they have spoken to Novatis who say have not had any problems but reading this forum and other internet news these side effects are not uncommon. he is now steady on his feet but still will not eat, vet has checked throat and swollowing seems to be fine. I have managed to put a few flakes of white fish in his mouth and he will swallow. he seems interested in food but picks it up and drops it. (normally he would eat three sachets of food a day plus biscuits).
any suggestions? should I be speaking to a specialist if so who? I am worried he is not eating or drinking milk which he loves. any similar experices?


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## chapeau (Sep 19, 2012)

how was the recover from Milbemax for you? i have a 7 year old cat going through the same symptoms from his Milbemax dose... thanks


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## koekemakranka (Aug 2, 2010)

So sorry to hear this. This is very worrying as Milbemax is my favoured dewormer as the tablets are small and easy to crush into food (especially when treating ferals). I have also used the kitten version for feral kittens.


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## havoc (Dec 8, 2008)

When was he last wormed previously to this dose of Milbemax? Was this a regular preventative dose or is there any chance he did have worms? I believe dying worms give off a chemical or toxin and it could be this that has caused your cat's symptoms if he had a substantial worm burden. It's far less likely if he's been wormed regularly.


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## Suzie Newman (Mar 25, 2020)

ninemile said:


> Hi I have a 14 year old cat that has had a very bad reaction to Milbemax wormer he had it adminstered on Tuesday morning and within hours developed neurological symptoms, falling over. he has gone deaf ( he was not before) and will not drink or eat. Now its Friday and he still has no appetite and will not touch any food though he has been going in garden and may be drinking from bird bath. have been back to vet and she cant offer any suggestions, they have spoken to Novatis who say have not had any problems but reading this forum and other internet news these side effects are not uncommon. he is now steady on his feet but still will not eat, vet has checked throat and swollowing seems to be fine. I have managed to put a few flakes of white fish in his mouth and he will swallow. he seems interested in food but picks it up and drops it. (normally he would eat three sachets of food a day plus biscuits).
> any suggestions? should I be speaking to a specialist if so who? I am worried he is not eating or drinking milk which he loves. any similar experices?


Yes I took my 3 4 week old kittens to have their first worming on the advice of my vet to have it done at 4-6-8-12 weeks,,
All three of my baby's had a reaction yes a neurological reaction lost control of their back legs wobbling and falling down,, one kitten was seriously in trouble,, the other to were mild but wobbly and very glazed eyed and and sleepy,,, I went online got the side effects and this is one of the serious side effects,, I rushed the worst of the three back you the vets they kept him for 2 hours for obs,,, it took 42 hours for him to recover and the same for the other two,, then I read Milbemax should not be given to pups under 2 weeks and kittens under 6 weeks,, this stuff is poison,,,, the vet has tried to get in touch with the company and has marked the kittens files with not to be Milbemax or any of the companies medication,,, 
I could have lost my babies ,,, I sure hope they have recovered without and other hidden injuries like you discribed,,,

dod you mind if I post your comment on my animal care group on face book to warn other pet owners


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## Suzie Newman (Mar 25, 2020)

koekemakranka said:


> So sorry to hear this. This is very worrying as Milbemax is my favoured dewormer as the tablets are small and easy to crush into food (especially when treating ferals). I have also used the kitten version for feral kittens.


On the 24 March 2020 ,, I took my 3 , 4 week old kittens to have their first worming on the advice of my vet to have it done at 4-6-8-12 weeks,,
All three of my baby's had a reaction yes a neurological reaction lost control of their back legs wobbling and falling down,, one kitten was seriously in trouble,, the other to were mild but wobbly and very glazed eyed and and sleepy,,, I went online got the side effects and this is one of the serious side effects,, I rushed the worst of the three back you the vets they kept him for 2 hours for obs,,, it took 42 hours for him to recover and the same for the other two,, then I read Milbemax should not be given to pups under 2 weeks and kittens under 6 weeks,, this stuff is poison,,,, the vet has tried to get in touch with the company and has marked the kittens files with not to be Milbemax or any of the companies medication,,, 
I could have lost my babies ,,, I sure hope they have recovered without and other hidden injuries like you discribed,,,


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## Suzie Newman (Mar 25, 2020)

chapeau said:


> how was the recover from Milbemax for you? i have a 7 year old cat going through the same symptoms from his Milbemax dose... thanks


Yes I took my 3 4 week old kittens to have their first worming on the advice of my vet to have it done at 4-6-8-12 weeks,,
All three of my baby's had a reaction yes a neurological reaction lost control of their back legs wobbling and falling down,, one kitten was seriously in trouble,, the other to were mild but wobbly and very glazed eyed and and sleepy,,, I went online got the side effects and this is one of the serious side effects,, I rushed the worst of the three back you the vets they kept him for 2 hours for obs,,, it took 42 hours for him to recover and the same for the other two,, then I read Milbemax should not be given to pups under 2 weeks and kittens under 6 weeks,, this stuff is poison,,,, the vet has tried to get in touch with the company and has marked the kittens files with not to be Milbemax or any of the companies medication,,, 
I could have lost my babies ,,, I sure hope they have recovered without and other hidden injuries like you discribed,,,


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

Kittens should be at least 6 weeks old and 500g to be given milbemax, at that size the dose is 1/2 a kitten milbemax


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

@Suzie Newman - I am sorry to hear what happened to your little kitties.

As OS said, Milbemax is not intended by the manufacturers to be given to kittens under the age of 6 weeks. So it was not suitable for your 4 week old kittens. Did you give them a whole tablet each? If so, it is not really surprising they had a bad reaction.

Milbemax is a good choice of cat wormer if the correct dose is given at the right age and for the right weight of the cat/kitten

I hope your kittens made a complete recovery.


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## Tigermoon (Apr 2, 2013)

Ataxia is a known side affect in susceptible animals when using Milbemax, most commonly because the animal recieved too large a dose. In the case of 4 week old kittens its inevitable seeing as they should never have been given milbemax in the first place.


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## Kidlington (Aug 26, 2013)

Hope your 14 year old is recovering? Difficult enough times as it is to have this happen. Sympathies.


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