Flea Tapeworm Pills: Over the counter vs. prescription – The Myth?
If you think your cat or dog has tapeworms, yeah the gross little white rice looking things that turn into sesame seeds when dry (proglottids). Yuck!
Not really a question, but for some it might be. Recently you could only get tapeworm pills for cats and dogs through your vet. Many say the over the counter stuff doesn’t work. Well that’s not true anymore, maybe in the past, but not anymore! Now you can get the pills at your local pet store, usually 2 doses worth for about , and cheaper online. It must contain "PRAZIQUANTEL" though. That is the main ingredient that does the trick and is now available over the counter. Tradewinds / AgriLabs is the manufacturer and the pills currently are in blue packaging called "Tape Worm Tabs"
Doses are administered by weight of your pet. Bottle came with 3 tabs, we used 1 1/2. Our cat was showing no signs of worms the very next day! Administering is tricky. We got him to just swallow small bits, they don’t like it mixed with food. Good luck! 
Didn’t have enough characters to type. When you get the pills from your vet you get Droncit. Which is the same 23mg of Praziquantel you get in Tape Worm Tabs. It’s mainly convenient for those who might not have the time or patience to deal with their vet. And the vet often charges 0+ for the same pills you can now get for or less.
We did extensive research on this pills before administering and we are happy to say they are the exact same thing and work great! It was only recently that the FDA lifted the prescription only requirements on Praziquantel. That’s why you can now get this stuff over the counter. All the others without that ingredient usually don’t work.
Also, if you can’t get your pet to eat it mixed with food. It must taste terrible! We don’t recommend mixing the pills with water and using a syringe. You could get it into their lungs if not careful. For our kitty, we just made 3 small bits and made him swallow them. If you’re good there’s no risk of choking.
And as mentioned below. You do need to treat for fleas to reduce chances of your pet recontracting the worms. You also should be sure that they are tapeworms and not some other crazy vermin.
If in doubt… go to your vet.
Yes, Tradewinds is now an OTC product and is the same as Droncit that you could only get from the vet.
People need to know that the main way they get tapes, is from fleas, so usually treating for fleas in addition to the tapes is necessary.
Also, the biggest cause of failure of the OTC meds is that the owners use the wrong dosage due to not knowing the correct weight.
**When you get Droncit from the vet, it is NOT $100. I can get two tablets of Droncit for $21. The thing is that you need to have an established vet. If the vet has not seen your pet within the year, they can refuse to sell it to you without first seeing the pet.
Most other OTC wormers….with the exception of pyrantel pamoate based roundwormers ARE crap and are unsafe.
My dog was poisoned by over the counter de-wormer.
I learned to always use prescription meds for pets.
I know this and have told people in answers at times. I use the tradewinds tabs on my cats and they work, I buy them online..here is the thing though. Most people that come on here asking about medicating their cats with worm medicine are pretty ignorant. Not all but the ones that have a tom cat that they let out and never take to a vet and the poor thing is covered in fleas and scabs..and they have no idea why he is in such bad shape and don’t want to take him to the vet..you know..those kinds..I don’t tell them the info for the meds or where to get them out of fear that they will not get rid of the fleas, will not weigh their cat, will not know if it is actually a tapeworm..and will end up overdosing their pet. I tell them to take the poor thing to a vet.