# Peperoni and tape worms **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 6, 2014, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peperoni-and-tape-worms/703855 "2014-11-06T05:47:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peperoni-and-tape-worms/703855/1 "2014-11-06T05:47:06Z")
I do home care. About a week ago I was telling a client and her husband about how I got some worm pills for my cats, and I could only get one to eat it. They told me to give the rest of the cats peperoni. Not to hide the pills, but they said that the peperoni itself would get rid of the worms. I tried Googling this and found nothing. So is there any truth to it, or is it 100% complete bunk? I’m guessing bunk, but what the hell, it doesn’t hurt to ask. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peperoni-and-tape-worms/703855/2 "2014-11-06T06:14:39Z")
Pepperoni might make your cats sick to their stomachs but it won’t do anything for worms. Ask a vet to show you how to pill your cats. Essentially, you raise their chin, squeeze their mouth open, shove the pill down their throat, and hold their mouth closed and their head up, stroking the throat until they swallow. I can do the whole maneuver in about two seconds. However, you won’t be able to do it that way very long, because soon they will run like hell when they see that pill bottle. Dogs, you just put the pill in a little piece of cheese. They line up for their pills. Won’t work on cats. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peperoni-and-tape-worms/703855/3 "2014-11-06T06:34:36Z")
Yeah, I have a pill plunger that my wife and I tried, but one of our cats fought and fought, and we just couldn’t handle it. Anyway, thanks for answering my silly question. I figured it was bad advice, but I had to ask because sometimes things you think are silly turn out to be true, or have some truth in them. ---
**Author:** ![Fishtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ed655f/32.png) [@Fishtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fishtar)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peperoni-and-tape-worms/703855/4 "2014-11-06T08:59:10Z")
I have heard the same thing about Cheetos… Might be some truth to it as intestinal worms do not like salt. Neither do cats though. If the beast proves impossible to pill… You can go old school and try and feed kitty turpentine. Or ask the vet about a Droncit injection. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peperoni-and-tape-worms/703855/5 "2014-11-06T09:11:40Z")
Turpentine injection, got it. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peperoni-and-tape-worms/703855/6 "2014-11-06T12:11:34Z")
> [@Nobody](#): > > Turpentine injection, got it. :eek: I hope that was a joke. Do not inject your cat with turpentine. That’s a sentence I never expected to type. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peperoni-and-tape-worms/703855/7 "2014-11-06T13:10:51Z")
Historically, intestinal parasites were addressed by medications that resulted in violent purging. If pepperoni led to vomiting and diarrhea, parasites might be expelled. Give the pill. ETA: we just treated our barn cats with a topical called Profender. Easy peasy. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peperoni-and-tape-worms/703855/8 "2014-11-06T15:13:09Z")
The pepperoni won’t work if they’re Italian tapeworms. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peperoni-and-tape-worms/703855/9 "2014-11-06T15:42:25Z")
I had always heard tobacco for tapeworms. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peperoni-and-tape-worms/703855/10 "2014-11-06T15:46:25Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > I had always heard tobacco for tapeworms. But that can cause lung cancer, heart disease, and emphysema. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peperoni-and-tape-worms/703855/11 "2014-11-06T15:53:03Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Historically, intestinal parasites were addressed by medications that resulted in violent purging. . . . > [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > I had always heard tobacco for tapeworms. Having stolen a “chaw” as a child, and having proceeded to swallow it to avoid being caught, I can testify that if the first worked, then the second will work. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![hotflungwok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/edb3f5/32.png) [@hotflungwok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hotflungwok)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peperoni-and-tape-worms/703855/12 "2014-11-06T17:42:47Z")
One of my cats got a urinary problem and I had to give him 1 syringe of painkiller and 3 pills twice a day, and he was having none of it. He wouldn’t eat food with the pills in it, so I came up with something else. I crushed all the pills with a crusher I got at the drug store. Then I took a can of tuna and drained off as much liquid as I could. I mixed the powdered pills and the tuna juice and put it into a syringe and fed it to him one drop at a time. It took a while, but it worked. ---
**Author:** ![Fishtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ed655f/32.png) [@Fishtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fishtar)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peperoni-and-tape-worms/703855/13 "2014-11-06T17:56:43Z")
^ That will not work with Ivermectin. Stuff is horrid. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peperoni-and-tape-worms/703855/14 "2014-11-06T18:22:32Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > ETA: we just treated our barn cats with a topical called Profender. Easy peasy. [Here it is, a Bayer product.](http://www.animalhealth.bayer.com/5621.0.html) ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peperoni-and-tape-worms/703855/15 "2014-11-06T18:58:59Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > I had always heard tobacco for tapeworms. Yeah, but that’s like dogs and cheese, once the cats start smoking its a bitch to get them to quit. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peperoni-and-tape-worms/703855/16 "2014-11-06T19:42:26Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > :eek: I hope that was a joke. Do not inject your cat with turpentine. > > That’s a sentence I never expected to type. Well it’s a little late now! Why didn’t you tell me this yesterday? :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peperoni-and-tape-worms/703855/17 "2014-11-06T19:48:17Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > > [@kayaker](#): > > > > Historically, intestinal parasites were addressed by medications that resulted in violent purging. If pepperoni led to vomiting and diarrhea, parasites might be expelled. Give the pill. > > > > ETA: we just treated our barn cats with a topical called Profender. Easy peasy. > > [Here it is, a Bayer product.](http://www.animalhealth.bayer.com/5621.0.html) So Droncit or Profender are possible alternatives. Thank you. I’ll ask my vet. ---
**Author:** ![Drummond\_Bays](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8edcca/32.png) [@Drummond\_Bays](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drummond_Bays)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peperoni-and-tape-worms/703855/18 "2014-11-06T22:24:01Z")
How big are the pills? We have a cat that will not swallow pills. Period. You can rub her throat like you’re trying to summon a genie, all she will do is produce copious amounts of frothy saliva. Our solution was to get the (whiskas?) temptations treats, I very carefully break them in half and stick them into the soft centre. She takes the pills just fine when she thinks it’s a treat! For larger pills, I just cut them into pieces with a sharp razor/utility knife blade. Works like a charm for us… Hope it helps! ---
**Author:** ![Drummond\_Bays](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8edcca/32.png) [@Drummond\_Bays](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drummond_Bays)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peperoni-and-tape-worms/703855/19 "2014-11-06T22:27:39Z")
How big are the pills? We have a cat that will not swallow pills. Period. You can rub her throat like you’re trying to summon a genie, all she will do is produce copious amounts of frothy saliva. Our solution was to get the (whiskas?) temptations treats, I very carefully break them in half and stick them into the soft centre. She takes the pills just fine when she thinks it’s a treat! For larger pills, I just cut them into pieces with a sharp razor/utility knife blade. Works like a charm for us… Hope it helps! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peperoni-and-tape-worms/703855/20 "2014-11-07T01:51:20Z")
I ground them and put them in soft cat food. They don’t like the taste. But thank you for the suggestion. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peperoni-and-tape-worms/703855.md?page=2)