A cat on a standard 12-month deworming schedule costs about $320 to $680 a year in the US, £200 to £480 in the UK, and 720 to 2,100 CNY in China. That total is 4 internal treatments, 12 external treatments, and 2 fecal tests, and it holds only if nothing is missed. The same protocol at a 24-hour specialty hospital runs 1.5 to 3 times the neighborhood-clinic price, so the bill is decided by 3 choices, not by the worm.
The 12-month schedule in numbers
Four internal treatments at $15 to $40 each come to $60 to $160. Twelve external spot-ons at $15 to $30 each come to $180 to $360. Two fecal flotations at $40 to $80 each come to $80 to $160. The 3 lines add to $320 to $680, which is $27 to $57 a month and $6 to $13 a week. A kitten changes the shape of the year: many vets front-load 4 treatments into the first 16 weeks, so $60 to $160 lands inside one season and the adult schedule starts around month 5. Indoor-only cats still get 12 external doses, because fleas arrive on shoes and on the dog.
Why internal is 4 and external is 12
Roundworm eggs stay infective in soil for 2 to 5 years, and a cat that digs or hunts picks them up on its paws within one afternoon outside. Quarterly treatment, 4 doses at 90-day gaps, interrupts egg shedding at an interval a 1-cat household can actually keep. External parasites run a faster clock: at 18 to 27°C a flea finishes egg to adult in 21 to 28 days, which is why the interval is 30 days and the count is 12. One skipped month in summer turns the litter box and the carpet into the reservoir, and the cleanup costs $60 to $120 in premise spray plus 2 extra baths, more than the $15 to $30 dose that was missed.
Not every $15 tablet does the same job. Pyrantel covers roundworm and hookworm and nothing else; add praziquantel and the tablet covers tapeworm too; a broad-spectrum tablet with both plus febantel sits at the top of the $15 to $40 band. Paying $15 for a product that misses tapeworm means $30 to $60 for a second tablet, so the cheaper box becomes the expensive one once the cat hunts. Ask which worms the product targets before comparing 2 prices.
Fecal tests: 2 a year, $40 to $80 each
An in-clinic wet mount runs $40 to $60 and a lab flotation with a giardia ELISA runs $60 to $80. Book the first at the annual exam and the second 6 months later, or 14 days after the last treatment, which is the window when a surviving burden starts shedding again. One sample can miss a light load, so when giardia is suspected many vets ask for 3 samples collected 5 days apart, and that is $120 to $240 rather than $40 to $80. Dropping both tests saves $80 to $160 a year, and it is the line owners cut first.
What the year costs in 3 regions
| Line item | Times a year | US (USD) | UK (GBP) | China (CNY) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Internal treatment | 4 | 15 to 40 each | 10 to 30 each | 30 to 90 each |
| External treatment | 12 | 15 to 30 each | 8 to 20 each | 40 to 120 each |
| Fecal flotation | 2 | 40 to 80 each | 30 to 60 each | 60 to 150 each |
| Year total | 18 doses plus 2 tests | 320 to 680 | 200 to 480 | 720 to 2,100 |
| Monthly equivalent | 12 | 27 to 57 | 17 to 40 | 60 to 175 |
The UK column sits lower because single-dose pyrantel products are sold over the counter at £10 to £30. The China column carries 12 spot-ons at 40 to 120 CNY each, and imported brands occupy the top of that band while domestic ones sit near 40 to 60 CNY.
Why the same protocol costs 1.5 to 3 times more
Four variables do almost all the work. City tier: a first-tier city clinic charges 1.6 to 2.2 times a third-tier city clinic for the same tablet. Hospital level: a 24-hour specialty center adds an emergency fee of $75 to $150, or 200 to 500 CNY, to any visit after 20:00. Weight band: products priced in 2.5 kg and 5 kg steps mean a 6.5 kg cat buys the 8 kg box, 20 to 40% more per dose. Pack size: 1 dose costs 15 to 25% more per dose than a 6-pack, and 30 to 40% more than a 12-pack bought once a year. Stack all 4 and the same 18 doses span 1.5 to 3 times.
Combination products change the math
A monthly tablet or spot-on covering roundworm, hookworm, and fleas costs $20 to $35 a month, or $240 to $420 a year, and replaces the $60 to $160 internal line and the $180 to $360 external line. At the low end that is $240 against $240; at the high end it saves $100 to $200. The catch is coverage: many combinations leave out tapeworm, and tapeworm is the one line a hunting cat cannot skip. Read the label for praziquantel before counting a combination as a full replacement, and check whether the 12-month box is priced as 10 doses plus 2 free. On price alone, 12 doses bought as one box at $18 a dose is $216, against $360 for 12 single doses at $30, and that $144 gap is the largest saving on this page.
5 steps that keep the year near the low end
- Weigh the cat on the same scale every 90 days and write it down; a 0.5 kg drift crosses a price band and changes which box you buy.
- Buy the 6-month pack for whichever product you use 12 times, because the per-dose price drops 15 to 25%.
- Put 12 dates in a calendar with a 3-day reminder, since the missed month is what turns $320 into $500.
- Ask for the fecal test during the annual exam; a separate visit adds $50 to $90 in exam fee alone.
- Keep the box and the lot number for 48 hours after each dose, the window when a reaction would show.
To see how this line sits against the rest of a year, compare it with the thyroid recheck schedule at /cost/cost-of-thyroid-year/ and with the months that concentrate spending in a senior cat's last year at /cost/cost-of-senior-cat-final-year/. Rebuild the numbers for your own city with /tools/cost/.
Frequently asked
Is quarterly deworming enough for a cat that never goes outside?
Quarterly internal treatment covers the 4-dose adult schedule, but external protection still runs 12 times a year because flea eggs enter on shoes, on clothing, and on a resident dog. Indoor cats in a 1-cat home sometimes drop to 4 to 6 spot-ons a year if no dog visits and no strays sit at the window, which saves $90 to $180. Any cat that hunts, walks on a leash, or lives with a dog stays at 12.
Why does the same deworming tablet cost $15 at one clinic and $40 at another?
Weight band, pack size, and hospital level explain almost all of it. A tablet sold for the 2.5 kg to 5 kg band costs 20 to 40% less per dose than the 8 kg band. A single dose costs 15 to 25% more per dose than a 6-pack. A 24-hour specialty hospital adds an emergency fee of $75 to $150 after 20:00, which alone can double a $15 product.
Can I skip the fecal test if the cat looks healthy?
You can, and it saves $80 to $160 a year, but a light roundworm or giardia load shows no visible sign for months. The test is also the only way to know whether the product you buy actually covers what the cat carries, since tapeworm and giardia need different drugs. Many vets fold the test into the annual exam so no extra visit fee is charged.