cat has worms!!

[zumbergc]

Ok, its not my cat, but my neighbors cat. We were watching her last week. One evening she vomited and well, while cleaning up, noticed a worm in there. long white, curling up, and gross.

Well, here is the issue, the cat has been treated for worms before. However she is outsite a large portion of the day. She does hunt and eats many types of animals. The cat is very very skinny. She doesn't seem to put on weight at all. She also is about 1.5 yrd old.

I talked to the owner today, when they got back. I had left a note, but talked to about it too. She was using the rest of her frontline up, before switching to the revolution she got a month or two ago. Her other cat needs to get fixed soon, and with the worm thing, i hope she brings them in soon to the vet.

If her mom switches her to revolution. Will it keep killing any worms that she comes in contact with, or does it only kill the ones that are around when she is given the liquid on the back of the neck. Since my cats don't eat wild things, i'm not familiar with this problem, but i bet some one here may know the answer.

Thanks

 

[sherry7]

It sounds like the cat has a different type of intestinal worms. The common worms are very tiny, and they're by the butt. Not positive, but I don't think either of those medicines will work for that type of worms.

 

[surfergirl602]

long, white worms are round worms, and need to be treated by a vet in order to get rid of them. The meds she is using is not going to do it. The worm will continue to feed off of the cat and use up all the nutritional value it eats. The cat probably has a gut full of worms. Eventually, untreated, the cat can starve to death. It needs to go to the vet.

 

[kldmom2000]

Not an expert here, but some of the species of worms are highly transmissable between cats/dogs and even to humans.....

She should have the worm analyzed @ the vet to find out which type it is and if you have small children, you should make sure it's not one of the kinds that can infect them (ie. hookworm for instance).

They generally treat it by putting a medicine in the catfood for 5 days.... then to do again 2 weeks afterwards as the eggs in the intestines would hatch at that time. Gross. Blech.

We watched a puppy for 2 weeks last year after having owned only indoor cats. Turns out the puppy had worms (exactly as you described ) but it was found in his feces..... I had it analyzed and it was one of the ones that children/people could get.

I'm a germaphobe/hypochondriac by nature so I was completely skeeved out and turned into a complete lunatic scrubbing everything in the house

We just got a new kitten on Saturday from the MSPCA... she's quarantined from my older 2 indoor female cats until her check up with our vet tomorrow for worms, URI, and anything else.... don't want to pass anything around..... .

Good luck!!

 

[christiane]

If it was a solid long worm, it is roundworm. They usually get these from their moms before they are born or while they are nursing.

If it was a segmented long worm, it is tapeworm. They get these from eating rodents or from fleas.

If she is vomiting worms, she has a bad infection. Both worms are contagious to people. Roundworm infections can be quite serious in young children.

Revolution & Frontline only "control" intestinal worms; they will not eradicate them. And they will only help with roundworms, not tapeworms. To get rid of the worms, she will need oral medication. If she has repeat exposure to the worms, she should be dewormed monthly.

I hope your neighbour will start to take better care of her little cat!!

 

[Halle]

Now I'm worried, my dad just went to a nursing home type place (only 8 residents) on Friday and the cat that lives there is a hunter, eats his kill. The owner of the home told us that the cat used to be fat but has trimmed down!!!! I don't want my dad to get worms from the cat, can that really happen????

 

[christiane]

Now I'm worried, my dad just went to a nursing home type place (only 8 residents) on Friday and the cat that lives there is a hunter, eats his kill. The owner of the home told us that the cat used to be fat but has trimmed down!!!! I don't want my dad to get worms from the cat, can that really happen????

I'm all for having pets in nursing homes, but they must be clean, well-cared for pets (fully vaccinated, parasite-control etc). Cats should be indoors only.

Yes, he could get worms from the cat...but there would need to be a significant lack of hygiene for him to get it.

Do not read the part below if you have a weak stomach!!
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He would need to ingest the cat's poop to get most types of worms. Hookworms can pass directly into the skin but again he needs contact with the poop. He can get tapeworms by ingesting fleas (ie if there is such a severe infestation that they get into the food). So although it is a very remote possibility, it is highly unlikely. Children are most at risk because of not washing their hands as frequently and because they put their hands in their mouths a lot.

 

[zumbergc]

Thanks so much for the info, they do have young kids, so maybe that will be the clincher in getting more vet attention.

 

[mermaidwannabe]

My cat stays in our house during the day and hunts at night. We have to get worm medicine for him 3 times per year for tapeworm. We usually just have to take him in the first time and then they'll call in the medicine the next. Then we have to bring him in the next time and so on. The medicine for us is $30 a pop but you have to do it.