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Worms and Your Cat
Could My Cat Have Worms ?
Cats that are allowed outdoors are likely to be exposed to worm infections. Even cats kept indoors may become infected with worms from fleas. Most pets with worms will not show signs of ill health so it’s not always easy to tell if they are affected. In some cases, cats with worms will have symptoms such as loss of condition, vomiting and diarrhoea. We recommend routine worming of your cat to prevent an infestation.
Where do worms come from ?
We see 2 types of worms commonly in our pet cats, tapeworms and roundworms.
Tapeworms
If your cat has tapeworms, you may see the worm segments around its anus. they look like rice grains. Two tapeworms occur in cats in the U.K. : Dipylidium caninum is the commonest and is carried by fleas. The cat becomes infected by swallowing fleas when it grooms itself and 3 weeks later there will be adult tapeworms in its intestine. Taenia taeniformis infection occurs when the cat eats an infected rodent.
Roundworms
Kittens become infected from their mothers via the milk so it is very important to worm kittens thoroughly. Adult cats can also become infected by eating rodents. If your cat is infected with roundworms, you may see them either being vomited up or in the faeces. They look like white earthworms. Lungworm is a rare problem in adult cats, which causes breathing problems and comes from eating snails, slugs or birds which have eaten snails or slugs. Many routine wormers will not protect against lungworm, but it can be treated.
