Content

• Steps
• Method 1 of 2: Physical Signs of Worms in Your Cat
• Method 2 of 2: Determining the type of worms
• Tips
• Warnings

Intestinal parasites, or worms, are quite common in kittens and cats. The routes of infection with these nasty parasites can be different. Kittens can pick up the eggs of worms through their mother's milk, young cats can become infected with hookworms through skin contact, and tapeworms can enter the animal's body by eating fleas, infected rodents and rabbits. Since worms are very common in cats, it is important to be able to identify signs of worms in your cat so that she can receive the necessary treatment as soon as possible if necessary.

Steps

Method 1 of 2: Physical Signs of Worms in Your Cat

1. 1 Pay attention to the appearance of a barrel belly in your cat. Cats with severe worms (which means there are a lot of them) usually develop a barrel-shaped belly, but there is not enough fat on the back and pelvis. Typically, a barrel belly looks swollen, round and full, with an enlarged belly often drooping low (the cat may even appear to be pregnant). The difference between the barrel-shaped belly of a worm-infested cat and the belly of a fat cat is that the rest of the animal's body is in poor condition.
   • Roundworms are the main cause of barrel belly formation, but other types of worms can also cause this symptom.
2. 2 Check your cat's body fat. If you run your fingers along the spine of a healthy cat, you will most likely be able to feel the bumps along the back, but you should not feel the sharp, angular vertebrae. This is due to the fact that the spine is covered with a layer of fat. A cat with a lot of worms will not have this fat layer. If you stroke her back and pelvis, you can feel every sharp, angular vertebra.
   • A cat's body condition is assessed by assessing its fat layer. Usually, attention is paid to the spine, hips and pelvic area.
3. 3 Assess the condition of your cat's coat. Intestinal parasites take a lot of nutrients from the cat's diet. At the same time, the cat does not receive vitamins, minerals and proteins, which are necessary to maintain a healthy coat. Check your cat's coat for the following symptoms:
   • dullness;
   • lack of shine;
   • tangled coat.
4. 4 Look for vomiting or diarrhea in your cat. Worms can physically irritate the stomach and intestinal lining, causing diarrhea and vomiting. Very severe worms can block the intestines and cause prolonged vomiting, which is potentially fatal. Together with the vomit, tangles of worms can come out, which usually look like wriggling spaghetti.
   • If your cat starts vomiting uncontrollably, take it to your veterinarian immediately.
5. 5 Check your cat's gum color. Some worms, especially hookworms, cause bleeding in the intestines, which causes a slow but constant loss of blood. Loss of blood leads to anemia, making the cat lethargic and weak if the anemia is severe enough. It's deadly for kittens.
   • You can check your cat for signs of anemia by lifting the lip and examining the gums. A healthy cat should have a pink gum. The gums of an anemic cat will be white, gray, or pale pink.
6. 6 Look for signs of worms in kittens. Worm-infested kittens tend to be lethargic and developmentally delayed. This means that they do not grow as well as their other brood cousins. They are smaller, less energetic, their coat is dull, their bellies are enlarged, and the fat layer on the ribs and back is thinned.
   • If you do not have other kittens to compare, it may be more difficult for you to assess the condition of your kitten, however, a healthy kitten in good physical shape should be cheerful, playful and well-nourished, and its coat should be soft and shiny.
   • Severe helminthic infestation in kittens can lead to serious consequences, entailing the constant appearance of health problems throughout the rest of their life.
7. 7 Check your cat for fleas. This is important as fleas can carry tapeworm eggs. When licking the fur, the cat can eat fleas, which allows the eggs of the tapeworms to enter the animal's digestive system.
   • Flea droppings can be easier to spot than the parasites themselves. Flea excrement is the digested cat blood and is usually found on the flea-infested animal's fur.
   • To find flea droppings, comb a small area of ​​the cat's fur in the opposite direction of hair growth and notice the dark spots at the roots of the hair.
   • To check that the dots you find are flea excrement and not dust or dandruff, take a damp piece of white paper tissue and place the excrement on top of it. Since flea feces contain dry blood, they will leave red or orange spots on contact with moisture.
   • If you find fleas or fleas on your cat, you need to treat the animal and the environment from these parasites (including your home and pet litter).

Method 2 of 2: Determining the type of worms

1. 1 Understand the need to identify the type of worms. If you suspect your cat has worms, the next step is to try to identify them. This will allow you to understand which medicine will be effective in combating the existing helminthic invasion.
2. 2 Look for clusters of migrating tapeworm eggs. Look down your cat's tail. Clusters of migratory tapeworm eggs emerge from the cat's anus and become stuck in the surrounding fur. They are creamy white in color and look like grains of rice, cucumbers or sesame seeds.
   • Worm eggs can also remain on the litter, so inspect it carefully as well.
   • If you are able to locate the eggs of the worms, take the cat to the veterinarian for proper treatment for tapeworms.
3. 3 Check your cat's feces for tapeworms. Sometimes they can even be seen on the surface of the stool, but more likely you will need to wear medical gloves and use a disposable instrument to examine the interior of the stool.
   • Tapeworms are creamy white in color and are flat and segmented in shape. On average, their length is 10–70 centimeters.
   • Dipylidium caninum - this type of tapeworm enters the cat's body through the fleas that it eats, which are infected with their eggs.
   • Taenia taeniaeformis - These tapeworms enter the cat's body when it hunts, catches and eats rodents infected with these tapeworms.
4. 4 Identify roundworms. Roundworms are very common and look like stirring spaghetti or noodles.On average, they are 5-10 centimeters long, but can grow up to 12.5 centimeters. There are two types of roundworms that can be infected in different ways.
   • Toxocara cati - this type of worm is transmitted through the mother's milk, and most kittens are infected with them at birth. It is these worms that most often cause the appearance of a barrel-shaped abdomen in kittens, as well as vomiting and diarrhea.
   • Toxascaris leonine - this type of worm enters the body through contact with infected excrement from other cats or rodents. Sometimes whole worms can come out with vomit or with a chair.
5. 5 Identify hookworm infestation. Hookworms are small (0.5 to 1 centimeters in length), curved worms with a hooked mouth. They are difficult to detect with the naked eye. Ancylostoma duodenalis can be transmitted through mother's milk, but kittens can also become infected with this type of worm by walking on dirty, contaminated bedding.
   • The tooth-like mouth section of the worm attaches to the wall of the small intestine and releases an anticoagulant that causes blood to constantly flow into the intestine. Kittens infected with worms are prone to anemia, lack of energy and grow poorly.
6. 6 Ask your veterinarian to check your cat for heartworms. Heartworms are more common in dogs than cats. However, cats also have the possibility of infection. This type of worm lives in the blood vessels, not in the intestines - only a veterinarian can check for their presence.
   • Dirofilaria immitis - The eggs of this type of worms can enter the bloodstream through the bite of an infected mosquito. Signs of infection with these worms are nonspecific, with a lack of energy, weight loss, and coughing usually occurring. Unfortunately, some cats do not show symptoms at all, and they suddenly die due to blockage of the main cardiac vessels.
7. 7 Get a sample of your cat's feces for analysis. It is best to check for worms (with the exception of heartworms) before they become a serious health problem, and donate cat feces to a veterinary clinic for analysis. Adult intestinal worms lay their eggs. These eggs often (but not always) come out with the stool of the animal and can be detected through special preparatory procedures and examination of the stool under a microscope.
   • The eggs of different types of worms have a different appearance, which helps in their identification.
   • If you examined the cat and her feces and did not find worms, this does not mean that she does not have them. This only means that the worms themselves do not leave her body. Some cats are capable of carrying large colonies of worms and not letting them out. The only way to know for sure if a cat has helminths is to take the animal's feces for analysis at a veterinary clinic.

Tips

• Remember, helminths are parasites that need to be killed. So the examination of the animal must be carried out not out of pure curiosity, but to identify worms and the subsequent prescription of an appropriate anthelmintic (anti-worm medicine). Be careful and watch your pet for signs of helminths.
• When identifying the type of worms, it is first of all useful to know which worms she had the greatest opportunity to get infected with.
• If your cat has an enlarged belly, a thin layer of fat and has not been treated with anthelmintic drugs in the past six months, it may be seriously infected with worms. However, these symptoms can also cause certain health problems, so if in doubt, consult your veterinarian.

Warnings

• Identifying and identifying worms in your cat will help you keep your pet healthy. In addition, some types of worms can be transmitted to humans, especially children who forget to wash their hands after playing with kittens and cats.You can protect your cat and home from worms by paying attention to your pet's health, examining its litter box, and testing excrement once a year for worm eggs.
• Always wash your hands and teach your children to do the same after interacting with kittens and cats. Although feline worms do not live in the intestines of humans, they can get under the skin and cause damage; this is especially unpleasant when the worms migrate to the eyes.
• With the exception of heartworms, there is no good preventive measure that can protect a cat from getting infected with worms.