# Tapeworm!!!!



## katlover13 (Apr 15, 2008)

Today I took Tweezer to the vet because he was sneezing blood. According to the vet that is not such an uncommon thing, but the shocker to me is that he has a tapeworm!!! He has been to the vet a couple of times since I got him in September, and his stool has been tested. When I asked why it had not been detected before they said that there might be a stool sample with nothing at all in it and the very next day there would be one full of whatever it is that lets them know there is a tapeworm. Today they found a tiny piece of tapeworm segment near his anus. The good news is that he is now treated for it. He is also on Doxycycline for the sneezing problem. Now that the tapeworm problem is solved he may actually get to *keep* all the nutrients in his food for himself and I'm sure that will help him also! At least it is not contagious to my other cats!


----------



## gunterkat (Aug 19, 2006)

I thought tapeworms are contagious.


----------



## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

Tapeworms can't be detected in stool samples unless one of those segments just happens to be in it. Those segments are how the tapeworm releases its eggs into the environment. The segments are living pieces of the tapeworm that crawl out through the cat's anus. So, seldom are they found in stool samples and most often the only way to tell a cat has a tapeworm is discovering one of those segments.

John, tapeworms aren't contagious. Their life cycle requires them to spend time inside a flea. Cats ingest the fleas when they eat mice or when they clean themselves and that's how they get tapeworms. These tapeworms can't be transmitted to humans.


----------



## katlover13 (Apr 15, 2008)

Tweezer was given Revolution the day after he came to live with me in September. He has never been exposed to fleas in the time since. It just shocks me that he has had a tapeworm all that time and nobody knew. YUCK!


----------



## Leazie (Apr 14, 2007)

Poor Tweezer. I hope that he feels better soon.


----------



## MissAnne2u (Feb 10, 2008)

Poor Tweezer !!! Hope he gets better soon !! 

NONE of my cats go outside and there are NO fleas in my house, but yet all three of my kitties have had tapeworms in the past few months. How do I know there are no fleas? I am highly allergic to them and I would know if I got bit by one.


----------



## gunterkat (Aug 19, 2006)

I didn't mean contagious to humans, I meant contagious among kitties. I should have expressed myself more clearly.  

I hope Tweezer feels better soon! atback


----------



## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

Oh, sorry, John. Now I feel


----------



## chaoticborders (Nov 27, 2006)

Poor Tweezer, I hope he recovers fast!


----------



## katlover13 (Apr 15, 2008)

They gave him a pill at the vets office and told me it should be all he needs, so he sould be tape-worm free pretty soon. They also told me that the tape-worm could have been causing his gas problem. My darling Tweezer is literally a little stinker! :lol:


----------



## OwnedByACat (Jan 11, 2008)

Hope he's feeling better soon!!!!


----------



## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

First dose of deworming is normally followed up by a second dose several weeks later, because the deworming only kills adult worms. Did your vet mention that?


----------



## katlover13 (Apr 15, 2008)

No, the vet said nothing about that! I will have to ask them, thank you.


----------



## PatriciaLynn (Oct 23, 2008)

Wow, it was lucky that the vet found it! Hope he's feeling better soon.


----------



## faile (Sep 14, 2003)

eeeeeewwww! :yikes glad the vet found it! tapeworms gross me out something fierce!


----------



## bluemilk (Oct 3, 2005)

Is there a connection between fleas and tapeworms? Today, I found tiny (inanimate) white things on my bed, where Percy had been napping. They look like grains of rice. He's NEVER had worms before.


----------



## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

Ha ha ... talk about gross, have you actually seen them crawling out of your cat's butt? That happened to me over the weekend. Needless to say, Rocket found himself getting dosed with deworming on Monday.


----------



## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

Elfie gets worms and fleas all the time due to his various outdoor escapades. I always have to get out the frontline whenever Nito visits, because all his his outdoor-going brothers give him fleas. It's unavoidable, but easily treatable since I never give the fleas time to really establish themselves. I have only ever seen one flea on Nito (I look for them too, and it's not hard because he is white)

Luckily the worms aren't that huge of a health concern in adult cats, and they are treated easily. Poor Tweezer though, worms are nasty!


----------



## cmw0829 (Nov 23, 2008)

We took our cat in today to be retested and then vaccinated for FELV. 

The vet noticed little white specks on her black fur and diagnosed tapeworm. (I'd thought these were just bits of dust from playing in the basement.) He gave her a shot and said she should be OK.

Your posts have helped me to understand why she has tapeworm even though she was 1) dewormed at the shelter - just one dose and 2) her fecal ova and parasite test a week after adoption was negative. The good news from the visit is that she's healthy, has gained 2 lbs (from 6 to 8) and is nicely filled out and looking great. 

Of course, when my husband called with the news, all I could think of was the classic Three Stooges quip:

Curly: What'll ya have?
Moe: I'll have four pieces of burnt toast and a rotten egg.
Curly: Why do you want that?
Moe: I gotta tapeworm and it's good enough for him.
:lol:


----------



## katlover13 (Apr 15, 2008)

cmw0829 said:


> Of course, when my husband called with the news, all I could think of was the classic Three Stooges quip:
> 
> Curly: What'll ya have?
> Moe: I'll have four pieces of burnt toast and a rotten egg.
> ...


That's pretty funny! I LOVE the Three Stooges but I had forgotten about that one!


----------



## gunterkat (Aug 19, 2006)

bluemilk said:


> Is there a connection between fleas and tapeworms? Today, I found tiny (inanimate) white things on my bed, where Percy had been napping. They look like grains of rice. He's NEVER had worms before.


Here's part of an article I found


web page said:


> *The Tapeworm Connection*
> Although most people know that fleas give dogs and cats tapeworms, few understand the process by which this happens. The small, white, wiggly flat sections sometimes seeen in a pet's faecal matter or on the hairs around the anus are only segments of the tapeworm. Actually, those flat segments are full of eggs. Flea larvae feed on those eggs from faeces of infected dogs and cats. They might also find dried egg segments in your lawn or carpets. The eggs develop into larvae inside the flea. After being swallowed by your pet, the fleas body is digested by the gastric juices in the pet's stomach. The tapeworm larvae is now able to hatch and attach itself to the intestinal wall of the host, thus starting the cycle all over again. Unless killed by medication, the tapeworm will continue to cast off egg segments. Even if you haven't see nay signs of tapeworm in your pet, ii is a good idea to take stool samples to your vet every three months or so. Only a teaspoonful is needed for the test, but the faecal matter should be fresh. medication comes in a pill and works within 24 hours. You do not need to withold food or water.
> 
> Submitted by John Chandler


----------



## Barcat (Jan 30, 2009)

I was adopted by a feral cat and had to learn some about worms and if i remember it correct there is 5 spieces of tape worms. In rare occausion a human can be infected by one of them. There is also 4 spices of other worms (round ones) and one of them can infect a human in rare occasions "Viscerva larva migrans". It will go to liver, heart and lungs and i worse cases to eyes ant the central nervsystem. And get into sleep there. 

That´s why cats shouldn´t be in childrens playgrounds outside because if the children put dirt or sand in their mouths they can be infected...

Inside doors cats can be infected by eggs from shoes.

I´m deworming Komdå every 4th month or so, when i see signs of worms. It´s mostly tapeworm. I see the eggpackets. 

But she slowly accept to be more and more indoors. This day is a breakthrou because it´s a beutiful snowy day, zero degrees Celsius - BUT she prefer to stay indoors !!!


----------

