Does your cat have a 4 to 28 inch tapeworm attached to the lining of its intestine? Since you obviously cannot see tapeworms in your cat, you need to look for the symptoms of tapeworms in cats.
If you do find that your cat does have the symptoms of tapeworms in cats, you can know two things, that it has a tapeworm but that it does not have a life-threatening condition.
You may wonder how cats get tapeworms. The simple answer is that it ingested a flea that carried tapeworm larvae. In fact, this is the only way a cat can develop a tapeworm. What happens is that when the cat grooms itself, it ingests the tapeworm larva infected flea. When the flea is digested in the cat's stomach, this releases the tapeworm larva to grow into an adult tapeworm.
What Are The Symptoms Of Tapeworms In Cats?
A tapeworm consists of segments called proglottids. As the tapeworm grows, it sheds some of these segments, which can then be seen on the cat’s poop or around its anus. You might actually see them moving in your cat's stool or around its anus.
When these proglottids dry out, they look like tiny, hard, yellowish grains of rice about 2mm in size. If you see what looks like rice grains around your cat's anus, stuck to the hair around its anus or on its stool, you can be sure that your cat has a tapeworm.
There are some other symptoms that your cat has a tapeworm. For example, you might notice your cat is constantly licking its genital area. The cat might also have a fever, pneumonia, continuous coughing, or frequent or difficult urination. A tapeworm will sometimes release its attachment to the cat’s intestines and migrate to kitty’s stomach. In this case, the cat may vomit up an adult tapeworm several inches in length.
If your cat experiences a very heavy infestation of tapeworms, you might notice that it is suffering abdominal discomfort or showing signs of nervousness. You cate might vomit and even suffer convulsions. Also, the active segments or proglottids - can cause anal irritation, which manifests itself as your cat scooting its bottom across the floor. However, the only real way to determine if your cat has tapeworms is to watch when your cat has a bowel movement. If you have multiple cats, you may not see them all showing evidence of the proglottids, meaning that it may not be possible to determine if they all are infested. In any case, you probably treat all of your cats as if they have tapeworms.
A routine fecal exam as performed by your vet often will not detect tapeworms in cats because tapeworm eggs are rarely released into the cat’s feces. As a result, your vet will depend on you to let him or her know if you see symptoms of tapeworms in your cats.
The Good News About A Tapeworm Infestation
There are two factors that can be looked upon as "good" about a tapeworm infestation. First, tapeworms usually do not represent a life-threatening issue. Second, it is treatment for tapeworms in cats is relatively simple. There is a tapeworm treatment medication available, named Praziquantel that your vet will give the cat, either orally or by injection. Praziquantel is a prescription medication with the brand name of Droncit. There is also a generic form of Praziquantel called Tradewinds Tapeworm Tabs. This product is available over-the-counter and costs substantially less than the Droncit. It normally takes just one treatment of the Praziquantel to rid your cat of the tapeworms.
While a case of tapeworms does not represent a serious threat to your cat's health, it can cause your cat some serious discomfort and should be treated accordingly.
Symptoms of tapeworms in cats are not always easy to spot and who among us wants to spend a lot of time checking out your cat's poop or her anus? But if you notice some of the other signs of tapeworms in cats, especially the butt scooting or vomiting, you will definitely need to watch for signs of tiny, yellowish, rice-like proglottids that signify a tapeworm infestation.
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