What Cat Worms Look Like
Worms can cause a variety of illnesses in your cat. If your cat scoots her bottom across the floor; frequently vomits; seems fatigued or listless; has frequent diarrhea, anal redness or irritation; or dry, inflamed or itchy skin, she might be suffering from parasitic worms. There are several types of worms that infest cats. Knowing how to recognize the type of worms your cat has is a good first step in getting rid of them.
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Hookworms
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Hookworms are long white worms that "hook" themselves into the lining of your cat's intestine and feed off of the blood, tissue and nutrients there. Left untreated, they can cause anemia in your cat. Treatment for hookworms is usually an oral medication that is administered twice over a series of weeks. The treatment for hookworms will also kill roundworms.
Roundworms
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Roundworms look like long pieces of spaghetti and are easily found in your cat's vomit. Because a cat will develop immunity to the roundworm parasite as it grows older, roundworms are usually only a problem in kittens, who are easily infected by their mothers. Treatment for roundworm involves two to three oral worming solutions administered by a veterinarian. This is given to most kittens as a precautionary measure no matter whether there is a positive fecal sample.
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Tapeworms
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Tapeworms are made up of dozens of tiny segments, and resemble small rice in your cat's feces. When dried or stuck to the outside of your cat's bottom, they might look like sesame seeds. They are transmitted by the ingestion of fleas.Though you might not notice visible signs of illness in your tapeworm-infested cat, the worms are parasitic and will rob your cat of essential nutrients over time, so it is important to treat the tapeworms by treating the flea problem.
Ringworm
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Ringworms, characterized by red, patchy loops or circles on the skin, are not really worms at all but are highly contagious fungal infections of the skin. If your cat has ringworm, you should treat the condition immediately with prescription anti-fungal medication from your veterinarian. Be sure to wash your hands thoroughly after touching your cat as the condition is highly contagious to humans and to other pets. Because cats can carry ringworm without any symptoms, it is a good idea to wash your hands after touching any cat.
Heartworms
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Heartworms are not visible in your cat; they start out as microscopic spores and develop into long, thin white worms while attached to the tissue of the heart. It was previously believed that cats did not suffer from heartworms, but veterinarians now understand that cats are affected about a third as often as dogs. There is currently no effective treatment for heartworms in cats because available treatments have proved to be fatal to cats up to 70 percent of the time. Heartworms are caused by mosquito bites in dogs and are transmitted to cats by mosquitoes that have bitten infected dogs. Therefore, the best method to protect your cat against heartworms is to prevent mosquitoes as effectively as possible.
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References
- Photo Credit Tabby cat taking a cat nap on a pair of shoes image by mario beauregard from Fotolia.com
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Comments
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my cat has long worms coming out her butt sometimes for a long time I treated her for round worms it never worked with in a couple months they were hanging out her again so now I'm treating her for tape worm is that right?
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better watch out if its round worm you can get it
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my cat has worms that look like rice I treated him yesterday for roundworm. is that the right one?
