- Most guardians don't know their cats have tapeworms until they see one of the worm's segments near their cat's anus, on a piece of furniture or in the litter box. A tapeworm segment looks like a small piece of rice.
- Most of the time cats with tapeworms have no symptoms. Occasionally, guardians may notice a rumble in their cat's stomach or that their cat has stomach cramps or gas. Less often, the cat may have diarrhea with mucus in the feces.
- Most over-the-counter de-worming products will not affect tapeworms and will not rid a cat of a tapeworm infection.
- Cats can get Dipylidium caninum tapeworm from ingesting an infected flea or Taenia taeniaeformis from eating a rodent infected with a tapeworm. Tapeworms are not passed from the cat to other pets or to people. The only way to get a tapeworm is by eating an infected flea or an infected rodent.
- Modern de-worming medications that address tapeworms can be obtained from a veterinarian. They work by causing the tapeworm to lose its protective layer. The worm is then digested by the cat's body. The worm will not pass in the cat's stool but will simply disappear. The de-worming medication is given as either a pill or an injection.
- Because the most common type of tapeworms are caused by fleas, if a cat guardian finds out that a pet has a tapeworm during a veterinary examination, the veterinarian will likely give the cat a tapeworm treatment and ask the owner to treat the environment and the cat for fleas. After the fleas are controlled, in about three weeks, the veterinarian will ask the guardian to return the cat for a second tapeworm treatment. This is because it is not unlikely that the cat will re-infect itself with a tapeworm immediately if the flea infestation has not been treated.
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To prevent tapeworms in your cat, practice strict flea control measures. The best way to ensure your pet does not get fleas, and thus tapeworms, is to use a veterinarian-prescribed flea control products such as Frontline, Advantage or Revolution.
With cats, it's also especially important that you prevent your pet from eating rodents that can infect her with tapeworms. Keep your cat indoors and only allow her access to safe spaces outside when you can supervise her.
