How to Tell if A Cat Has Round Worms

Kittens cat get roundworm in their mother's milk.

Round worms are the most common intestinal parasite found in the digestive tracks of felines. They are big, round worms sometimes seen in a kitten's vomit; more likely they are seen in a cat's feces. They are spread through lactating mother's milk, fecal matter and eating infected prey. Cats who live outside are more prone to getting them. Determining if your cat has roundworm is, fortunately, relatively easy.

Things You'll Need

• A Cat

Instructions

1. 

   Give your cat a dewormer if you are in doubt.

   Watch your cat for signs and symptoms of roundworm. Although round worms can present a number of different symptoms, the most common tend to be constipation, vomiting, big, round belly, increase or decrease in appetite, loss of weight, failure to thrive in kittens and diarrhea. In severe cases, roundworm infestation can lead to death.

2. 

   Roundworms can be passed to humans and make children very sick.

   Check your cat's stool. The easiest way to identify the roundworm rather than similar infestations is sometimes to find one. If the number of worms is small then the first symptom might simply be the sight of the worm in the stool. They pass into the cats vomit and stools after a few weeks, and resemble pieces of spaghetti. They are usually a couple of inches in length.

3. Take your cat to the vet to have a fecal check. The next step is to take the cat to the vets office for an official diagnosis, which is usually done with a stool sample. If you happen to have caught one of the worms in a jar with some tweezers, then this usually suffices also.

4. Treat your cat. Although using the vet is usually the easiest way to treat the cat, it isn't always the cheapest. Over the counter treatments are available from most pet supply stores, and are usually just as effective as prescribed medication. However, if you do use an over-the-counter dewormer, bring a fecal sample in to your vet after a week to make absolutely sure the worms are gone.

Tips & Warnings

• Cats should be de-wormed while pregnant and new kittens should be de-wormed when approximately 3-4 weeks old to prevent infections.

References

• Drs. Foster and Smith: How Do I Know If My Cat Has Roundworms
• Cat Lovers Only: Cat Round Worms

Resources

• Dr. Dan: Roundworms