Worms!!!

[Edwina's Secretary]

Well, they are pilled....or at least we think so. We did not find any stray pills.

We did Edwina first....she was her usual self ... she bit her own tongue! But she is smaller and easier (Ha!) to control. She made a noise I had not heard before --- quite horrid.

Meanwhile, Eddie could see something was up and it wasn't good. He took off to hide. Tried out some of his places from when he first came to live with us. Lots of chasing. We tried wrapping the pill in turkey...Nothing worked. We got one down his throat. We coated the second one with his beloved German vitamin paste. He ate it !!!!!!! Thank you Barbara!

They were both quite ticked off at us but now Edwina has figured out the bags are packed for a long weekend trip so she is being extra lovey.

All's well that ends well. We'll see on May 12th!

[ramanth]

Awww the Poor E's.

I hope they get better soon!

[Cataholic]

Yuck, wormies. Monte had them...little sesame seeds on his bum, like he had sat on a bagel

I hope the Es are de-wormied fast!

[leslie flenner]

are segments of tape worms. They actually have a symbiotic relationship with cats so not to worry. I remember a few years ago, friend who had treated a foster cat one dose or so, a couple days later, the entire tape worm was thrown up. She could see the mouth where it attaches to the inside of the intestine! (We were chatting on the phone when she found it and she suddenly screamed, "Oh my f....ing god!") when she discovered it. She was frantic in her description of the disgusting thing!
Quite unusual to see because, well, one just rarely gets the opportunity!

[PayItForward]

Oh yuck I now know more about Worms than I ever wanted too (Not difficukt really)

We are doing the worming thing today too, as my cats are inside/outside they get wormed every three months need it or not.

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

Oh god, I think I'm going to be sick - thanks Leslie. I'm now with PIF and know more about worms than I ever needed to know.

Sorry to hear about the E's. Do you think Eddie brought them in with him? Sounds like the pilling went relatively ok. Hope they're better soon!

[slick]

EEWWWWWWW Leslie.........Thanks for the visualizations.

Just joking...actually I find it quite interesting. I've had no experience with worms at all but thanks to this thread I now know what to watch out for.

How are the E's doing now Sara?

[leslie flenner]

You all are so interested...all kittens are born with round worms. those are the ones that you have to watch out for in the litter box cuz all cats walking through the same litter box or washing the kittens bum will get them- they are so common. And they are not round. They are spagetti. And to see a live one is truely disgusting. And to see a cat INFESTED is the worst! they can be either pooped out in a big blob of moving spagetti (friend of mine witnessed at shelter) or puked up- which is a bad sign. I have seen single live round worms and many dead. The dead look like dried spagetti in the litter box.

[leslie flenner]

Lung worm. Have no idea what it looks like but i had 3 feral kittens treated for it a few years ago. the vet said they no little about it but likely from eating birds or mice. they were treated with antibiotics and are still with me.
Eye worm is supposedly only in California - I have no idea what that might look like.

[slick]

So are all those worms transferrable to humans???
Can adult indoor only cats get worms?
If I'm around a cat with worms can I pass it on to my cats??
If all kittens are born with round worms, how come some don't get an outbreak??? Or is that statement wrong?

Oh so much learn......Just curious our the E's got worms.

[leslie flenner]

You as a person cannot transfer worms to your cats but if you bring in a cat or kitten untreated for worms and they lick each other or share a litter box they can transfer. Cats poop out the eggs, other cats walk in the litter box and therefore get roundworm!

[felinefanatic]

Having 4 cats, worms are sometrhing I am quite familiar with. The most common worms for cats are round worms and Tape worms. Round worms are very visable they are long and white often looking like spaggetti noodles. Kittens are often born with them. They are easy to identify when your cat goes to the bathroom.You can get rid of them with a over the counter dewormer quite easily. Tape worm is easy to identify once you know what to look for.I have told numerous cat owners that their cat has worms and they didn't even know it! It is not very visable in the cats feces, but the worms tend to cling to the cats rear end. They look like little pieces of dry rice or sesame seeds. You may find them where ever your cat sleeps if you look closely. Generally the vet will give you 1 to 1 and a half pills I think they are called Dronsit they cost between 8 and 10 dollars a piece. usually one dose is enough. It is important that you make sure your cat is flea free or they will probably be right back, all it takes is one flea to transmit tape worm. Fleas carry tape worm larvae they transmit it to your cat and it grows into a long yucky worm in your cat. The little rice pieces that you see are actually just little segments of one long worm!! There are other less common and more serious worms such as heart worms that only your vet can diagnose. I hope your cats are now worm free and happy!!

[Vio&Juni]

Sorry to have missed this thread. Worms are good in the garden, not in the tummy of a kitty.

Originally posted by Randi
OMG! For that price you'd think they were growing pearls!

ROTFLOL

[AvaJoy]

Sorry to be so graphic, but my Debra vomited live, wriggling "angel hair pasta" (roundworms) and this was well AFTER we had her stool sample tested and there was supposedly no infestation!!!

Apparently, not all worm infestations show up upon stool examination, so be forewarned!

She was a TNR so of course was outside exposed to who knows what, and the stool sample thing was part of her spaying and general health exam. I had decided to adopt her and introduce her into the househould. She had been strictly inside, recuperating from her surgery, when this barfing incident occured a few weeks later! Poor thing had these worms growing inside of her, undetected. A vet tech told me that it is common for a fecal exam NOT to show ALL worm infestation. So . . . what good is it???

My vet's recommendation to anyone who has cats that venture outdoors is to administer a Drontal pill every 3 months, as a precautionary/prevention tactic. Ingestion of one infected flea can initiate the internal parasite process.

From my experience, any cat trapped/rescued from outside that will be introduced into a household should undergo the injectable Drontal during physical examination, which should eliminate any worms right off the bat. No surprises at a later date!

[leslie flenner]

I thought that was strictly for tape worm. We've always given strongid for roundworm (those angel hair moving worms!!!). It supposedly kills a few different kinds EXCEPT tape worm, eye worm, lung worm, and I don't know what else. But it's the standard med around here for all ferals and of course kittens. Strongid used to be given once every 3 weeks (dosages), but it's changed over the years and last I heard was one dose, then a 2nd a couple days later! What I difference in prescription! Like they don't even know what dosages exactly kills the worms and eggs!!
Ok- I'm thinking of droncid- I think. Is it the same as drontil?