Is your cat looking sick and weak?
Tapeworm in cats is not an easy thing to deal with.
Tapeworms are intestinal parasites which latch onto your cat’s intestinal wall and cause damage while stealing vital nutrients. Overtime, the worm leaves individual segments of its body containing its eggs, break off and pass out of the body in the stool.
If your kitty has a tapeworms, you’ll see these segments stick to the hair surrounding the anus and might also see them in fecal matter.
In this blog post, I will answer the question, “How to get rid of tapeworms in cats?” and teach you how you can relieve you cat as soon as possible.
Let’s get started!
How Cats Get Tapeworm
The two most common types of tapeworms infecting cats are:
- Dipylidium caninum
- Taneia taeniaformis
Dipylidium caninum tapeworms are easily transmitted to cats by flea larvae that have consumed tapeworm eggs. After your cat ingests a flea while grooming, the tapeworm hatches when the flea breaks down in the stomach.
Taneia taeniaformis tapeworms arrive when your cat eats rodents which host tapeworm larvae.
Both of the types of tapeworms I’ve mentioned can easily hook onto your cat’s small intestines, where they take two to three weeks to mature, then release their eggs.
One of the most telltale signs of your cat having tapeworm is rice-like grains in the fur around your cat’s anus and in its litter box. You will have to consult your vet to confirm their presence by getting a stool sample checked.
The tiny grains you see are the tapeworm’s egg-filled segments which pass out of your cat in its feces. Fleas ingest the eggs and restart the cycle.
Treating Tapeworm in Cats
Your vet will probably write a prescription for a dewormer which specifically targets tapeworm. Brand-name dewormers, which are usually taken in tablet form, include Droncit and Drontal.
The vet will determine the size of the dosage based on your cat’s weight.
Your kitty will need at least two separate doses of the dewormer which are usually two to three weeks apart:
- The first dose usually wipes out the adult tapeworms in your cat’s system, and they eventually pass out in its feces
- The second round is given to kill the larval tapeworms which develop in the interim
If you still see any signs of tapeworm in the weeks after the second treatment, your cat will probably need additional doses of dewormer. Your well will later do a fecal check for an all-clear.
Preventing Tapeworm in Cats
It is true that tapeworms live and thrive in fleas. So this means that a regular flea-prevention regimen is important to keep your cat free of tapeworms.
If fleas are present, the tapeworm will surely return as well.
There are multiple flea treatment products available on the market, all you need is to choose the ones best suited to your kitty and the situation.
Your vet will help you decide what will work the best for your feline friend, and even recommend whether you need to treat your entire home and yard for fleas or just your cat.
It is important to know that keeping the cat’s living area clean is also a must.
You should promptly and safely dispose of the soiled litter, and inspect your cat’s bedding for fleas.
If your cat goes outdoors to hunt, you should consider making it an indoor-only kitty to keep her from eating rodents which will continue to introduce tapeworms into your home.
It is a good idea to have your vet check the cat’s stool annually for tapeworms.
Summing Up
Tapeworms are intestinal parasites which latch onto your cat’s intestinal wall and cause damage while stealing vital nutrients. Over time, the worm leaves individual segments of its body containing its eggs, break off and pass out of the body in the stool.
It can be tricky to get rid of them and you always need medicine to treat your cat for them.
So, prevention is better, in this case, to make sure that your feline friend doesn’t get infected again and lives a long and healthy life.
Do you have questions? Leave them in the comments, and I will get back to you as soon as possible.