Worming cats
Protecting your cat against worms is as much a part of pet care as good diet, and the right sort of exercise. Worms are important because they affect the condition of your pet and they can be unhealthy for you and your family. Two types of worms affect cats: Roundworms and Tapeworms. Both are intestinal parasites which can be found in any cat although infection is easily treated.Roundworms
Roundworm infestation can cause vomiting, diarrhoea, breathing difficulties, anaemia, a pot-bellied appearance and a failure to thrive. In adult cats worms are usually acquired through hunting resulting in few clinical symptoms. Unlike dogs, cats are not thought to be the major source of roundworms to humans.
Treatment Regime
Younger cats (less than one year of age) and pregnant queens or those 'calling' are responsible for most of the environmental contamination with roundworm eggs. For theses groups veterinary surgeons offer a wormer, which unlike the products from pet shops or supermarkets, has the greatest possible action against all stages of roundworm including the developing larvae. Treatment may be purchased from the practice, where advice on a suitable dosing regime is also available. All other adult cats may be routinely wormed every 3 months. Roundworms are 5-15 cm long, white or fawn in colour and round in cross-section: they tend to coil up like a spring.
Tapeworms
Heavy infestations can cause anal irritation, digestive disturbances and ill thrift. They are also aesthetically unpleasant as the segments, which resemble cucumber seeds or rice grains leave via the anus to deposit their eggs. The most common tapeworm in cats is Dipylidium caninum which is contracted when the cats eat an infected flea or louse. For obvious reasons tapeworm therapy should be accompanied by vigorous steps to control any associated flea problems. A second type, Taenia, is usually contracted through hunting. The time between eating an infective stage of worm to showing segments varies from approximately 3 weeks in the case of Dipylidium to 2 or 3 months in the Taenia species of worm.
Treatment Regime
Advice on the control of tapeworms along with the most suitable medication can be acquired from the practice. Treatment is best given whenever segments are seen, or to cats who hunt regularly. Signs of tapeworms can include a slight loss in condition, and egg segments about 7 mm long that resemble rice grains under the animals tail or in its faeces.