You never know what you will get, especially when you bring in unfortunate looking kittens. When we found Yoda, he was absolutely stick thin, weighing no more than around 400g. He was dirty, covered in fleas and had parasites. It was a very sad sight. Thankfully, a good flea bath and some food made him feel a lot better. Read this to see his success and how to treat tapeworms in cats.
With a full stomach, and a safe space, he curled into the warmth of his new bed and slept for what seemed like hours.
The ugly truth: cats can get tapeworms
It was a lucky moment that we saw the evidence of tapeworm, which is not a pretty sight but an important one. Tapeworm, like any internal parasite, is not good for cats. Adult tapeworms live in the small intestine, and attach to the lining with specialised mouthparts. Here, they sit and absorb nutrients from the gut.
Tapeworms reproduce when some of their segments break off. These segments are full of tapeworm eggs, and are passed out in the feces of your cat.The worm itself is made up of segments, which break off and are spread through feces. To know a cat has tapeworm, you pretty much have to see a segment. If the animal is very infested, they can sometimes vomit out segments. But it’s usually around the anus or in feces that you will see the small, white rice looking worm segment.
PLEASE NOTE: We are not including photos of this because a lot of people don’t want to see photos of poo, let alone poo with tapeworm bits in it. But if you think your cat may have this problem, feel free to contact us and we can send you some photos to help diagnose the problem and learn how to treat tapeworms in cats.
How to cats get tapeworms?
Cats can get tapeworms a variety of ways, and there is more than one variety of tapeworm. The most common species of tapeworm that our cats carry are Dipylidium caninum and Taenia. Thankfully, Dipylidium caninum is relatively short, usually maxing out at around 50cm.
Cats can pick up tapeworms from several sources:
- Some species of tapeworm can migrate into muscle and form cysts. Cats may become infected by eating undercooked or raw meat from infected animals. This is especially risky for street cats who hunt, as small rodents and birds can carry these tapeworms.
- Fleas can carry Dipylidium caninum larvae. Cats can swallow infected fleas when grooming, and become infected themselves. This is a major route of infection with Dipylidium caninum as cats can ingest up to 50% of the fleas in their coat via grooming!
- From contact with infected pets (such as dogs they share a household with), or ground that has become infected with tapeworms via feces. Cats that live on farms can easily become infected with tapeworms because sheep and cow feces carry Taenia tapeworms.
How to treat tapeworms in cats
Many de-worming medications do not treat tapeworm, even though it is such a common problem amongst the stray population. So getting that evidence allowed us to give him the medicine he needed and clear him of the infestation. Strays are used to eating all kinds of rubbish to survive, so their digestive systems can often be sensitive to what we consider proper cat food. This sensitivity can cause slow weight gain and unhealthy kitten poop. It took some time for poor Yoda to adapt to the new diet and start to gain weight, but when he did he really did.
As Yoda gained weight, and his overall condition was improving, we were finally able to see what an absolutely stunning boy he was. Striking colors and the biggest green eyes we have ever seen on any cat before.
We had him tested for various types of potential viruses, and once he got the all clear he was introduced to some other kittens we had rescued. He had been alone for so long awaiting his results, that he was in kitten heaven to have new friends to play with. It didn’t take long for him to bond with a young female we had, and the two of them became inseparable.
Adoption success!
It was the biggest blessing when a potential adopter was interested in taking them both! After going through the usual formalities with anyone interested in adopting from us, we were thrilled that the adopter was as wonderful as we had hoped. She took Yoda and his new sister, and the two of them remain as happy and bonded as ever in their forever homes!