Cat Worms – Sneaky Health Stealers

How would you want your gorgeous cat to host disgusting tiny worms in its stomach?  Cat worms are actually natural components to balance the chemical processes in the stomach and helps keep the cat healthy.  What spoils the fun is when the eggs of the parasites sneak into the digestive system and become adult worms.  These worms steal nutrition by feeding off food inside the intestines.

Some of the unwanted worms that may be living in the cat’s gut are the Coccidia, the tapeworms and the roundworms.  Cats with extreme cases of ascarids or roundworms sometimes vomit them out of their system.  The ascarids look like white threads which are thick and short.  Tapewroms that lay eggs are excreted together with the cat’s stool.  Some tapeworm segments are not visible even under microscopic examination.  These segments look much like grains of rice and can sometimes be found hanging in the cat’s rectum. 

Cats get worms from different sources.  Fleas carry with them some tapeworm eggs, which get to be swallowed by the cats during their grooming behaviors.  And since most of the cats are used as hunters, they most likely acquire parasites from the infected mice, birds or cockroaches that they captured.  Litter box sharing is also another culprit as cats get in contact with the stools of those infected. 

Symptoms for cat worms are almost predictable.  Diarrhea, a pot belly and a slow weight gain can signify the presence of parasites feeding on the cat’s nutrient supply.

Prevention has always been the best cure, but when cat worms need to be arrested, the right medication should be sought from a trusted veterinarian.