about a mouse and a parasite, warning--gross!

My sweet kitty dumped a mouse on my porch that I think was already dead,
because it was stiff.

I think what killed it is a worm type thing that was emerging from it's
belly as I picked it up. This wasn't a maggot that attacked after death, it
was easily an inch long stuck firmly inside a 2 1/2 inch long mouse.

I had to really pull it firmly with tweezers. It was segmented, maybe 7
segments. The color was dark grey/black. It had some sort of orifice at
each end. I didn't look at it long enough to see if it had feet or
something like that.

What could it have been? Is it something that just goes after rodents or
could it become a problem for my cats?

Many years ago I noticed something sticking out of the front leg of my cat.
It was flat, and greasy looking. I tried to wipe it off and ended up
pulling it out with tweezers. It was about 3/8 inch wide and about 1 1/2
inches long. It didn't move in any way. The hole on the cats arm closed up
very quickly, and the whole incident was so bizarre I thought I might have
hallucinated it!

So, does anyone know what these parasites are?

So, does anyone know what these parasites are?

Sounds like it could be a tape worm. Odd it came out of its belly. They
generally exit from the anus when the host is no longer providing them enough
sustance to survive. They can be very long. Maggots can be up to an inch long
but I generally see them 1/2 to 3/4 inch long coming out of all the orifices of
dead animals. I bet if you were to rinse the worm off it would have been a
different color. The color you see is probably liquid on the worm from the
inside of the dead animal. Make sure your cat has flea medication and maybe
even check for worms.

So, does anyone know what these parasites are?

Sounds like it could be a tape worm. Odd it came out of its belly. They
generally exit from the anus when the host is no longer providing them enough
sustance to survive. They can be very long. Maggots can be up to an inch long
but I generally see them 1/2 to 3/4 inch long coming out of all the orifices of
dead animals. I bet if you were to rinse the worm off it would have been a
different color. The color you see is probably liquid on the worm from the
inside of the dead animal. Make sure your cat has flea medication and maybe
even check for worms.

i think we are talking about a Screw worm larva or Bot fly

Leslie



"you can tell alot
about a people or person in how they treat animals"

i think we are talking about a Screw worm larva or Bot fly

Leslie



"you can tell alot
about a people or person in how they treat animals"

MaryL wrote:
"Mary" wrote in message
...
So, does anyone know what these parasites are?

Sounds like it could be a tape worm. Odd it came out of its belly.
They generally exit from the anus when the host is no longer
providing them enough sustance to survive. They can be very long.
Maggots can be up to an inch long but I generally see them 1/2 to
3/4 inch long coming out of all the orifices of dead animals. I bet
if you were to rinse the worm off it would have been a different
color. The color you see is probably liquid on the worm from the
inside of the dead animal. Make sure your cat has flea medication
and maybe even check for worms.

This doesn't sound like a tapeworm to me. When I was a child, I
remember seeing a huge worm on the neck of a cat. I can't recall
what the worm was called, but this description sounds just like what
I remember. This thing was more like a smooth caterpiller, and it
was unbelievable to see it in an animal. It was gross! It's
fortunate it was on(in) the mouse and not the cat, but I would still
contact a vet and ask about it.

MaryL

A leech, perhaps?

--
Niels Peter
www.bluewhite.dk
Cats Are People, Too!

MaryL wrote:
"Mary" wrote in message
...
So, does anyone know what these parasites are?

Sounds like it could be a tape worm. Odd it came out of its belly.
They generally exit from the anus when the host is no longer
providing them enough sustance to survive. They can be very long.
Maggots can be up to an inch long but I generally see them 1/2 to
3/4 inch long coming out of all the orifices of dead animals. I bet
if you were to rinse the worm off it would have been a different
color. The color you see is probably liquid on the worm from the
inside of the dead animal. Make sure your cat has flea medication
and maybe even check for worms.

This doesn't sound like a tapeworm to me. When I was a child, I
remember seeing a huge worm on the neck of a cat. I can't recall
what the worm was called, but this description sounds just like what
I remember. This thing was more like a smooth caterpiller, and it
was unbelievable to see it in an animal. It was gross! It's
fortunate it was on(in) the mouse and not the cat, but I would still
contact a vet and ask about it.

MaryL

A leech, perhaps?

--
Niels Peter
www.bluewhite.dk
Cats Are People, Too!

"Niels Peter" wrote in message
k...
MaryL wrote:
"Mary" wrote in message
...
So, does anyone know what these parasites are?

Sounds like it could be a tape worm. Odd it came out of its belly.
They generally exit from the anus when the host is no longer
providing them enough sustance to survive. They can be very long.
Maggots can be up to an inch long but I generally see them 1/2 to
3/4 inch long coming out of all the orifices of dead animals. I bet
if you were to rinse the worm off it would have been a different
color. The color you see is probably liquid on the worm from the
inside of the dead animal. Make sure your cat has flea medication
and maybe even check for worms.

This doesn't sound like a tapeworm to me. When I was a child, I
remember seeing a huge worm on the neck of a cat. I can't recall
what the worm was called, but this description sounds just like what
I remember. This thing was more like a smooth caterpiller, and it
was unbelievable to see it in an animal. It was gross! It's
fortunate it was on(in) the mouse and not the cat, but I would still
contact a vet and ask about it.

MaryL

A leech, perhaps?

--
Niels Peter
www.bluewhite.dk
Cats Are People, Too!

No ... I can't answer that for the current question, of course, but that
definitely is not what I saw as a child. I was very familiar with leeches,
and this wasn't even close. It was definitely like a large, fat worm or
possibly a grub-like creature would be a better description. To my eyes (as
a child), it seemed enormous. Leslie mentioned the possibility of
screw-worm fly or bot fly. I did a brief google search, and some pictures
of bot fly look close. For example, pictures on this page look somewhat
like what I saw (especially the picture of the "human bot fly," but these
pictures do not refer specifically to cats):
http://entomology.unl.edu/images/botflies/botflies.htm

Mary L

"Niels Peter" wrote in message
k...
MaryL wrote:
"Mary" wrote in message
...
So, does anyone know what these parasites are?

Sounds like it could be a tape worm. Odd it came out of its belly.
They generally exit from the anus when the host is no longer
providing them enough sustance to survive. They can be very long.
Maggots can be up to an inch long but I generally see them 1/2 to
3/4 inch long coming out of all the orifices of dead animals. I bet
if you were to rinse the worm off it would have been a different
color. The color you see is probably liquid on the worm from the
inside of the dead animal. Make sure your cat has flea medication
and maybe even check for worms.

This doesn't sound like a tapeworm to me. When I was a child, I
remember seeing a huge worm on the neck of a cat. I can't recall
what the worm was called, but this description sounds just like what
I remember. This thing was more like a smooth caterpiller, and it
was unbelievable to see it in an animal. It was gross! It's
fortunate it was on(in) the mouse and not the cat, but I would still
contact a vet and ask about it.

MaryL

A leech, perhaps?

--
Niels Peter
www.bluewhite.dk
Cats Are People, Too!

No ... I can't answer that for the current question, of course, but that
definitely is not what I saw as a child. I was very familiar with leeches,
and this wasn't even close. It was definitely like a large, fat worm or
possibly a grub-like creature would be a better description. To my eyes (as
a child), it seemed enormous. Leslie mentioned the possibility of
screw-worm fly or bot fly. I did a brief google search, and some pictures
of bot fly look close. For example, pictures on this page look somewhat
like what I saw (especially the picture of the "human bot fly," but these
pictures do not refer specifically to cats):
http://entomology.unl.edu/images/botflies/botflies.htm

Mary L

I think what killed it is a worm type thing that
was emerging from it's belly as I picked it up.
This wasn't a maggot that attacked after death,
t was easily an inch long stuck firmly inside a 2
1/2 inch long mouse.

Sounds like a bot fly larva to me.

Nadine