Cat - Worms

I've got a two-year old cat. For the past month she's been hiding on
us, not wanting to play and such. We took her to the doctor three
times for a diagnosis (bloodwork, feces, x-rays) - she's been on two
different antibiotics with no help. Then suddendly we were at the vet
for the 4th time and he finds this tiny white worm near her bum (which
also has been a little bloody, poor girl).

So he diagnosed it as roundworms and gave her some liquid medication
which we will be repeating at the vets office once a week for 3 weeks.


It has now been 6 days since her first worm medication.. but she's
still hiding and not wanting us to come close. We've also noticed her
stomach getting bloated. I have not seen any worms yet in her litter
box (I'm actually hoping to see something so i know it's working). Oh
and she's still finishing up the 2nd set of antibiotics. My questions
are 1) shouldnt she be getting better by now? 2) Is the bloating
normal?

Frankly, i dont trust my vet anymore, so we'll be switching to a new
one. I just wanted him to finish what he started.

Thanks.

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Yes, definitely switch to another vet ASAP.
Gail
wrote in message
oups.com...
I've got a two-year old cat. For the past month she's been hiding on
us, not wanting to play and such. We took her to the doctor three
times for a diagnosis (bloodwork, feces, x-rays) - she's been on two
different antibiotics with no help. Then suddendly we were at the vet
for the 4th time and he finds this tiny white worm near her bum (which
also has been a little bloody, poor girl).

So he diagnosed it as roundworms and gave her some liquid medication
which we will be repeating at the vets office once a week for 3 weeks.


It has now been 6 days since her first worm medication.. but she's
still hiding and not wanting us to come close. We've also noticed her
stomach getting bloated. I have not seen any worms yet in her litter
box (I'm actually hoping to see something so i know it's working). Oh
and she's still finishing up the 2nd set of antibiotics. My questions
are 1) shouldnt she be getting better by now? 2) Is the bloating
normal?

Frankly, i dont trust my vet anymore, so we'll be switching to a new
one. I just wanted him to finish what he started.

Thanks.

A tiny white worm would be more likely to be tapeworm. Roundworm looks
like spaghetti, and tapeworm looks like grains of rice. If your cat does
have tapeworms, the meds your vet gave you may not be appropriate for
treating tapeworm. You need to get your cat to another vet ASAP. It
sounds like there is something more going on than just worms and if she
has fluid accumulation in her belly (which would account for the
swelling) you need to get a sample of the fluid so it can analyzed.

Find a new vet and get her in **today.**

Megan



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wrote in message
oups.com...
I've got a two-year old cat. For the past month she's been hiding on
us, not wanting to play and such. We took her to the doctor three
times for a diagnosis (bloodwork, feces, x-rays) - she's been on two
different antibiotics with no help. Then suddendly we were at the vet
for the 4th time and he finds this tiny white worm near her bum (which
also has been a little bloody, poor girl).

So he diagnosed it as roundworms and gave her some liquid medication
which we will be repeating at the vets office once a week for 3 weeks.

The first worming "kills' the worms in the intestine but it doesn't kill the
larvae that migrated from the intestines to various other parts of the cat's
body (lungs). While the larvae are migrating, they can't be killed by
medications- you have to wait for them to return to the intestines. That's
why a second and even third worming is usually necessary a few weeks after
the first. The larvae can also encyst in body tissue- usually muscle- where
it can remain dormant for weeks to months. She should have another fecal
exam about a month or two after her last negative fecal exam to make sure
encysted larvae hasn't reactivated. You don't have to bring her in for this
fecal exam if she's otherwise healthy, just drop off a fresh stool sample.



It has now been 6 days since her first worm medication.. but she's
still hiding and not wanting us to come close. We've also noticed her
stomach getting bloated. I have not seen any worms yet in her litter
box (I'm actually hoping to see something so i know it's working). Oh
and she's still finishing up the 2nd set of antibiotics. My questions
are 1) shouldnt she be getting better by now?


Prolonged and difficult roundworm infestations are usually a sign of
reinfection rather than a chronic infection. Roundworm eggs have a
protective hard shell and can remain infective in the environment for
months- or even years- so its important to clean your house very thoroughly-
especially where she sleeps. Its imperative to keep the litterbox
immaculate. In fact I would dump it after she poops for the next few weeks
because scooping doesn't get the eggs. Contaminated litter can increase the
her worm burden.


2) Is the bloating
normal?

Bloating is a symptom of a large worm burden. The worms themselves can grow
quite big:

http://www.maxshouse.com/Parasitology/Roundworms.jpg

Sounds like she has a large worm burden which can make her feel sick. The
worms can actually block the intestines damage the intestine wall. Has she
been pooping normally?



Frankly, i dont trust my vet anymore, so we'll be switching to a new
one. I just wanted him to finish what he started.

If the vet didn't do a fecal exam or if she had a distended abdomen the
first time you brought her in, I would certainly find another vet.

Best of luck,

Phil

Thank you both for your replies. Let me give you more details.

1) Her "poop" is loose, and she's going maybe twice daily.
2) Her appitite was bad, but has actually gotten better since the meds.
3) I dont see any other little rice like worms around her, so that
seems to be correct so far with the roundworm theory..?

Thank you Phil for the wonderful worm picture Now my question is,
when/should I easily be seeing these worms in her poop?

Her bloating began after taking the worm medication...

Her appointment with her vet is tomorrow morning. As much as I would
like to just go to another vet, he's been dealing with her from the
beginning and already has all her test results. I'm just praying this
will pass quickly, then switch to another vet.

wrote in message
oups.com...
Thank you both for your replies. Let me give you more details.

1) Her "poop" is loose, and she's going maybe twice daily.
2) Her appitite was bad, but has actually gotten better since the meds.
3) I dont see any other little rice like worms around her, so that
seems to be correct so far with the roundworm theory..?



I think so too- Kinda hard to mistake roundworms for tapeworms or tapeworm
segments. Roundworms are round! tapeworms and tapeworm segments are flat.




Thank you Phil for the wonderful worm picture


Here's a headshot - up close:

http://www.maxshouse.com/Parasitology/toxocara-cati.jpg



Now my question is,
when/should I easily be seeing these worms in her poop?


Hard to say- You might see worms in a few days or you might not see any
worms at all because they're usually digested by the cat in the intestines-
Remember, roundworms are killed or paralyzed in the intestines. Your vet
will have to look for worm particles or eggs in the stools.



Her bloating began after taking the worm medication...


Meds won't kill eggs or encysted larvae or larvae that's still migrating.
The bloating could be from dead or dying worms or worms returning to the
intestines from their migration to complete their lifecycle. The bloating
should start to go down in a few days as worms are digested.



Her appointment with her vet is tomorrow morning. As much as I would
like to just go to another vet, he's been dealing with her from the
beginning and already has all her test results. I'm just praying this
will pass quickly, then switch to another vet.

Bring a fresh stool sample with you so the vet can do an on-the-spot fecal
exam. Also make sure you get a copy of all her medical records so your new
vet will have a baseline without having to repeat all the tests.

Best of luck,

Phil.

I just wanted to update, because there's nothing worse than leaving a
thread unfinished.

Our vet declared, no she did not have Roundworms (even though that's
exactly what he said), she has Whipworms. She is now on the "proper"
medicine, and seems to be doing better. Her bloated appearnce was due
to her weight gain (since shes' been sick we've been letting her eat
how ever much she wants).

So, after 20 days on antibiotics and 2 different kinds of deworming
meds, she's back on track. We have already contacted a new vet, and
they have all Whisky's records at hand. I guess it's hard to find a
good vet.

wrote in message
oups.com...
I just wanted to update, because there's nothing worse than leaving a
thread unfinished.

Our vet declared, no she did not have Roundworms (even though that's
exactly what he said), she has Whipworms. She is now on the "proper"
medicine, and seems to be doing better. Her bloated appearnce was due
to her weight gain (since shes' been sick we've been letting her eat
how ever much she wants).


So, after 20 days on antibiotics and 2 different kinds of deworming
meds, she's back on track. We have already contacted a new vet, and
they have all Whisky's records at hand. I guess it's hard to find a
good vet.

I think you should see your new vet now for second opinion. Pieces of
roundworms can
look very similar to whipworms but whips are very rare in cats- especially
in the
US. When they do infest a cat,they often cause *weight loss* and a
bloody-mucousy diarrhea because the worms attach themselves to colonic wall.

If by some remote chance your cat actually does have whipworms, you must
repeat the treatment (Panacur) in 3 months.

I work in a shelter, so, I see a much higher incidence and prevalence of
various diseases than most local vets- and some diseases that most local
vets never see. In the literally thousands of cats we've handled, I can't
remember more than a very few (3) cases of whipworms in many years.

http://www.maxshouse.com/Parasitology/Whipworms+egg.jpg


Phil

Really? grumbles at vet

Let me remember what the vet said:

1. So far he treated her twice with Strongit-T (spelling?). Told us
to wait 5 days, then start Panacur liquid for 5 days.

2. We are about to start the Panacur tonight

3. But most importantly: Our cat seems to have returned to normal.

So if whipworms cause weight loss.. hmm. He did give her pills to make
her hungry, which could have resulted in her weight gain. You're
right, once she's done the Panacur (which seems like its the finally
correct medication?), we'll take her to another vet for a
re-evaluation.

Thank you Phil for your experience in helping me realize my vet doesnt
know anything. I'll update this thread after the Panacur.