Uooo GROSS!

My cat was just in my lap and when she moved over there was a shiny,
white worm wiggling. It was no more than 1/2 inch long. She's been
shedding a few of those rice looking things once in a while. My other
cat that had those lost lots of them and I got some meds for him. Do
cats 'catch' tapeworm from each other? Is that what the white worm was
or was that something else? It's almost 5am here or I would call a vet.
Maybe you remember my discription of the vets here. Any advice
appreciated.

Teddy wrote:
My cat was juemember my discription of the vets here. Any advice
appreciated.

do a google image search for tape worm, see if they match
get OTC 20 bucks

can also, check her stool
can also look at her butt see if some are there

they are sorta flat, they are not bright white, but offwhite from the
****

"Teddy" wrote in message
...
My cat was just in my lap and when she moved over there was a shiny,
white worm wiggling. It was no more than 1/2 inch long. She's been
shedding a few of those rice looking things once in a while. My other
cat that had those lost lots of them and I got some meds for him. Do
cats 'catch' tapeworm from each other? Is that what the white worm was
or was that something else? It's almost 5am here or I would call a vet.
Maybe you remember my discription of the vets here. Any advice
appreciated.


They get tapeworms, which is what this sounds like, from eating fleas or
rodents. They cannot catch tapeworm from one another there must be an
intermediary host.

http://www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/tapeworms.html

W

"Teddy" wrote in message
...
My cat was just in my lap and when she moved over there was a shiny,
white worm wiggling. It was no more than 1/2 inch long. She's been
shedding a few of those rice looking things once in a while. My other
cat that had those lost lots of them and I got some meds for him. Do
cats 'catch' tapeworm from each other? Is that what the white worm was
or was that something else? It's almost 5am here or I would call a vet.
Maybe you remember my discription of the vets here. Any advice
appreciated.


From your description, I would say this is almost certainly tapeworm. When
you treat one cat for tapeworm, it is a good idea to treat them all. On the
other hand, you don't need to worry about waiting until morning to call a
vet. This is not an emergency. Depending on how long it has been since
your other cat was treated, you may need to treat him again (ask your vet).

MaryL

I have 5 cats-indoor/outdoor and l live across the street from a field.
I check their bedding daily as they each have a regular spot to sleep
and nap. They rarely scratch themselves so don't seem to have a problem
with fleas. They do hunt and catch mice. The youngest cat is the best
hunter cat I've ever seen. He catches mice, rats, birds, lizards, bugs,
etc. daily. But I haven't found any evidence of tapeworm from him.

"Teddy" wrote in message
...
I have 5 cats-indoor/outdoor and l live across the street from a field.
I check their bedding daily as they each have a regular spot to sleep
and nap. They rarely scratch themselves so don't seem to have a problem
with fleas. They do hunt and catch mice. The youngest cat is the best
hunter cat I've ever seen. He catches mice, rats, birds, lizards, bugs,
etc. daily. But I haven't found any evidence of tapeworm from him.



Well since you said in your original post "She's been shedding a few of
those rice looking things once in a while ", and the cat/s in question are
eating wild caught prey, I would certainly treat them all for tapeworms and
likely do so on a regular basis.

The "rice" comment is the clencher- that is so typical of how tapeworm
segments are often described. And whether you see evidence of infestation in
all the cats or not it is a fair bet they are all similarly affected.

And the wild caught prey is my reason for treating for intestinal parasites
more often than in processed food fed animals. You just can't escape the
parasites with that diet.

-Toni

"Toni" wrote in message
...

"Teddy" wrote in message
...
I have 5 cats-indoor/outdoor and l live across the street from a field.
I check their bedding daily as they each have a regular spot to sleep
and nap. They rarely scratch themselves so don't seem to have a problem
with fleas. They do hunt and catch mice. The youngest cat is the best
hunter cat I've ever seen. He catches mice, rats, birds, lizards, bugs,
etc. daily. But I haven't found any evidence of tapeworm from him.



Well since you said in your original post "She's been shedding a few of
those rice looking things once in a while ", and the cat/s in question are
eating wild caught prey, I would certainly treat them all for tapeworms
and likely do so on a regular basis.

The "rice" comment is the clencher- that is so typical of how tapeworm
segments are often described. And whether you see evidence of infestation
in all the cats or not it is a fair bet they are all similarly affected.

And the wild caught prey is my reason for treating for intestinal
parasites more often than in processed food fed animals. You just can't
escape the parasites with that diet.

-Toni


It's very difficult to avoid tapeworm completely with indoor/outdoor cats.
They may not have many fleas on them but they certainly have an opportunity
for fleas to jump on them and even if treated for fleas, one could be on the
cat long enough to be ingested. That along with the 'wild' diet can easily
do it.

They can have a tapeworm for quite some time before you would necessarily
see any symptoms. I had one cat who got tapeworms every summer and never
shed a segment that I was aware of. She would start barfing though and that
was the clue that it was time for the pills

W

It sounds like tapeworm -- but the part you see (the white, wiggling
grain of rice) is actually an egg sack. The worm lives inside and sheds
its eggs out the rear of the cat.

You need to have a vet check her, and probably treat all of your cats.
Talk to the vet about how best to go about it.

Rhonda

Teddy wrote:

My cat was just in my lap and when she moved over there was a shiny,
white worm wiggling. It was no more than 1/2 inch long. She's been
shedding a few of those rice looking things once in a while. My other
cat that had those lost lots of them and I got some meds for him. Do
cats 'catch' tapeworm from each other? Is that what the white worm was
or was that something else? It's almost 5am here or I would call a vet.
Maybe you remember my discription of the vets here. Any advice
appreciated.

Wendy wrote:
Well since you said in your original post "She's been shedding a few of
those rice looking things once in a while ", and the cat/s in question are
eating wild caught prey, I would certainly treat them all for tapeworms
and likely do so on a regular basis.

Not just tapes, but round worms as well. I would take them all in for
Droncit and Strongid-T injections every 6 months or so. Your vet will
probably ask for stool samples - and while it is best to confirm the
worms before treatment you can ask for treatment without the stools
being tested - some vets will treat and others will not. If the cats
are eating wild caught prey chances are they will have worms.


snip

It's very difficult to avoid tapeworm completely with indoor/outdoor cats.
They may not have many fleas on them but they certainly have an opportunity
for fleas to jump on them and even if treated for fleas, one could be on the
cat long enough to be ingested. That along with the 'wild' diet can easily
do it.

They can also ingest tape eggs from the environment.

-L.