Feline Worms – Symptoms Of Infection With Worms In Cats

Feline worms and larvae of internal cat parasites can cause severe ill-health. Learn more about symptoms caused by different intestinal feline parasites and which cat wormer works best.

Read about infections caused by three different types of worms in cats that are frequently present:

• Round worms
• Tape worms
• Hook worms

Infestation with Round Worms in Cats

Round worm species hosted by cats are Toxocara cati and Toxascaris leonina. They may cause severe health problems especially in young kittens that become infected via the colostral milk from their mum.

Round worms affect the small intestines and cause:

• Colic
• Gut peristalsis problems (diarrhea, obstruction, volvulus)
• Inability to absorb enough nutrients from food

Signs are abdominal distension, painful colic, poor growth and loss of condition. The hair coat looses its shine and becomes scrubby, and there may be a cough present, due to migrating larvae.

Very young kittens are at high risk of rapid weakness and sudden death. Symptoms of feline worms of this type in kittens are frequently a “worm belly" or distended abdomen and hardly passing any faeces.

As usually the whole litter is infested, it is vital to deworm queen and all kittens with anthelmintics that kill the adult worms and their larvae.

In severe cases hospitalization and IV-fluid treatment may become necessary.

Infection with Tape Worms

Cats can become infected by Taenia taeniaeformis, Echinococcus spp. and Dipylidium caninum.

Taenia spp. are transmitted to cats hunting rodents and Dipylidium caninum by accidental ingestion of fleas, which are intermediate hosts to their infectious larva stages.

Therefore, effective and regular flea treatment helps preventing infestation and transmission of tape worms.

Signs caused by this cat parasite are usually single segments sticking to the fur in the perianal area.

Tape worm treatment with appropriate cat dewormer on a regular base will help preventing further transmission of infectious larval forms to food production animals and decrease economic loss.

Hook Worm Infection in Cats

Feline hook worm species are Ancylostoma tubaeforme, A.braziliense and Uncinaria stenocephala.

The adult A. tubaeforme and its fourth stage larvae is a voracious blood-sucking intestinal cat parasite that can cause blood-loss anaemia and inflammation of the gut lining. These feline worms do a lot od damage, they cause even a seepage of blood at their bite sites.

Transmission happens usually through ingestion or skin penetration of infectious larvae.

In very young kittens it is an acute and severe disease that can cause sudden death. Adult cats will suffer a chronic form of continuous weakness and loss of condition.

Signs are beside loss of condition and poor appetite, pale mucous membranes, tarry, dark faeces, diarrhea and/or constipation and a dry cough caused by migrating larvae that penetrated earlier the skin.

Prevention

Prevention of the infection with this type of worm is easily done and can help to save younger kittens from chronic debilitation or even sudden death.

Treat young kittens with a worming product that kills adult hook worms by the age of 4 weeks. Queens should receive treatment before breeding and after they had their litter with a product that works as an adulticide and larvicide. This breaks the transmission of infectious larvae through the milk.

Best is a product containing fenbendazole, which is safe to use in young kittens and in pregnant queens. Adult cats can also be treated with imidacloprid and moxidectin.

Acute Infection

Treatment of acute infected cats consists of IV fluid therapy and in special cases, if a severe anaemia is present, blood transfusion.

An acute infection with this feline worms can end fatal, especially if young kittens or weakened older cats are diseased.