Today, worms in cats are one of the most common diseases. Every breeder is faced with this problem sooner or later. Worm eggs (or helminths) can be located in one of those places that you have chosen for a walk, for example, in gardens, in yards, in parks and squares.
It would be naive to believe that if your animal does not go outside, then the risk of getting sick is practically minimized. Owners themselves can bring parasitic eggs on shoes or clothes into the house and, thus, infect pets. It follows that the worms and kittens, these very recently born babies are not so rare.
Your cat, cat or kitten can get sick by eating raw meat or fish when meeting people or animals with whom, for example, your acquaintances or friends have come to see you. And also, probably your pet, like all other cats, loves to hunt for flies, and it is precisely the flies that are carriers of worms and their larvae.
Worms in cats cause enormous damage to the body of the animal: immunity is reduced, metabolism is significantly impaired, even internal organs are damaged.
If your kitten has worms, you can determine this probability even by external signs. Usually such a baby has dull hair and poor appetite. The pet noticeably loses weight, weakens, and sometimes the situation is exacerbated by anemia and diarrhea. By the way, the signs of worms in cats and cats are the same, but helminthiases in them are often hidden. An accurate diagnosis is made only after the detection of eggs of worms in the feces of the animal.
Any veterinarian will agree that the worms in kittens are of particular danger. Sometimes there are so many of them that they are able to clog and, in the end, tear the walls of the intestines, which will lead to the inevitable death of the animal.
I would also like to warn you - common types of helminths are often found in humans and pets, so sick cats, cats, or kittens are dangerous for people and especially for children.
Helminths in cats
The most common parasites in cats are considered to be helminths of two types: roundworms (nematodes) and tapeworms (cestodes). Let us dwell in more detail on each of them.
Nematodes are small worms whose length can be from 6 to 13 mm. They have the characteristic shape of a thread. Such worms in cats are able to attach to the wall of the small intestine and feed on the blood of the host. You can catch nematodes in contact with infected soil or with feces of other animals that already contain larvae. In the cat's body, the larvae immediately migrate to the lungs and only from there they enter the intestines. Two weeks later, worm eggs will appear in the feces.
Cestodes are tape worms that affect more often than adult cats. The body of the parasite resembles a thin narrow strip of tissue and consists of a huge number of segments within which larvae develop. In turn, the segments with feces go outside, therefore, infection with this type of parasite is simple enough to see with the naked eye.
Worms in cats: treatment and prevention
To carry out the treatment and prevention of worms is no less than 2 times a year. Moreover, this should not depend on the time of year, nor on whether your pet is walking on the street.
Do not forget to drive off the worms before each vaccination, otherwise the animal may begin to have severe complications. In the event that several animals live in your home, it is better to give an anthelmintic drug to everyone at the same time. By the way, fleas are also considered as carriers of some types of worms, so before you give an anthelmintic drug, you will also have to display fleas.
As a rule, the course of deworming should consist of a double dose of the drug with an interval of ten days to two weeks. Why? - The thing is that so far there are no such drugs that would act on the larvae of worms, so in one go you will not be able to cure the animal of parasites.