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- Talk to your vet about preventive worming treatment
- If your cats go outside, consider keeping them in
I hope this helps. Your Pal, Simba
Are Tapeworms Contagious?
Dear Simba, My kitten has what appears to be small rice particles on his stools. My vet
will not be here for 5 days, I have other pets and I am worried they will get infected also. Please help! Mindy
Hi Mindy,
Tapeworms are transmitted through the ingestion of infected fleas or feces. I recommend that you keep your kitten isolated for now.
Simba
Dear Simba,
I have found some tiny, white, hard, rice-shaped things on the
chair where the kitten sleeps. I have checked his poop and have
not found worms. What could these be? He is a high-energy kitty
and has a good appetite. Any advice you could give would be
appreciated. - Thanks! Amy
Dear Amy,
It is entirely possible that Kitty has tapeworm. This condition is fairly common
in kittens and those little grains of rice-like matter are egg
cases that hold and release tapeworm eggs. FYI, watch out for
fleas. Because your kitten is too young to hunt it is possible
that he acquired tapeworms by eating flea larvae (flea
larvae often eat tapeworm eggs). Best thing to do is to go to
your vet and treat your kitten. In the meantime check him for
fleas. Again, this is a common condition so do not worry,
he will be fine. Your Pal, Simba
Dear Simba
We discovered worms that look like small white rice that moves in
our cat's stool. Please advise what we need to do to rid the
cat of worms, protect our other cat from getting worms too and
whether or not worms can be transmitted to humans. Thank you for
your assistance concerning this matter. Scooter
Dear Scooter,
It appears as though your cat has tapeworm. Tapeworms are very
common and easily treated. They transmitted through the
ingestion of flea larvae or infected rodents. Most indoor cats
get tapeworm from fleas. So there is a risk that your other cat
may already be infected.
The risk to human adults is minimal so long as you wash your
hands after interacting with your cat (be sure to keep any young
children away until your cat completes treatment). Your best bet
is to isolate the cat that has the worms and begin treatment with
a wormer. You may also want to begin a preventive treatment for
your other cat, in addition to taking them both for a check up
and possible flea treatment. Tapeworms are an easy one to cure.
Keep me posted. Simba
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