Tapeworms in Cats intestinal tracts can become infected with tapeworms, a parasite. They embed themselves in their host’s intestinal wall using the hooks on their mouthparts. They eat the meal the cat is now digesting.
Tapeworm Types Cats Can Develop
Cats can contract one of three main forms of tapeworms:
Dipylidium caninum In cats, Dipylidium caninum is the most typical kind of tapeworm. Its life cycle involves feeding on flea larvae, therefore a cat must eat a flea to contract this kind of tapeworm.
Less Taenia species are found than Dipylidium species. A bird, rodent, or rabbit serves as the intermediate host for these particular forms of tapeworms. To contract Taenia, a cat must consume an infected animal.
Echinococcus species Rodents, sheep, foxes, and coyotes are used as intermediaries by Echinococcus species. Of the three forms of tapeworm, they are the least common.
Cat tapeworm life cycle
The bodies and heads of tapeworms are segmented. Proglottids are the segments that can separate from the head and from one another and travel through the intestines before dispersing into the environment.
The proglottids gradually dry out and burst open after leaving the host, releasing tapeworm eggs. The tapeworm eggs are consumed by a flea larva in the case of Dipylidium caninum, a rat, or another intermediate host in the cases of Taenia and Echinococcus.
When a cat consumes an adult flea that was formerly a flea larva carrying tapeworm eggs or when the cat consumes an infected rodent, the cat becomes infected.
Feline Tapeworm Infection Symptoms
In many cases, a cat with tapeworm illness shows no symptoms. A host can carry tapeworms for a long time undetected and they frequently have no negative impact on them.
Some of the indicators that could be seen are as follows:
- Vomiting up a tapeworm.
- Weight loss.
- segments of a tapeworm that are visible in the stool or on the pet’s anus. These are frequently compared to rice grains and may or may not be moving.
How to Identify Tapeworms in Cats
Tapeworms can be difficult to diagnose, even when a veterinarian runs a fecal flotation test to look for intestinal parasite eggs. That’s because tapeworm eggs are heavy and often drop down rather than floating to the top of the sample.
Diagnosis of feline tapeworms is often achieved when an owner notices tapeworm segments (proglottids) on the cat, in the kitty’s bedding, or in the stool. The owner should collect the proglottids and take them to the veterinarian, who can examine the enclosed tapeworm eggs under a microscope and identify which of the three types the cat has.
Treatment of Cat Tapeworms
Cats with tapeworms can be treated with a specific kind of de-wormer. Veterinarians can prescribe it as a pill or an injection, and you can get it.
Cats who have fleas or pursue and consume rodents frequently develop tapeworm infections again.
Breaking the cycle of Dipylidium infestation in cats requires effective flea management. You can find out more information here: “Flea Control for Cats,” but you should see your doctor about the most effective flea-control measures for your particular scenario.
Can My Cat Give Me Tapeworms?
Tapeworms cannot be directly contracted from cats by humans, other cats, or dogs. The same way the original cat contracted the disease—by eating a flea or rodent—they must also become infected.
As a result, even though it’s rare for people to contract tapeworms when their cat has them, other cats and dogs in the same home frequently do, especially when they also have fleas.
