Worms in cats

Worms are internal parasites in the intestine and they affect both cats and dogs. De-worming is a routine treatment for most kittens who can expect to have worms at some point in their lives, usually hookworm or round worms.

Roundworm females can lay a million eggs in five days, so it is important to get early treatment. Often the disease is spread from the mother cat through milk. Once they have a hold on the intestine they feed from the same food the cat has eaten. Whilst diarrhea and vomiting, arte the most common symptoms a side effect of this is dehydration and the younger the animal the more susceptible they are to dehydration.  

Roundworm eggs can live for many years and chemicals cannot kill them off.  They thrive in warm weather and this is the time of year when pets are most at risk.  

Hookworms are so called because they are capable of hooking  themselves to the intestinal wall where they feed on blood. Adult cats can become infected when they eat the larvae but kittens can be infected across the milk or they can get them passed on through the placenta before they are even born. If they are allowed to get a serious hold without treatment then it is likely that the cats will suffer anemia, because there red cell count has diminished. The hookworms fortunately release an anti coagulant substance whilst they are feeding and when they move on to feed in another part of the intestine the anti coagulant prevents the blood from clotting. This leaves a telltale tarry stool which is black.

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