Deworming Your Cat
by Ron King
Cats, especially new cats, coming into your family should be examined by a vet to make certain they are healthy. One of the more unpleasant problems a cat can have is worms. It's important to educate yourself so that you recognize the symptoms and know what kinds of worms can plague a cat. It's a health concern that should not be overlooked.
Virtually all kittens are born infected with some type of a worm. These worms can be and most fr
equently are transmitted via the mother's milk or at the same time the kittens are still inside the mother's womb. Unless the mother lives in pristine circumstances (think sterile pure rooms), look for your newborn kitten to have worms. The same goes for an older feline as well. It takes attention to keep cats worm-free. For the most part, veterinarians will encourage deworming your cat, as needed. But how do you determine exactly what "as needed" means? There are a few indicators which will aid you in deciding when the deworming procedure is essential.
If your kitten was found as a stray, don't assume anything. If you decide to keep the kitten, be certain that a veterinarian visit is on your list of priorities. Deworming will be a given. If your cat is a pet that likes to roam, catch mice or other diminutive animals, it is likely to be highly susceptible to worms. Wild animals are the ideal hosts for carrying worm larvae and if your cat consumes it, they will develop a worm problem.
Suppose your cat is predominantly an indoor pet. They can still acquire worms. If your cat develops a heaving problem or occasionally has retching episodes without a hairball byproduct, these behaviors are a good indicator that your cat is trying to rid itself of worms. Also, vomiting the worms up is, of course, a clear indication that your cat needs to be dewormed straightaway. More than likely, the worms vomited up are roundworms and resemble spaghetti in appearance. Sometimes, tapeworms are a culprit. Tapeworms are flat and segmented.
To make matters more confusing, tests can sometimes give a false negative. Vets test cat feces when looking for worms, and sometimes, even though worms are present in the cat's body, they don't show up in the feces because they're essentially dormant. Worms can remain dormant for long periods of time and then become suddenly active if your cat undergoes some type of stress, like a pregnancy or an injury.
If your cat's appetite changes or it develops diarrhea, those are possible indicators of a worm illness. A dull coat of fur or the development of a pot-belly are additional indicators. In addition, if you ever see your cat eat the dung of another animal, you might as well be ready to go through a deworming of your cat.
For the most part, testing of your cat's dung is the best bet to determine what category of worm illness your cat may have. Barring a proper worm diagnosis, your cat cannot receive the proper medication. This means that medication for roundworms occasionally does not work for tapeworms or other species like the hookworm or whipworm. By determining the correct species, you can be ensured of a successful deworming.
It is important to note that commonly medications come in liquid or in some type of pill. Since cats can be a bit ornery, you have to ensure that they indeed take their medicine and ingest it. Disguising the deworming medication in their cat food or other treat is the simplest way. Another thing to be aware of is that it may take several treatments of deworming medication to altogether rid your cat of worms. The rationale for the chance of multiple treatments is that the worms may be in varied stages of development and not all stages are susceptible to the treatments. However, multiple treatments will guarantee a worm-free kitty.
Deworming your cat is not something you should do arbitrarily. Medications should be administered only when needed. But recognizing that a cat has worms can be tricky. It's important to test for worms periodically and to pay attention to your cat's behavior. It's also important that your cat have regular visits to the vet because the bottom line is you want your feline companion to be happy and healthy.
About the Author
For more info, see Cat tips or Cat health. Ron King is a web developer; visit his website Authoring Articles.
Copyright 2007 Ron King. This article may be reprinted if the resource box is left intact and the links live.