Worms in cats - how to remove parasites, the most effective means

Helminths or worms in cats can appear even when pets live in cleanliness, and they never leave home. Eggs of parasites live everywhere - in sand, water, earth, grass, food (especially in raw fish and meat). That's why it's important to know how to protect your pet from helminths.

Types of worms in cats

There are many varieties of helminths. What are worms in cats?

  1. Flat helminths: trematodes (trematodes) and cestodes (ribbon - ribbons and chains).
  2. Round helminths: (ascarids, toxocara, hookworm).
  3. White nematodes.

Pets can be bothered by all kinds of worms, but the most common varieties are round and tapeworms. They affect the intestines, bile, lungs, liver and even the heart, depending on the degree of infection and the type of worm. Parasites feed on lymph, blood, tissues and deplete the body of the carrier. In the most neglected cases, the invasion can lead to the death of the animal.

Tape worms in cats

Flat or ribbon worms in cats reach a value of 10-70 cm, their body is divided into a large number of segments, larvae develop from them. These worms parasitize in the small intestine and provoke vomiting , leading to loss of weight of the pet. Belt helminths are dangerous because they are transmitted through fleas to other pets. They also become infected by cats when eating small rodents, raw fish, insects - carriers of pinworms.

In a pet affected by ribbon parasites, it is easy to see segments of the worm in the feces around the anus, resembling rice grains. Worms in a cat damage mucous membranes, feed on tissues and blood, release toxic substances into the body. Severe infection can trigger clogging, rupture of the intestine and lead to the death of a pet.

Round worms in cats

It is important to know what worms look like in cats , in order to help the pet to get out of them in time. Round helminths are small parasites, the most common of them are roundworms that resemble spaghetti. Their value does not exceed 5 mm, rarely occurs and individuals longer - up to 10 mm, the animal in such cases may not survive. After two weeks after infection, eggs of helminths are easily detected in feces.

The maximum number of parasites is observed in the small intestine, they feed on blood, with a strong accumulation of clogged bile ducts. This group of worms is dangerous for felines, the products of their vital activity cause intoxication of the body. In small newborn kittens, roundworms lead to the development of life-threatening anemia.

White worms in cats

Nematodes are small, threadlike, white helminths as large as 2 cm in length. Worms in cats drink blood, clinging to the walls of the small intestine. Nematodes for the health of the pet are a deadly danger, especially for kittens. Infection can occur when in contact with the faeces of a sick relative, contact with particles infected with pinworms. Kittens are often infected through the mother's milk. Signs of worms in the cat (nematodes):

Worms in cats - symptoms

Depending on how long the worms have appeared in cats, the symptoms are increasing, and the treatment should be performed as soon as the first signs of infection are seen. At the initial stages of infection, when helminths are few, the effects of the disease are often absent. Over time, depending on the rate of reproduction of parasites, the pet shows noticeable symptoms of invasion.

How do you know if the cat has worms?

Signs of worms in cats :

  1. Poor appetite, weight loss, fast fatigue, the kitten will lag behind in growth.
  2. Wool of the pet falls out, tarnishes.
  3. Stool disorder (alternation of constipation and diarrhea).
  4. In the area of ​​the anus, the itch (the cat can crawl in a sitting posture).
  5. Increased liver and yellowness of the mucous membranes.
  6. Expulsion from the eyes.
  7. In advanced cases, symptoms of poisoning of the body: convulsions, cuts of the paws, mucus, blood in the feces, miscarriage in a pregnant cat can occur.

How to get worms in a cat?

There are many medications that affect the different stages of helminth development and are able to heal the whole animal from parasites. The bulk of the drugs affect simultaneously all types of helminths. The medicine for worms for cats is made in the form of suspensions, tablets, drops on the withers. Modern drugs have a small toxic effect on the pet's body, but it is important to take into account contraindications and to observe their dosage.

Folk remedies for worms in cats

If the cat showed worms, what to do - that's the main question that worries the caring owner. At the initial stage of the disease, it is expedient to use folk recipes:

  1. To water an animal instead of water with a decoction from a chemist's daisy.
  2. Cut the onion into 4 parts and fill it with a glass of warm water. A week to give an infusion of a pet in the morning on an empty stomach.
  3. 1 tbsp. spoon of tansy flowers insist in a glass of boiled water for 60 minutes, strain. Give the cat an infusion 2-3 times a day for an hour before eating.
  4. Introduce in the anus of the pet once a day 20 ml of carrot juice for a week.
  5. Grind a clove of garlic and add it to the feed, the treatment is carried out for a week.

Folk remedies should be given for a long time, unlike medicinal products, but they are nontoxic for the body. It is advisable to use them if the cat is pregnant, feeds the babies with milk or has additional diseases, it is possible to treat such drugs and kittens at the age of up to 3 weeks. It is advisable to conduct several courses of therapy at intervals of half a month.

Tablets from worms for cats

The most common preparations from worms for cats:

  1. Kanikvantel plus - give after a month of age at the rate of 0.5 dosage form per 5 kg of body weight. The preparation has a fish or meat smell.
  2. Dirofen - the dose depends on the body weight and age, the drug has almost no side effects.
  3. Milbemax - given once, kids can be from 6 months.
  4. Pratel - the action begins 3-4 hours later and lasts for several days. Babies from 6 weeks give ¼ tablets.

The main thing - to check that the pet swallowed the pill, and the drug entered the body in the required volume. To do this, apply the following methods:

  1. Rinse the tablet and mix with the cat's treat (the best fit is wet food).
  2. Grind the drug, dissolve in water and inject a needle without needles to the animal's cheek.
  3. Use a piercer - syringe with a rubber soft tip. In this case, the tablet is fixed and the piston is pushed into the mouth of the pet.

Injections from worms for cats

If a cat has worms, what to do is the main question. There are injections from helminths, this is a very effective treatment, the main thing is for the owner to be able to do this procedure - to properly fix the animal so that when carrying an intramuscular injection does not damage the skin, it is right to choose the dosage of the medicine for a large or small pet.

If such difficulties are not frightening, then Ivomec, Novomek, Barmek can be given injections. Better before using them, consult a doctor at least when carrying out the first injection. Injections from worms in cats are made and small kittens, as they allow you to accurately calculate the dosage. Also, injections are well suited to nervous animals that refuse to take medication, spit out the pills.

Drops from fleas and worms for cats

If worms are found in cats, treatment can be done with the help of special drops. They are considered the best drugs for pets, kill not only parasites, but also rid them of fleas and ticks. Drops are easy to use, you only need to use a convenient dispenser to apply them on the withers - the skin between the blades. Due to the oily consistency they spread throughout the body of the animal and affect the parasites. Popular Drops:

  1. Profender - German drug, suitable for cats with 8 weeks weighing more than 0.5 kg.
  2. Helminthal K - excretes worms in cats, relieves and protects insects, suitable for animals from 7 weeks weighing more than 4 kg.

How do worms develop in cats after the medication?

Each owner should know how to withdraw the worms from the cat and how the animal is treated with a cure for parasites. After giving the drug, the mass output of helminths begins along with feces. Medicines act on the cellular membranes of the worms in cats, paralyze them. The remains of helminths with intestinal contents are mixed and output outside. In the feces of the cat after the action of the drug can detect only fragments, the remains of worms. It is necessary to carefully clean the animal tray after treatment.

Preventive maintenance of worms in cats

It is necessary to plan preventive de-worming every three months, especially if the pet is used to walking on the street. Worms are excreted 10-14 days before inoculation and two weeks before the proposed mating. Vaccination of cats from worms or the introduction of anthelmintic medicines is carried out twice with a periodicity of two weeks. A single dose kills an adult, and from eggs for 10 days new parasites are withdrawn, which will be destroyed by a second reception.

Some drugs affect helminths at any stage and are applied only once (Profender, Milbemax). A pregnant individual should be treated with a medicine that does not have contraindications to expectant mothers. Some of them can be used in the early stages of pregnancy (Milbemax), others - at the end (Drontal). Kittens (not earlier than 10 days old) it is better to buy a suspension (for example, Prasicides, Dirofen) and dose it strictly by weight.

How to prevent infection of the cat with worms:

  1. With street cats, rodents, which can be attacked by fleas and worms, avoid contact.
  2. Frequently change the contents of the tray, periodically disinfecting the cat's toilet.
  3. Raw meat and fish do not feed the animal, they must be thoroughly digested.
  4. To treat cats with preparations for fleas, which can be a source of helminthic invasion.

Can a person get a worm from a cat?

When asked whether it is possible to catch worms from a cat to a person, the answer is unambiguous - it is possible. Many types of parasites can harm people, especially children. A person can become infected with ascarids, echinococci, chainworm, enterobiosis. When the infection manifests the following symptoms:

  1. Loss of appetite, aversion to some foods.
  2. Weight loss.
  3. Intestinal disorders - from diarrhea to constipation.
  4. Pain in the abdomen - flatulence, swelling.
  5. Allergic manifestations - rash, swelling of the skin, runny nose.
  6. Anemia.
  7. Symptoms of intoxication - weakness, pallor, fatigue.

Infection occurs by a fecal-oral route, that is, through dirty hands. The larvae and eggs of the parasite live for a long time outside of the body, they can enter the mouth after contact with the animal even after a few hours. The cat licks itself and carries the larvae of the parasites all over the wool. If a person pats such an animal, it can become infected. Therefore it is important to observe hygiene when dealing with cats - wash hands after contact with them and objects of their use (trays, feeders).

Treatment is prescribed by a physician parasitologist after some tests. Traditionally, a single administration of an anthelmintic preparation is attributed, which is duplicated after 2 weeks for complete disposal of adult individuals and larvae. Often, the following medicines are used:

  1. Pirantel - relieves the nematodes and tapeworms.
  2. Decaris is a drug of levamisole, it helps against ascarids and other round parasites.
  3. Vormin - based on mebendazole, acts on all subspecies of helminths.