How Do Cats Get Worms

Dipylidium caninum is a tapeworm found in an infected flea whereas Taenia and Echinococcus species use small rodents mice rats squirrels rabbits or large animals such as deer or sheep as their intermediate hosts.

How do cats get worms. Fleas are carriers for tapeworm eggs. The environment is one of the biggest ways from which cats catch worms. Similar to hookworms roundworms can not only pose a threat to your cat but to you as well.

Because it is relatively easy for a cat to acquire worms it is a good idea to know the warning signs so you can seek veterinary treatment for the problem early on. Cats are especially at risk for tapeworms because they are such good groomers. There are different species of tapeworms.

Worms can also be contracted by hunting and eating rodents that are infected with worms. Cats with adult heartworms typically have just one to three worms and many cats affected by heartworms have no adult worms. Roundworm - look like spaghetti and grow up to 15cm long.

Infestation depends on the type of worm but most often cats get worms by coming into contact with fleas eggs or infected particles in feces. What do cat worms look like. This highlights the importance of a regular worming schedule starting from two weeks of age.

Roundworms Toxocara cati and Toxascaris leonina. These are some of the most popular intestinal parasites found in both dogs and cats. Whilst indoor cats are less likely to get worms its not impossible.

As discussed above many parasites are not species-specific. Cats can get worms from feces because worms can be found in cat feces and might be transmitted to cats humans or other pets cats can also get worms through contact with infected soil or food unkept litter boxes unkept gardens other infected pets infected rodents or drinking contaminated water. In fact the most common way for a cat to get tapeworms is by eating infected fleas carrying the larval form of the worm while grooming themselves or other cats.