Health Information

Jake came to my life in early April. He was given to me by a friend who got him at a pet shop. She did't tell me how old he was, I figured he was a little over a month old.
I needed information so that I can tell the vet. Well last thursday, I took Jake for his first vet visit and to get his first rounds of distemper vaccintation. I discovered he had earmites and that he might have worms. I didn't notice anything unusual in his stools. But I did on occation saw his belly round. I thought it was because of growth. Then the vet told me that kittens usually get worms through their mothers. Well, the vet cleaned out his ears with a liquid. She lent me the bottle until his next distemper vaccination in about three weeks. I was to put a little bit of the medicine in Jake's ears every week to kill the mites.
And when I take him for his shots again, he is going to be dewormed. The vets are part of the Petsmart stores. They were very helpful with me. But how does one know when a cat has worms? I always thought the worms would be in the feces. Also, can you give me some information about toxoplasma? It's the disease that is rumored to be transmitted from cats to pregnant women. Jake is a strictly indoor cat.

Thanks

I am glad you are happy with your Petsmart. It is very common for kittens from pet stores, shelters, bad breeders etc to have ear mites. Once they are gone they are usually gone for good. Unless of course you bring home another kitten with ear mites.
Worms are common for all kittens. Pregnancy hormones can trigger the growth in moms. Then it is passed on to the kittens through milk. You would notice the worms in the feces or in vomit when the infestation is bad. Since it is likley that all kittens have them, it is a good idea to de worm them before it gets to that point.
Toxoplasmosis is a parasite picked up from eating raw meat and I believe some rodents. It is not very common and would be hard for an indoor cat to get if never given raw meat.

About the worms, do they cause a cat to lose his appetite? or if I gently squeeze his belly he would cry out in pain.
I will take him as soon as possible to get dewormed.

Worms tend to make them eat more than usual. They rob them of nutrition and they tend to eat more. They also can take on a pot bellied appearance.

Originally posted by nena10
About the worms, do they cause a cat to lose his appetite? or if I gently squeeze his belly he would cry out in pain.
I will take him as soon as possible to get dewormed.

Click to expand...

Has the vet suggested that the kitten may have FIP (Feline Infectious Peritonitis)?

Oh, I also forgot to say that Tapeworms will show up in stools often looking like pieces of rice. Roundworms can't be detected in stools, but the vet will take a stool sample under the microscope and look for eggs. I think there is also WhipWorm and some flukes but I'm not too clear on many parasites.
I've read that if you have a cat, and you clean his box, etc etc, for a time BEFORE you get pregnant, that if you have been exposed to toxoplasmosis it won't affect an unborn child. It's only when a mother is exposed WHILE PREGNANT that it can have harmful effcts on a fetus.
But don't take my word for it, I'd ask your doctor or the vet.

As for toxo - you can ask your doctor for a simple blood test that will tell you if you are immuned to toxo (from previous exposure). I have dealt with cats' litter for quite some years and I'm not immuned, so don't start touching the feces just to get immuned

The best thing to avoid toxo is not clean the box while your pregnant (have someone else do it), or use gloves. It's also important to wear gloves while working in the garden or touching uncooked meat as these are the main sources of toxo infections.