Found a WORM in my cats vomit.....

Ok I am officially disgusted!  And concerned...I have 3 cats, all indoor now, 1 old, 2 new rescues.  All have been dewormed before taking them home.  I have no clue which cat it is, I know it has to be one of the new cats, but I'm sure they will all have to be treated now.  From the pictures on the internet it is roundworm, I also found one in poop in the litter box.  If anyone has had this problem before, how did you successfully take care of it?  I also read that roundworm can be spread to humans.  These cats jump out of the litter box and get litter stuck in their nails, and then litter ends up wherever they jump, like on a bed sometimes, as much as I run around and vacuum and clean, it still happens. I'm usually home all day so as soon as one uses the litter box I clean it out, it's never dirty, unless I'm out for the day.   SO I'm kind of worried...I have kids in the house, who run around and roll around on the floor with these cats, and one cat sleeps with my youngest daughter, and she has had to brush off litter from her bed, of course we change it anyway but I'm sure she touched it already, how easily would a kid catch it from situations like this?  I've had cats forever, but never worms, the thought of that never crossed my mind until these rescue kitties came along, and now...we have a worm situation. Just the thought of worms is making me insane!  I'm taking the cat that is the most likely the victim to the vet tomorrow, in the meantime, I need to know how easy this is to get and what is the best way to keep them from not returning after being dewormed (again)???

Usually if you take the one to the vet you suspect, you can request the roundworm medicine for the rest without having to bring them in.  This assumes that the others have been seen by the vet.  Usually deworming requires 2 treatments one immediately and one in a month's time. Oftentimes it is only done once.  My very first cat has this problem and it is gross,  I know.  Just to warn you, after your cat is treated you will find dead "spaghetti" in the litter box.  My cat was very sick from them so please try to take the cats to the vet ASAP because whoever has it, will start being very sick very soon.  Sometimes the dewormer does not work the first time.  This why it is usually recommended it be repeated.   

When a cat has worms in his poop, AND vomiting worms, it is a pretty badly infested kitty.

It is NOT difficult to get rid of however.

Not sure whaich dewormer was given, but believe this, unless he/they are dosed EVERY 2 weeks precisely, they will regrow and regrow, so you must be vigilant and relentless in treatment for it to be successful.

There all many good dewormers, pyrantel, panacur, profender, drontal, and so on.

If vet costs are an issue, you can order pyrantel online or via 1800petmeds, and it is cheap, very safe/mild, and has a very long shelf life of like at least a year.

No prescription needed.

This would be my suggestion since you do have 3 cats, and can deworm every now and then to be certain there is no reinfestation, AFTER the repeated dosing every 2 weeks, it may take dosing repeatedly many times for the one who has them bad, maybe even 5-6 times. (I had one like that)

Just know that pyrantel is extremely gentle, is given to tiny kittens safely, you can not overdose them, and it is very effective for roundworms.

Normal dose of pyrantel is 0.01 mls per 2 lbs, every 2 weeks, but personally if I get a cat in my rescue who is to the point of vomiting worms, I up the dose the first 2-3 times by 50%, in other words a 10 lb cat would usually get 0.5 ml, but the first 2-3 doses I would give 1.0 ml. (0.01 ml per pound rather than per 2 lbs.)

This will not hurt a cat!

Gross, I know. Even worse in my opinion are tapeworm segments on their butts! Yuck!

They have all been to the vet when I got them, the kitten was dewormed 3 times I think, but twice for sure, and I got her 3 months ago, and the one I think it is has been with me for 2 months, and was dewormed twice also.  She is going to the vet tomorrow morning.  So there will be dead worms in the litter box huh? That's like my nightmare. When you say very sick, what happened to her?

 My cat was a kitten at the time maybe 8 weeks old.  She started throwing up and her poop look like undigested food (yellow not brown).  I was worried something was seriously wrong with her.   I didn't see any worms before her treatment but, boy, after, I saw them.  She was much better in just a day after treatment and the worms all being expelled.  

Thanks Catwoman707....And I'm not sure if the same cat that vomited the worm pooped the worm!  But if one has it they all will correct?  So say I order online, I should just start to treat all of them at the same time, every 2 weeks, for how long would you do that to be on the safe side?  Because they were dewormed at least twice before at 2 week intervals, I'm not sure of the meds used but it was listed on their paperwork, and they were from 2 different shelters.  Besides the actual worms what are other symptoms? I'm trying to get a good idea of who to take to the vet, I only want to take one...and the two new ones both cough occasionally, and throw up occasionally. Both eat like maniacs, but the older one is always hungry, like crazy, and she eats everyone else's food, is fatter and seems a bit lethargic.  But the kitten has a runny eye, has since being adopted 3 months ago, only one eye, all the time, nothing else.  SO I'm not sure which one should go, the kitten would be horrible to take, she is very skittish and was feral when caught. The older one is perfectly fine being picked up and handled.

I had 2 other cats who shared a litterbox with the other and the sick one was the only one with worms.  I would venture a guess the one that is throwing up is the one pooping the worms.  I also recall I only treated the one sick one back then.  I think your vet can give you recommendations about who else, if any others, needs to be treated.  I haven't heard that roundworms are contagious but tapeworms if another cat eats a worm segment, ugh!   

Jamaal, coughing is a sign of a very infested kitty, it means the worms are bad enough that they invade lung space, are then coughed up and swallowed, sending them into the stomach/intestines.

I highly suggest taking the oldest one, she and the other one who coughs and are both starving acting, are the worst. Be sure he knows there is another with the same symptoms as well, and get treatment for the 2, while waiting for the pyrantel to come.

The kitten needs simple terramycin ointment which can be ordered on ebay cheap. Under $10.00 and it can wait to be dewormed when the pyrantel arrives as well.

You may want to start giving a daily dose of l-lysine supplement to the kitten, as it likely had the upper respiratory infection herpevirus, which causes the runny eye.

It's is best to take all if them to the vet to get treated. If you can only take one take the cat throwing up worms. If you have a cat throwing up anything that one will always need to go to the vet because throwing up isn't normal for a cat if it's more than just a now and then thing. The one vomiting the worms will get sick very quickly that one needs to go ASAP.

Did you save the worm?  That would be the easiest way to get it treated is to take it in and show the vet.  Worms depending on where they are in their life cycle might not show up in a fecal.  Only about 30% of the time will the vet actually find eggs in the stool.  So keep that in mind.  We normally give about 1/2 cc per 10# of the Pyrantel at the vet I work at.

The problem is I don't know which one is throwing up the worms, the two rescues are the ones coughing and they have both thrown up. The one time I saw the worm in the vomit, I had been out all day so I have no clue who it was.  My oldest cat, who is 10, is the only one not vomiting or coughing and eats like a normal cat. So I really don't want to take her.  I think the kitten or the other, Isabel, is the one.  The kitten threw up earlier and Isabel did yesterday.  No worms in it that I could see. Their poop is normal and nothing in that either.  I did not save the worm when I saw it, I was so disgusted I just picked it up and threw it out!  Thought about saving it after I had already disposed of it. It looked exactly like the pictures of roundworm. I'm taking just Isabel because she is the only one who seems not right. She is constantly hungry and her poop smells horrible, every time.  She also had a little blood on her butt the other day, so she is the one I'm most concerned about. Either way I have an appointment with the vet in the morning....

It makes sense to take either one of the new kids, the cough part is concerning and needs to be addressed.

Great that you have an appt in the am!

catwoman707 said:

Normal dose of pyrantel is 0.01 mls per 2 lbs, every 2 weeks, but personally if I get a cat in my rescue who is to the point of vomiting worms, I up the dose the first 2-3 times by 50%, in other words a 10 lb cat would usually get 0.5 ml, but the first 2-3 doses I would give 1.0 ml. (0.01 ml per pound rather than per 2 lbs.)

This will not hurt a cat!

Click to expand...

I'm little confused with the above dosages...so a 15 pd cat would the dosage be .15ml  or 1.5 ml  ?  .....is the .01 a typo?

upnorthkitty said:

 
I'm little confused with the above dosages...so a 15 pd cat would the dosage be .15ml  or 1.5 ml  ?  .....is the .01 a typo?

Click to expand...

Sorry!!

Yes, a 15 lb cat would get 1.5 mls. 

In a 1 ml syringe, there is a .1, ,2, .3 etc. until it gets to 1 full ml. ( 1.0 )

Repeat in 2 weeks.

Thanks,  that what i thought you meant...just wanted to make sure