Worm found in cat throw up?

So, my cat that's only a couple years old threw up and I found this worm in the throw up. It's about 1.25 in and I'm worried what it is. My cat is an outside cat that actively kills and eats anything that moves. Should I take it to the vet?

Yes, take your cat to the vet along with the worm. Your cat will likely need to be put on a dewormer treatment and, later, a montly preventative.

LTS3 said:

 
Yes, take your cat to the vet a long with the worm. Your cat will likely need to be put on a dewormer treatment and, later, a montly preventative.

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i agree with this. ask your vet about Revolution (or Advantage Multi). it will take care of roundworm and hookworm along with fleas, heartworm, and ear mites. 

Oh, I asked around a little bit and I've been told it is a lizard tail. My cat has a pretty long history of hunting lizards and it's likely it could have just thrown up its dinner. I've looked through Google images and it doesn't look like a tapeworm, roundworm, hookworm, or a heartworm.

Studnik said:

 
Oh, I asked around a little bit and I've been told it is a lizard tail. My cat has a pretty long history of hunting lizards and it's likely it could have just thrown up its dinner. I've looked through Google images and it doesn't look like a tapeworm, roundworm, hookworm, or a heartworm.

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possibly, since it was just one. but i still think Revolution would be good for your cat since he is an outdoor hunter. otherwise, i would deworm every 3 to 6 months. 

Good he didn't vomit a worm. Prey can obstruct some cats. At least a lizard tail is cleaner than a mouse head regurgitated on your carpet ;]

As a good maintenance protocol, deworming cats every 2 months that go outdoors regularly is a good idea anyway, despite this time it wasn't a worm. You can monitor under his tail for 2 different kinds of tapeworm segments commonly found in indoor/outdoor and outdoor only cats.

Topical Profender is best for feline hunters, as they ingest a species of tapeworm, Taenia, that commonly infects rodents and rabbits, and Profender kills all species of tapes, as well as hooks and rounds. Many owners don't even see the Taenia segments in stool or on their hind end. They vomit a long chain of the segments (aka proglottids) once they've been infested long enough for the worm to not stay in the intestine, where it prefers to attach and feed; this is often the first evidence for those cats that primarily eliminate outdoors.

2 primary flatworms/tapeworms (cestodes) cats get if a hunter:

Taenia chain (shorter, fat segments in a chain - carried by rodents/rabbits)


Dipylidium chain (more oval, elongated segments - carried by fleas)


This one is more common, as licking a flea up while grooming is common to indoor and outdoor cats. All cats groom, only a portion of outdoor exposed cats hunt. Fleas are on cats treated with monthly parasiticides as nothing prevents the flea from hopping on then biting a cat to be affected by the med in their skin, even if it's a single flea, carrying tape larva, and infecting its host.

I'm going to go puke now. See you later.