Small white thick round worms.

                     Small white thick round worms.

2 y                   2 year old female outdoor cat. Vomiting and licking around hindquarters. Found two small white thick round worms around vagina. Took a picture                            but see no  way to post.  Worms were not segments – but complete – reminded me of larva. 

                       Not tapeworm

                       Not Pinworm

                       Not roundworm as I’ve seen photos of them.

                       Looked a bit like shots of Flukes  - but –

                       I have now NO idea what they are and  thus how to treat !!!!

 I'm not sure about the worms.  What about taking her to the vet?

Margd said:

  I'm not sure about the worms.  What about taking her to the vet?

Click to expand...

I second the advice about a vet visit. Of nothing else, they can provide an appropriate wormer for her age and the worm type.

Possibly tapeworms?  They look like white rice grains, found on the fur near the poop-shoot......

You can take a fecal sample into the vet so they can do an analysis - you dont even have to bring your cat, just the poop!  When I've done this, I just wait for someone to drop a fresh one, scoop it up in a little sandwich bag, then put the bag o'poop in an empty pill bottle & take it to the vet.   Here, it's like $19 to do the poop analysis.

@ByterBit    I've sent you a tutorial on how to upload photos.     

Yes, tapeworm segments do in fact look just like a full worm, thick and short with tapered ends, squirmy then once out in the air dry up within 15 minutes and look darker like a sesame seed in a way.

Likely what that is, cause is flea ingestion, she needs wormer specifically for tapeworm, Tape Worm Tabs can be found at Petco, etc and work well.

She must also be flea treated regularly to be rid of them.

Note this looks rather like a fly larva. It's not a section of a worm - it's a complete animal. It moved through the fur of the cat, and it moved around on the paper as I've seen larva move in dead animals. I assume it came out her anus  - she's not cut nor does she have any infected open wound. She's healthy but for a lot of licking around her hind quarters. I hope it will be a simple treatment with an anti-worm medication if we can ID the kind of worm this is.  If there's no positive ID to be made of the worm then of course it's off to the vet. 

ByterBit said:

Note this looks rather like a fly larva. It's not a section of a worm - it's a complete animal. It moved through the fur of the cat, and it moved around on the paper as I've seen larva move in dead animals. I assume it came out her anus  - she's not cut nor does she have any infected open wound. She's healthy but for a lot of licking around her hind quarters. I hope it will be a simple treatment with an anti-worm medication if we can ID the kind of worm this is.  If there's no positive ID to be made of the worm then of course it's off to the vet. 

Click to expand...

Oooh.  That's nasty.  I have no idea what it is - hope someone else does to spare you the visit to the vet.

Botfly maggot?

compare to here:

http://pets.thenest.com/botfly-maggot-cats-8402.html

"In cats, the larvae generally burrow into the skin around the neck and head. As it grows, you might notice a swelling in this area. If you look very closely, you might see a tiny hole that the cuterebra breathes through."

Where on the cat's body did you  find this thing?  (sorry if you posted and I missed it)

Sounds like these larva are found around the neck, not around the anus though.

I agree w/you  - it is a larva of some sort, not a worm segment.

FYI, tapeworm don't look like segments of a worm. They look like they are whole little worms and they move around. You normally find them on poop or stuck to the butt area of the cat. By your description it sounds like tapeworm. Does the cat have fleas? Look for little black specs at the end of her back.
If it is tapeworm a fecal test would normally not help. Tapeworm don't shed eggs in the same way as other parasites do so you normally don't see any sign of them in a fecal sample. The best way to diagnose tapeworm is by seeing them. Also, regular dewormer don't work for tapeworm. The most common product contains Praziquantel. You can get it at the pet store or through your vet. The version sold over the counter has a lower dose in it than the version you get through the vet so I'm not sure if it's as effective. The kind you can get from your vet is either Drontal or Droncit. One of these (can't remember which) also contain Pyrantel Pamoate which treats for other worms which is probably a very good idea with an outside cat. There is no harm to give it if the cat doesn't actually have worms.

If the cat is difficult to pill there is also a product, from the vet, called Profender which is a topical like Frontline for tapeworm, hook worm and round worm.

I've never looked that close to a tapeworm segment so I can't tell by the picture if that's tapeworm but I wouldn't exclude it. It could be. It could also be a maggot. If it is it wouldn't have come out of her like tapeworm does. I would take the nasty little creature to the vet and ask them to look at it. That may be more effective than taking the cat in. They should be able to identify it.

It's definitely not a cutebra larvae if the pic in this thread is anything to go by http://www.thecatsite.com/t/300631/kitten-odd-growth

Have you thought of taking the worm to the vet to be identified? Shouldn't cost anything like a full consultation, and would give you a definite answer.

Not a worm. Maggot / larval fly. Not internal from intestine / anus. Adult insect laid eggs somewhere on cat. Eggs hatched, small larvae burrowed under skin and there it / they grew.

The two you found are no longer a problem. The issue is if there are any more.

Take the two you have to the veterinarian, along with the cat.

  Many thanks to all here for your concern and insights. 

  Let me begin this by saying this is not my cat, and that the person who’s cat it is overfeeds  her – to the point where she was misdiagnosed as pregnant by several knowledgeable  cat people.

The answer to this mystery was:

Fat.

Took her to the vet – showed him the picture. He ID’d it as a ”maggot”.

He then examined the nude, inflamed  and over licked area around the anus and base of the tail ( which I had thought was a likely area for a Botfly infestation) and he said, to paraphrase: “She’s so fat that the area is very moist. She then over grooms herself and looses her fur – and the inflamed skin has supported the growth of larva.”

!

I was dubious about this at first – and raised the Botfly hypothesis. He looked but found no indication of this at all.

He’s treated her with topical antibiotics in  powder form as well as oral – and we – I should say my girlfriend – are to stop overfeeding her.

:jaw: I have never heard of anything like that! I'm glad the mystery is solved. Good luck with her diet

That is really interesting - and kind of gross too 

If this cat is being free-fed kibble, I would stop the free feeding and put her on a 3x daily feeding routine - no more kibble laying around whenever she wants.  Some cats overeat, some don't - I have a piggy cat who would eat kibble all night long when I used to leave it out overnight for everyone - and then he got fat so I had to slim him down.   Which is good, but sometimes I miss having my beer keg kitty.... Good luck to you and glad you found the answer at the vet's office!