Oh goody...tapeworms (sorry, gross)

Well, this is a heckuva thing to make a first post about.  Sorry.

So, tonight when I got home, I saw a thing on my cat's bum.  Grabbed a tissue and wiped it off and realized, oh hey, that looks...worm-like.  Is it...moving?  Welp.

So I put it in a sealed baggie (yup, it is deeefffinitely moving), and brought it to the vet.  They won't be able to get to it until tomorrow, but I saw on an old post on this site that the medication is done by weight.  But they told me I don't have to bring my cat in.

Is...is that still going to be okay?  Her last visit was in January, I think.  Is that weight still going to be good, even if she has a tapeworm?

Also just...what should I do in the meantime?  Like, what if they keep just...coming out?  Ugh.  What do I do to prevent spread?  What do I do afterwards to keep it from happening again?

Actually, that's a good question too--Harpo's an inside cat on flea meds (from the vet, not otc--revolution).  A couple months back I was a week or so late in administering the drops, but it's not like our apartment has a problem with fleas.  So now I'm worried about that too.  Ahhhhhhthisweekhasbeenridiculous

It's probably not a tapeworm. Tapeworms stay inside the cat, but sections/eggs come out in the stool. They look like grains of rice. Your cat has some other kind of worm - maybe roundworms - that can be effectively treated with medicine.

Just maintain your house, vacuum, vacuum, vacuum!!!

Oh and wipe down kitty's rear. That's probably the best you can do until you get the prescribed medication.