What the heck just crawled out of my cats butt!!?

Background:

On 05/21/04, my fiancÃ[emoji]169[/emoji] and I brought home two kittens from a local rescue organization.



The rescue org has provided us with full records for both cats detailing complete medical histories including immunization (FVR, FCV, distemper, and pnuemonitis on 05/10 for both cats), deworming (Nemex on 05/21 for both cats), and spayed on 05/19 (both of them).

Diet consist of Nutro Max Cat Kitten hard and soft.

Now the weird freaky part...

Tonight I noticed what looked like a grain of white rice at the base of Mia's tail. Not really thinking, I wiped it off with my finger then decided to take a closer look at it. That's when I noticed the grain of rice was crawling under its own power. It also has a slender proboscis waving around investigating its surroundings. I was about to go flush it when I decided a better course of action would be to take pictures and find out what the heck it is, and what should be done about it.

*EDIT* While I was writing this, I decided to check the litter box. A recent stool is crawling with them.




So, now that you've seen pictures, what the heck are they?

Are they leaving town because of the Nemex?

Are they contagious to humans? They both sleep in bed with us, and I've awoke to a cat butt in my face more than once.

If this is something Nemex won't take care of, what will take care of it?

Thanks in advance.

Sounds like your kitty has tapeworms. You need to bring them to the vet and get worming meds. Please don't use over the counter meds, at best they don't work and are a waste of money, at worst they can really harm your cat.

Definately a parasite.

Not familiar with which one off the top of my head.

Generally wormers are given twice, within a set time period to make sure that they get everything.

Definately worth a call to your vet.

Spotz

Tapeworms- you are actually seeing the segments, the host is still in your cats.

Originally Posted by valanhb

Sounds like your kitty has tapeworms. You need to bring them to the vet and get worming meds. Please don't use over the counter meds, at best they don't work and are a waste of money, at worst they can really harm your cat.

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They have both been given a shot of Nemex a little over a week ago. Should we go in again and try something different?

I'm even leary of over the counter stuff for me, and I just stumbled across horror stories related to Hartz products.

Originally Posted by hissy

Tapeworms- you are actually seeing the segments, the host is still in your cats.

Click to expand...

When you say segments, do you mean offspring of a mature adult, or actual pieces of a big worm?


And again...

Are humans susceptible host?

What the...

From what I've found on the net, Nemex is for Dogs and puppies with hookworms and roundworms? Why did they give it to kittens?

Thanks for the replies, I'm kinda having a freakout here.

Actually you can get tapes, but it is rare. Just handle your cat as little as possible and when you scoop litter pans, use rubber gloves and wash the pans well in a little bit of bleach and hot water. Let the pans air dry.

The host worm is attached to the tissue in your cat's body, it breaks off in small segments which you are seeing now. You need drontal from your vet to get rid of these.

Originally Posted by hissy

Actually you can get tapes, but it is rare. Just handle your cat as little as possible and when you scoop litter pans, use rubber gloves and wash the pans well in a little bit of bleach and hot water. Let the pans air dry.

The host worm is attached to the tissue in your cat's body, it breaks off in small segments which you are seeing now. You need drontal from your vet to get rid of these.

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Thank you.

Black and white answers, clear direction.

I'll make an appointment tommorow for ASAP.

You won't even have to take your cats in. Just weigh them before you leave, and give the vet their weights. The pills are poison, so the weight has to be accurate. I just step on the scale, see what it says, pick up a cat and figure the difference.

They need to go in anyways for their booster shots, and we don't have a scale.

Nice to get a clear and definite answer, huh? Hissy is so incredibly knowledgeable....amazing woman who does amazing work. Good luck with chasing these parasites outta your babies (they're so adorable!).

Usually your cat gets a tapeworm from being bitten by an infected flea. Therefore, a good flea treatment, like Advantage, will be a helpful preventative in the future. My cats have had a tapeworm. The vet's medicine was a single pill.

Good luck.

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aidan013 said:

Be very careful with droncet...my cat had tapeworm and after the vet giving him the droncet he had an allergic reaction & was very wobbly & lethargic. There is a very small chance that your kittens will have an allergic reaction, but make sure you ask the vet all the questions in regards to the side effects, if given any tapeworm medication.

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wonderful... I was eating cereal when I read this and saw the pictures...

poor Aussie, I was about to get lunch as well...
our fault for opening a post with "What he heck just crawled out my cats butt"

Hey, all. Not to be gross, but I've heard some people swallow tapeworms on purpose--to lose weight. Nothing like the natural method, I suppose! You don't have to count points, exercise, or eat protein. Unless a tapeworm is protein?

But, enough about tapeworms. I hope your little kitty is feeling better! And it's amazing what digital photography, computers, and the Internet can do nowadays. From Live and In Action to Diagnosed. It's cool!

Hissy, how did you get so smart? I hate to admit it, but I knew nothing about cats except that they meow. I'm learning. I keep coming to TCS (its addictive) and reading away.

Thanks everyone for a wonderful site. I've been telling my friends...

mrsd

Our Jarama had the same thing. Tapeworm segments...one pill later from the Vet (gave it to Uracco too) and they are back to normal and much, much more healthy looking and happy and such.

Tapeworms are caused from fleas. If there is no sign of fleas, then ask your vet to give the cat a shot of Droncit. That kills them immediately and they don't come back. If there are fleas, then you will need the Droncit plus a flea treatment such as Advantage. The shot will cost around $20, and Advantage is about $10 depending on how expensive your vet is. I know they look gross, but they are easily treated.

Although this is true that fleas are the carriers, if your cat is an outside cat and they hunts small prey from time to time, they can get tapeworms from ingesting a mouse or small rodent that has fleas as well. So your outside cat can be flea-treated, but if he eats a mouse he could get tapes. Same goes for inside cats if mice are present in your home.

Ask the vet for another med (or a second dose). These are worms from ingesting fleas while grooming themselves. They may well be exiting because of the meds. Check the timing with your vet. I don't think there's any issue being contagious to humans, but there's the "gross-out" factor since they lay on your pillow...