Very tiny worm looking things from where kitten lays.

I didnt know how else to state the topic to this thread but I have noticed now for a while these VERY small brown worm looking things in areas where my 3 month old kitten lays. I mainly notice it on my bed because I have white sheets. They are brown and rounded and very small. I cant tell if its just something off of her paws or coming from her behind.
She has been having some pee issues not using the box all the time, she uses the box for poo everytime and it does smell pretty bad although its not liquady.
Here are a couple pics this is the best I could do as they are very tiny. Any help is appreciated.
Thanks

ooo nasty! especially to find in bed!

the worms I know of coming from a cat are roundworms and tapeworms and are both white so I don't think it is that but there probably are others. I really can't help. Has she been dewormed?

yeah im not exactly thrilled about it. lol

As far as deworming im not 100% sure. The paperwork from the Humane Society said for me to bring her in on 7-25-06 which I did and the only thing they did was some sort of nasal tube in her nose. Under Fecal Exams/Deworming it says 7-23-06 and STRONGID under comments. Since I am unsure about this I will contact them about it asap and see if this is something she needs to have done.
As far as the pictures above does anyone else have any ideas?

Thanks
JT

Doesn't really look like worms to me. tape worm segements look like rice. it looks like flea dirt. Does she have fleas?

To be honost I dont know. How can I tell? If its something you can visually see all I can say is her body is very smooth and her coat is perfect.

Often if your cat has fleas they scratch alot.Also if your kitten has light colored fur. You can part the fur and either see a flea or see flea dirt. Flea dirt is very small like dark grains of sand. if you wet it it will turn red.At 3 months old it would be ok to use Frontline or Advantage for fleas.This must be bought at your vets. . I would go ahead and use the flea drops. Caution do not buy OTC flea products for your kitten most make them ill and some are deadly Hartz is very bad!. Buy the type I listed from your vet.This is just put on each month and often as long as though its a indoor only kitten/cat once will do it..

Oh the nasel thing is dewormer. So she was dewormed. Since she has them though, she may need to be dewormed once more.

Aha. Try wetting the dark colored things. Get them onto a piece of white paper, spray them and see if they turn red?

Poor things, both of you. These little darlings come to us with all kinds of stuff, eh?

Just wash in hot water and let the clorox set for a bit, on the sheets.

Don't have a clue but just up and wired tonight and wishing you the best.

Originally Posted by Vik61

Aha. Try wetting the dark colored things. Get them onto a piece of white paper, spray them and see if they turn red?

Poor things, both of you. These little darlings come to us with all kinds of stuff, eh?

Just wash in hot water and let the clorox set for a bit, on the sheets.

Don't have a clue but just up and wired tonight and wishing you the best.

Click to expand...

I know its been a while since I followed up with this thread, but I am seeing so many of these things on my bed. I ended up doing what you recommended and the small thing did infact turn to a somewhat redish color and kind of disintegrated into the water into a brownish red color.
So what exactly does this mean since you suggested I wet these things?

Thanks,
James

It means you cat has a flea infestation and should be treated with a good topical flea med from your vet.Advantage or Frontline Plus..

I think at this point you're going to need to treat your whole house, too.

Originally Posted by gardenandcats

It means you cat has a flea infestation and should be treated with a good topical flea med from your vet.Advantage or Frontline Plus..

Click to expand...

Ok is that an internal problem then? Because she doesnt scratch herself at all and I checked her entire body and did not see any signs of anything on her skin. I will look into getting her to a vet right now. Anymore input is appreciated.

Thanks,
James

Worms basically come from fleas. They have to ingest the flea that is carrying the worms or something like that. Basically if your cat has worms then it most likely has fleas too or had ingested one. So it is best to deworm and flea treat at the same time. I believe Revolution from the vet will treat fleas and worms. However, I don't recognize those worms in particular, all the worms I know of are white.

And as far as your last question goes, they are internal, they live in the cats body but will come out sometimes in poo or if they are bad then where the cat sites or lays. I am really curious as to what type of worms those are though.

I'm not an expert but I don't know if it is a flea infestation........there would be a lot of itching and skin irritation at this point as well you would have bites. Fleas are very small but you can see them, little dark spots and they jump very quickly. Most cats groom fleas out themselves unless it is a serious infestation in which scaby red irritated skin, hive like and thining coat are signs visually..............
However, I was recommended Dawn, yes Dawn dish detergent, for bathing and killing fleas. I did research about it and it is safe for kittens and puppies! You may have to bath a couple times but it does kill fleas!!!Tried it myself!!! Even better you can wash thier beds, blankies, whatever and it will kill them. Work a lather and let sit a couple minutes, then rinse. I would make sure to avoid eye, ear, mouth area............

At this point, I would recommend taking packing tape and putting it down where you find these things so as to lift them off, put the tape on a white piece of paper, and take it and your cat into the vet. Kinda like fingerprinting, but with mystery buggies instead.

It sounds like flea dirt to me. But it could be other types of parasites. Or even something else.

Strongid is a dewormer for roundworm only, and it is tapeworms and fleas that go hand-in-hand.

Hopefully it is something simple and easily treated. I wouldn't be able to sleep!

Ok guys well here is the news (bad news) that is. I just got back from the vet and they checked her out. I also explained what these little things were that I am seeing. He did find some fleas on her however very few. He then checked her out and she has tape worms :-( He showed me and they were actually moving in the sample he pulled from her. He ended up giving her a shot for the tapeworms right away and also applied a tube of Advantage flea stuff. I hope this helps her out now I have to deal with these things living in my apartment and figure out how to remove them. I am only here another month as I am out of state for job training. Does anyone know how well this stuff works that he gave her. He said the shot will kill the tapeworms and the Advantage will absorb into her skin and kill the fleas. Anymore input is appreciated as I have never had a kitten before I just hope everything will be ok. She is only 3 months old.

P.S. he explained to me that those weird things I am seeing are flea droppings and the reason it turned red and liquafied is because thats her blood :-(

You can use Dawn dish detergent to wash areas where she sleeps, rests, plays, it will kill the stray fleas......happy you got her treated!

Yes, "flea dirt" is flea excrement, and your cat had both fleas and tape worms. This is not unusual, this is not anything to panic about, most cats can tolerate both fleas and tape worms very well. Tape worms need fleas in order to complete their life cycle, so, since your vet killed all of the tape worms in your cat and the Advantage will probably kill all of the fleas in your house, you should be free of both problems. Before Advantage, living with the occasional flea and occasional flea-dirt was just a part of living with cats.

Getting rid of them is the best thing possible, and the treatment your vet did should do the trick.

However, I wasn't able to get rid of the fleas and tapeworms my cats had until I moved out of Florida. If you continue to apply Advantage to your cat at the rate recommended by your vet (I found out later that vets in Florida usually recommend Advantage treatments more often than monthy during the summer), you will probably be free of the problem and will most certainly significantly lessen the problem. Now that you know what flea dirt and tape worms look like, you will be able to recognize them in the future. If you eventually let your cat outside (even on a harness, I found out!) you can get a new population of fleas and tape worms.

But with inside cats in my new apartment, I haven't seen any fleas, flea dirt, or tape worms in an entire year. I have used no drugs since I carted my Advantage-treated cats and newly washed laundry out of the hot apartment.

It really depends on your apartment; my always-infested apartment had no air conditioning. The warmer your apartment, the harder it is to kill the fleas. If you've got a normal, temperature controlled apartment, only a few fleas, and only one indoor-only cat, Advantage treatment of the cat and laundering everything she sleeps on will probably kill all of the fleas.

I've sprayed my house as well, but that means that you've got to have a safe place for your cat to be while you poision the house.

Thanks very much again. One more question though. You said that in some cases if the kitten had Advantage applied to her that it can actually kill all fleas in the apartment. Is this really true in some cases? The vet applied the entire tube to her back area just behind her neck. I just have a hard time seeing how this can kill everything if it was just applied to her back. Also, how fast will this shot work for tapeworms? Now that she was treated today how long can I expect for her to be fine again? How important is it that I clean up the apartment? I am out of state for job training making very little money temporarily and am only in this apartment until sept 26. Do I need to clean this place up properly or should she be ok until then with simply doing lots of laundry and vacuuming?
Sorry for all the questions I just want her to be healthy.

Thanks
James

Thats a heavy treatment for a 3 month old, keep an eye on her for any reactions, not to scare you.................