Found Worm on Cats butt and one in Poop Freaking out

[Whiskers2023]

This week my wife and I noticed a white strand like thing on our cats butt. I pulled it off and noticed it was about a 1/2”-3/4” long worm like thing. It was flattening out and then constricting into a thinner line. We immediately took him to the vets, they told us it was probably tape worm. Went back home to get a fecal sample and there was a worm in it at least an 1”-1 1/2” long hanging from the poop. Vet gave us 2x) Drontal and Revolution Plus to give him. A day later fecal results came back negative for eggs, but she looked at the worm and thinks it’s Roundworm/Hookworm. She gave Pyrantel Pamote to give him now as well but it’s only been 3-4days since 1st dose of Drontal I feel horrible but we’ve isolated him to one room but I’m freaking out because we don’t know how long he could’ve had this and he’s always around our kid and on/under the furniture. All I keep thinking is there’s roundworm eggs everywhere. The vet said it’s almost impossible to get and ingest the eggs but everything I’ve read makes me think I could have them everywhere. I’m trying to clean the whole house but it’s impossible to not have potential cross contamination. I tried to talk to the vet but she’s kinda dismissive, I feel like I’m being a pain in the ass. I’ve scooped the poop out of his litter as soon as I’ve seen it since we found out. Please help. I haven’t disinfected the scooper which I feel might just spread eggs into his litter. Am I just being crazy??

 

[iPappy]

You're not crazy.
Cleaning things and sanitizing the box and scoop is a good idea to do. Better safe than sorry.
If it makes you feel better, 2 years ago I noticed the exact same worm based on your description and it was a hook worm that one of my dogs had. I had 3 cats and one other dog in the household. I did worm everyone, and no one else had them and no one else got them, either. That was 1 1/2 years ago, and I'm currently worming everyone as a precaution and a week later, I haven't seen any signs of anything and haven't since that incident. So it seems unlikely that I, at least, had eggs in the house.
Revolution plus takes care of almost all parasites (hookworms being one), so, give this based on your vets recommendation and you should be good to go. I will say based on experience, if the worm load is heavy, you might find a lot of worms in the box. Better in the box than in the cat. It means the medicine is working.

 

[Whiskers2023]

Thanks,

I haven’t seen anything at all in his poop since we gave him the first dose of Drontal. Having a 6yr old he always cuddling the cat and Dad mode kicked in and just been super paranoid that he could get it. And the thought of having possible eggs being tracked on everything just made me think we could be dealing with this for what seems like forever. I’ve read steam and boiling water almost instantly kill the eggs, but with the internet it seems like for every article that says this there’s one that contradicts it. I want to let the cat roam and obviously the kid wants to snuggle his cat. I’m hoping that we give him another dose with Pyrantel and if he has a second negative fecal test I’ll feel more at ease. Hate being this paranoid about this!!!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Drontal is a broad spectrum wormer, and should have covered roundworms too. So, make sure your vet understands that and ask if you are still supposed to give both that and the Pyrantel Pamote. Either way, it could take multiple rounds of the meds to eradicate the worms.

If your cat goes outside and either gets into soil or eats prey (e.g.; mice) they can get roundworms again and again. That is where the Revolution should come into play.
Roundworms In Cats And Kittens - Veterinary Partner - VIN
This article has a section on cleaning related to roundworms.
My Cat Has Worms! How Do I Clean My House? (askmycats.com)

 

[Whiskers2023]

Drontal is a broad spectrum wormer, and should have covered roundworms too. So, make sure your vet understands that and ask if you are still supposed to give both that and the Pyrantel Pamote. Either way, it could take multiple rounds of the meds to eradicate the worms.

If your cat goes outside and either gets into soil or eats prey (e.g.; mice) they can get roundworms again and again. That is where the Revolution should come into play.
Roundworms In Cats And Kittens - Veterinary Partner - VIN
This article has a section on cleaning related to roundworms.
My Cat Has Worms! How Do I Clean My House? (askmycats.com)

Yeah he is an indoor cat only. We have him in our finished basement quarantined right now, haven’t seen any worms at all in his poop since both treatments. We have one more round of Drontal to give him on the 14th. Mainly just freaked out about the possibility of where he may have got them and if he’s contaminated the house. My son just wants to have his kitty, cat sleeps with him every night until this happened. It’s almost impossible to clean every spot the cat has gone in our house, and since the vet never tested the worm we found, she just said it looks like it could be a roundworm/hookworm. I hate not knowing exactly what I’m up against.

 

[FeebysOwner]

the vet never tested the worm we found, she just said it looks like it could be a roundworm/hookworm. I hate not knowing exactly what I’m up against.

I suppose the vet thought they were saving you some money but not testing for the type of worm, but tbh, they should have at least suggested the fecal test so you would know. Of course, they aren't the ones that have to deal with the consequences either.