What kind of worm/parasite?

[daharyn]

Hi,

I posted a while back about my new kitty. She was a rescue, and is about 10 mos. Was a mom at 7 mos. Well, one respiratory infection, ear mite treatment, and flea control treatment later, we're dealing with worms. I gave her a deworming treatment and noticed roundworms in the feces immediately after. I thought they were gone, but a couple of times now -- once 5 days ago, once last night -- I've noticed another worm near my cat. Can't tell if it's coming out of her butt, or her mouth? It's about an inch long, thin, with a bunch of tiny segments. If you poke it (with a toothpick) it curls up. I thought at first that it was tapeworm, but it sounds like the segments for that are bigger. These seem like individual worms. They don't look like the pics I've seen online of hookworms or whipworms.

And is it possible that these are flea larvae or something, somehow? That doesn't seem likely either, but I'm at my wit's end.

If this is really serious, I'm going to have to give up my cat, unfortunately. I can't even afford another in-person vet visit -- would running in a worm for the vet to see, when I find the next one, be any cheaper? I am a graduate student, and just feeding the both of us is the best I can do.

 

[njcatmom]

Hi -- I don't know about your vet, but I know that when my rescue kittens had worms, I didn't have to bring them in for an exam. I just took a sample (either from the litter box or an actual worm) in, and they checked it out and gave me the meds. If that's not an option, get in touch with the rescue org you got the cat from. They may be able to provide some care for the worms, especially if it's a choice between having the cat come back or having it stay in a good home! Good luck.

 

[njcatmom]

Oh, one other thing. Cats often need TWO treatments to fully get rid of worms. That's what happened with my cats. They had one treatment and pretty much right on schedule a month later -- more worms. I guess that's how long the life cycle of the larvae is.

 

[daharyn]

I appreciate your response, but I do want to reiterate that this is a different kind of worm -- it's not roundworms. Anyone else have any advice on this front?

 

[hissy]

If the worm is still available, stick it in a jar and run it into the vet. They will be the one to make the correct determination as to what it is. Please don't depend on someone on the internet to do that, since we can't see exactly what this parsite looks like-

 

[rang_27]

I agree with Hissy on this one, It's hard to say. Could be tape worm because of the fleas, but it could be any of the other parasites too. Often times cats that are rescued from outside will have multiple parasite infections & need repeated treatment, but in that case it's important to involve a vet.