Worms?

[bfls]

A couple of days ago when I was scooping out the litter trays I notice a pale white-greenish thread in with one of my cat's poop. It was about 4cm long. It could have been a piece of cat grass - she does have access to it although I've never seen her eat it - but my first though was worms! She is a rescue and was supposedly treated for worms and fleas before I got her but if they used a tablet she could have spat it out without them realising it. I immediately treated all my cats with Advocate, which made me as popular as you'd expect.

Since then I've twice found short threads in her poop. Whatever it is (grass, worm?) is dead. It doesn't move. She is eating normally, not sneezing or coughing, her poop is a normal consistency and she definitely isn't losing weight. In fact, she is getting positively spherical. She is very fluffy so I haven't been able to peer at her butt to see if there is any obvious signs of live worms there. She is an indoor only cat now so she can't have been snacking on any wildlife.

Should I do anything more?

I know the obvious answer is take her to a vet, but she's a rescue (ex-feral). I've only just got her to trust me enough to pet her. Picking her up is still not acceptable. I could possibly manage it with speedy assistance and towels but it will be stressful all round and set back the relationship so I'm loathe to do it unnecessarily.

Advice?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. You can take this worm/thread thing to your vet and see if they can rule out worms - without having to take the cat to the vet. Just call and ask to make sure they will take a look at it for you. You could also take a pic and send it to them but taking it to the vet might reap better results. You can also take a fecal sample in - straight out of the litter box - for testing too.

If it is determined not to be worms, then you need to start hunting around for what she might be getting into and remove whatever it is. You mentioned 'thread' - do you have sewing paraphernalia around that she could get into?

 

[bfls]

Hi. You can take this worm/thread thing to your vet and see if they can rule out worms - without having to take the cat to the vet. Just call and ask to make sure they will take a look at it for you. You could also take a pic and send it to them but taking it to the vet might reap better results. You can also take a fecal sample in - straight out of the litter box - for testing too.

If it is determined not to be worms, then you need to start hunting around for what she might be getting into and remove whatever it is. You mentioned 'thread' - do you have sewing paraphernalia around that she could get into?

Taking a fecal sample to the vet is a great idea. I should have thought of that. So much easier than taking the actual cat and will clearly show the problem.

I've been Googling (and some of those images are not at all pleasant) and I'm reasonably sure it what I saw was a dead adult roundworm - ick! If I see one again I'll definitely take a sample in to my vet. In any case, I'll worm them all on a monthly basis for at least the next little while.

I'm careful not to leave sewing thread or knitting wool around. I've learnt the hard way that isn't a good idea to leave linear, foreign objects around (and have the vet bills to show for it).

 

[Tippy’sMom]

Taking a fecal sample to the vet is a great idea. I should have thought of that. So much easier than taking the actual cat and will clearly show the problem.

I've been Googling (and some of those images are not at all pleasant) and I'm reasonably sure it what I saw was a dead adult roundworm - ick! If I see one again I'll definitely take a sample in to my vet. In any case, I'll worm them all on a monthly basis for at least the next little while.

I'm careful not to leave sewing thread or knitting wool around. I've learnt the hard way that isn't a good idea to leave linear, foreign objects around (and have the vet bills to show for it).

I was wondering if she might have eaten part of a toy, fringe on a rug, pillow, etc.? Does anything around the house resemble what she passed? I had a cat once who ate the inside string off a bathrobe! Didn’t know until she passed it.