Was this thing a tapeworm fragment?!

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george - 17 Feb 2007 03:21 GMT

I got a nasty shock tonight. My cat jumped on the desk, and rubbed
against my hands. After that I noticed a small cylindrical thing on my
finger...it was whitish, maybe 5 mm long, 1 mm wide, and it was moving
very slowly. A brief web search seems to suggest it was a tapeworm
segment. I will take her to the vet first thing in the morning, but I am
in a panic and would like to know what's in store for me.

I have 3 cats, who are in and out all the time. They sleep with me....
Is it likely that they're all infected? Is it likely that they have
roundworm also? Is the treatment difficult and prolonged? And finally,
is it likely that I am infected?

Thanks!

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Rhonda - 17 Feb 2007 08:05 GMT

Hi George,

It does sound like a tapeworm. This is a gross question -- but do you
have it to take it with you tomorrow?

Tapeworms look like little moving grains of rice. The cats get them from
ingesting fleas, so it's a good to treat all of them for fleas. The vet
can suggest if it's good to treat all for tapeworm.

Roundworms are different. We rescued 3 10-week old kittens who had them.
The vet did a test for them along with the normal tests, since kittens
are very susceptible. After the medication, the worms came out in the
stools, they looked like spaghetti. If they have them of course you'd
want to get rid of them but I don't think they're particularly harmful
in an adult cat. Here's an article:
http://www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/roundworms.html

Hope all goes well tomorrow. Don't worry about it too much, worms are
much easier to treat than so many other things.

Rhonda

> I got a nasty shock tonight. My cat jumped on the desk, and rubbed
> against my hands. After that I noticed a small cylindrical thing on my
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
>
> Thanks!

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Wendy - 18 Feb 2007 17:03 GMT

>I got a nasty shock tonight. My cat jumped on the desk, and rubbed against
>my hands. After that I noticed a small cylindrical thing on my finger...it
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
>
> Thanks!

Relax. It sounds like a tapeworm. Best bet would to be collect what you
found and present to the vet. Also be prepared with a fecal sample if they
insist on testing that before treating your cat.

The treatment is pretty simple as long as you're able to pill your cat. It
usually means having to give the cat a pill and then 10 days - 2 week later
another. If it's round worms the treatment is similar

They get tapeworm from eating fleas or rodents which is why you can relax.
You won't get a tapeworm from coming in contact with the segment. Unless
you've eaten a flea or rodent lately your safe. ;o) Tapeworm is always
spread through an intermediate host.

If you have 3 cats and they are all inside/outside then chances are they all
have or will have at some point tape worms. This can be minimized by
treating for fleas with something like Advantage or Frontline. The fewer
fleas the less chance of eating one who snacked on a tapeworm egg. They can
still pick them up from eating rodents however so with cats who venture out
you'll have the occasional tapeworm and roundworms too for that matter. Best
to have the yearly fecal done to make sure kitty isn't carrying around
anything.

W

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