How to get rid of worms in a cat

Drops are a convenient worming agent for catsThey are a convenient and effective treatment for fleas, lice, and mites.

Human worm infestation

Most worms spread into the human body by eating unwashed fruits, vegetables. After spreading through the body there is damage to organs, which causes serious illness. Pathologies can develop in the liver, kidneys, heart, digestive tract, gallbladder, even cancer.

Skin irritation and rashes are a common characteristic. But a person for years can not pay attention to this, while the pathology develops, although it is enough to take antihelminthic drugs course to fully recover.

Methods of infection

There are 4 methods by which worms spread into the human body:

1. Geohelminthiasis .. The parasite penetrates through the soil, which remains on unwashed fruits and vegetables, spreads into the water. Infection is also possible if you do not wash your hands well after working with soil. Contact with the ground is often seen in animals that come into the house with dirty paws. Eggs, larvae, and adults can enter the human body.
2. Contact. In the host, the female lays 4,000 to 5,000 eggs in 1 day. They can spread from an infected person to others after contact, especially in the home. Eggs or adults are spread through bedding, towels, and personal hygiene items. It is enough for an infected person not to wash his or her hands. Most often this pathway is characteristic of pinworms, worms.
3. Biohelminthiasis. Parasites persist in the body of living and dead animals, fish. Subsequently, a person can eat them. Preservation of parasites is noted with insufficient heat treatment.
4. Insect bites.. Helminth eggs of the smallest size are transmitted this way.

Of all the forms of helminths, infection most often occurs by ingestion of eggs and larvae. They can be found in the ground, water, on an infected person, and in unprocessed meat. It is important not only to wash your food and hands, but also to always use heat treatment for food.

How can parasites settle in a cat's body?

This point often worries pet cat owners. The answer is simple enough – in the diet of the pet there is raw fish or meat, waste, flies, all this can be the cause of infection. In addition, mother cats can pass helminths to their kittens with milk.

Worms are very easy to pass from cat to human through skin tissue or fleas.

The presence of specific signs of infection in an animal is determined by the degree of disease and the number of parasite individuals in the cat's body. Symptoms are different in cats and small kittens, this is also influenced by the type of helminths present. The main signs of the presence of worms can be:

• vomiting;
• Diarrhea or frequent constipation;
• Individual larvae or even worms may be seen on the cat's fur or near the anus;
• Kittens and cats may be bothered by itching of the anus;
• stools with a discharge of blood or mucus may be present;
• round and dense abdomen;
• prolonged weight loss;
• changes in appetite;
• coughing, difficult breathing;
• abundant shedding;
• Underdevelopment of the kitten's physical data;
• rapid fatigue;
• pallor or jaundice of the mucous membranes;
• premature birth.

Cat owners should take into account that these symptoms are similar to the signs of various infections. If the cat is ingested at this point, the course of the infection may become more complicated, leading in some cases to death. In this case, an accurate diagnosis is necessary, and only a qualified veterinarian can do this. At our Murkosha shelter, animals can get timely and professional help.

Read about how to help your cat here: "Signs of an Unhealthy Cat".

If the pet owner suspects that his cat has worms, it is necessary to treat him urgently. You should not delay, because the appearance of several signs of worms at once indicates that in your cat's body parasites are already living in large numbers.

How to remove worms in cats: a professional approach

With unqualified actions, your animal may even die, so before treating worms, you need to clarify the type of parasites your cat is infected with, as well as the presence of other infections. Currently, there are drugs for eliminating tapeworms, however, they will be ineffective against, for example, roundworms. And broad-spectrum remedies can be dangerous for your cat.

At the moment, excellent foreign and Russian remedies for the treatment of different types of worms are known: Dirofen, Panakur, Polyvercan, Febtal, Profender (used once), Kanikvantel, Troncyl K, Prazitel, Pyrantel (can be used even for kittens, it is guaranteed does not provoke poisoning).

Never buy anthelmintics at markets or street stalls, you must buy them only at veterinary institutions or specialized pharmacies, if you do not want to harm your pet.

Before worming, you must remove the fleas from the pet. You should not neglect this procedure, otherwise helminth eggs will reappear in the cat together with the insects. Give preference to means against fleas, guided by the following nuances:

What to feed?

When a cat weakens, its immunity decreases, so the diet of the pet should be balanced and vitaminized. The animal can be given the following products to enrich the body with nutrients:

• Olive oil. It is added daily to the food.
• Meat and eggs. These are foods rich in B vitamins, which are necessary for the normal functioning of all vital organs.
• Raw beef, pork or chicken liver. Increases the level of hemoglobin in the blood.
• Pharmacy vitamins. During treatment with antihelminthic drugs, they are essential for the health of the animal.
• Enzymes. They are introduced into the cat's diet during the period of worm removal daily, to improve digestion.
• Salt. Water with salt helps to quickly eliminate toxins from the cat's body, which are formed when the parasites die.

What not to do?

The cat is forbidden to use antiparasitic drugs that are produced for people. They can become poison to the animal and lead to severe consequences. Also, if a person is not sure what drugs or folk recipes can be used to remove worms in a cat, it is better to consult a veterinarian. During the period of antihelminth therapy, exclude raw fish and meat from the diet of the animal, and give water to drink only boiled. Sergey Konyaev, a veterinarian, says that raw fish is the source of 15 parasitic diseases.

Pregnant cat should be given folk remedies for the prevention of worming to avoid intrauterine infection of kittens with parasites.

Folk remedies

With the advent of veterinary clinics, pet owners have undeservedly forgotten about folk remedies. They can be resorted to immediately upon discovering the symptoms of infestation in cats. Ordinary products, collections of plants, seeds, which are available in every home, can be useful for preparing infusions from worms. How to remove worms in a cat with the help of folk remedies? There are several common ways to prepare decoctions and mixtures.

Decoction of tansy and wormwood

Herbal decoctions are known folk remedies. Against parasites well helps a collection prepared from tansy and wormwood. Flowers are taken from the plants, dried and sent for storage in a tin can. To prepare a decoction, you need to mix two teaspoons of each component and scald with boiling water, 250 ml. In order to treat helminths, give the cat three tablespoons of the decoction in the morning for three days.

Garlic

Not every cat will agree to eat garlic. There are lovers who eat fruits and vegetables, and for them this folk remedy was invented. One clove of garlic is crushed and added in portions to the food. The period of application is seven days. One clove of garlic is enough for one day. This excellent remedy is more suitable for the prevention of helminths. You should not replace the garlic treatment completely. It is better to consult specialists and determine how to remove worms in cats.

Grinded pumpkin seeds

Pumpkin seeds are used to treat diseases not only in humans, but also in animals. They are known for their beneficial properties. For the treatment of helminth infections, peeled pumpkin seeds will be required. They need to be ground, and for 300 g of seeds add 50 ml of water (not boiled take is not recommended) and 15 g of honey. The resulting infusion to feed the animal, and after half an hour make an enema. There is also a second recipe. Add the same amount of sunflower oil or pork fat to 5 g of crushed seeds. Give the pet on an empty stomach for 5 days in a row.

Contraindications .

Different antihelminthics have individual restrictions on use. They are prescribed in the instructions, and they must be read before buying the drug at the pet store. General contraindications to anthelmintics include infectious diseases and recovery from illness.

In most anthelmintics, the limitation is the period of pregnancy and lactation. Special attention should be paid to the age of kittens. Most often the drugs are allowed to give babies from the age of three weeks. However, some antihelminthics are contraindicated for kittens under two months of age (Bars, Profender) or three months (Azinox).

Pharmacists offer a small list of anthelmintic drugs that have been found in clinical trials to have no contraindications other than age. Examples of such drugs are Drontal, Pratel, Troncyl-K, Panacur, Dironet, Cestal Cat. At the same time, the last two drugs – anthelmintics are not allowed to combine with drugs containing piperazine in their composition. For deworming to go without consequences, you need to know the exact age of the kittens

Is it possible to give anthelmintics to pregnant cats

Many anthelmintics for cats contain substances that negatively affect the development of the fetus and young kitten. Therefore, pregnancy and lactation are often a contraindication for deworming. But helminth infestation poses no less of a threat to the mother's body.

To avoid pathologies and complications, it is necessary to choose anthelminthics that can be given during pregnancy. Dironet, Febtal, Cestal, Troncyl-K, Profender, Pratel and some other means are permitted. There are drugs that are not allowed to be given until the last third of pregnancy, such as Azinox.

Drug prophylaxis for parasitosis

With enterobiasis, a single smear test cannot be trusted – it is often false-negative, and the transmission of parasite eggs is very easy. Children attending kindergarten and school have a high infection rate of enterobiasis, which means that the risk of the whole family becoming ill is also high.

It is not advisable to take pills all the time, because infection can happen at any time, and the harm from medication is not small. Much more important is daily hygiene – a change of underwear, frequent hand washing. Many experts advise for preventive purposes to eat pumpkin seeds, drink dietary supplements from worms, the harm from which is minimal.

But with a reliably known infection of one member of the family, it is recommended to prevent worms in all the rest of the household with the help of drugs:

Such drugs can be used once/semi-annually without harm, at least until the child learns to strictly observe hygiene. It is important to cure worms and pets, which can be a source of infection.

Treatment for worms in pregnant women

During pregnancy, a woman's immunity drops, and the likelihood of parasitic infections increases. Worm infestation is harmful both to the mother and the fetus, because it does not receive nutrients. Most drugs are contraindicated for the future mother, and traditional medicine is not always effective. Maximum harm caused by drugs at up to 12 weeks, ie in the first trimester, when the laying of the organs of the fetus.

Treatment for worms in pregnant women is always carried out in 2-3 trimesters, not before. Piperazine is usually prescribed against ascarids, which is the most gentle. On vital indications, Nemocid, Helmintox may be used, but treatment is performed only in a hospital. If a woman has tapeworms, Azinox is prescribed with great caution under medical supervision. It is desirable to get rid of parasites before gestation, so as not to know the problems in the future.

If worms in a pregnant cat

If the cat is pregnant, the owner will obviously be concerned about the health of the expectant mother and her offspring. For this purpose, preventive measures are taken three weeks before the mating, treating both the groom if necessary, and the bride. However, if the pussy is preparing to become a mother and has managed to catch helminths, it is necessary to check with the veterinarian what treatment is appropriate to prescribe based on the results of tests. There are antihelminthics, where there are no contraindications for pregnant kittens, but there are instructions for taking the medication in relation to the term. Some medications for feline worms are indicated for the initial period of pregnancy, and some can be taken in the last weeks of pregnancy.

Preventing worming in cats

It is better than treating worms in cats, to do everything possible to prevent the introduction of unwanted guests into the body of the pet. If you approach the content of the cat responsibly, then such a threat of infestation is reduced to a minimum:

• The animal must not be treated with raw fish, neither saltwater nor freshwater. Raw meat is also excluded: all products should be well boiled;
• It is important to change the bedding often – it also leaves helminth eggs on it;
• Keep the litter box clean and change the litter box often. Disinfect the litter box once a week;
• Prophylactic deworming every three months. Particular attention is paid to those cats that have the opportunity to walk;
• Worming should also be done 2-3 weeks before the mating, 3 weeks before the birth and if necessary 3 weeks afterwards.

In addition, the pet should be regularly treated for fleas, since they are also vectors of helminths.

Owners' stories

Sofia: "Got a cat from the shelter. It turned out that the cat had worms. And, there were a lot of them, the whole feces was strewn with maggots and parts of parasites, such little white things. We suffered with it, until the vet advised us the following scheme of treatment: suspension Caniquantel three times at intervals of 2 weeks. Now we are fine.

Tamara: "My son brought a kitten from the street. I immediately realized that the cat has worms – the baby's tummy was like a balloon. The poor thing, he suffered while wandering around. The vet said to give Prazitab in pills. One tablet is for an animal weighing 4 kg. I gave a little less than half a pill, crushed it into a powder and diluted with water. This mixture was poured into the baby with a syringe without a needle.

It is possible to defeat parasites!

How to get rid of ascarids at home with pills and folk recipes

How to get rid of worms without pills using folk medicine methods

How to eliminate worms quickly at home with drugs and folk remedies

Long worms in a cat: the main types, description and treatment methods of parasites in cats

What worms can catch from a cat: A list of common feline helminths

Reference list

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Brucellosis. Parasites. Link
• Corbel M. J. Parasitic diseases // World Health Organization. Link .
• Young E. J. Best matches for intestinal parasites // Clinical Infectious Diseases. – 1995. Vol. 21. – P. 283-290. Link
• Yushchuk ND, Vengerov AA Infectious Diseases: textbook. – 2nd ed. – M.: Medicine, 2003. – 544 с.
• The prevalence of parasitic diseases in the population, 2009 / L.M. Kokolova, A.D. Reshetnikov, T.A. Platonov, L.A. Verkhovtseva.
• Helminths of domestic carnivores in the Voronezh Region, 2011 / P.I. Nikulin, B.V. Romashov.

Article for patients diagnosed with the disease by the doctor. It does not replace doctor's appointment and can not be used for self-diagnosis.

Not long ago my health condition worsened. I began to feel tired all the time, I had headaches, laziness and some kind of endless apathy. I also had gastrointestinal problems: bloating, diarrhea, pain, and bad breath.

I thought that it was because of hard work and hoped that it would pass on its own. But every day it got worse and worse. Doctors couldn't really say anything either. It seems like everything is normal, but I just feel that my body is not healthy.

I decided to go to a private clinic. They advised me to get tested for parasites in addition to general analysis. So in one of the tests they found parasites. According to the doctor it was worms, which 90% of people have and almost everyone is infected to a greater or lesser extent.

They gave me a course of anti-parasitic medicines. But it gave me no results. A week later a friend sent me a link to an article where some doctor parasitologist shared real tips to combat parasites. This article literally saved my life. I followed all the tips in there and within a couple of days I was feeling much better!