Roundworms in a cat. Roundworms in cats: routes of infection, diagnosis and treatment methods. Basic methods of treatment for helminthic infestation

If you notice your cat has symptoms such as frequent bowel movements, elevated temperature, anxious behavior, then you should immediately show the animal to a veterinarian. In most cases, the listed signs indicate toxocariasis. This disease develops due to the appearance of roundworm in a cat, therefore timely appeal Seeing a specialist will help save your pet from serious consequences.

How does an animal become infected?

The main source of worm infection can be sick animals, which also excrete worm eggs in their feces, infecting the surrounding area. Also, ascaris eggs can be found in the animal’s fur, and they get on it after thorough licking.

Domestic cats can catch and eat rodents, which are also carriers and distributors of roundworms. Most severe course The disease is observed in kittens up to 3 months of age. If measures are not taken in a timely manner, the animal may simply die. A kitten, whose body is not yet strong enough, receives a large number of toxins secreted by worms. Often, significant accumulations of worms can rupture the intestinal walls, causing peritonitis and death.

In addition, an animal can become infected through some products ( raw fish, offal), when visiting exhibitions, getting married, traveling out of town, being bitten by blood-sucking insects or playing with neighboring animals that are carriers of helminths.

Signs of worms

The presence of roundworm in cats may not be immediately noticeable. Moreover, on initial stage The animal does not manifest itself in any way and it is not always possible to see worms in the feces.

But when acute form The disease has the following symptoms:

• slight increase in temperature;
• vomit;
• frequent and loose bowel movements;
• weight loss;
• deterioration of coat condition;
• sour eyes;
• discomfort in the anus.

If your cat is constantly licking anus, fidgeting on it on the carpet or floor, this may also indicate a problem. But most characteristic symptom helminthic infestations is bloated belly. In kittens this is very noticeable, and at the same time they look like small barrels. When ascariasis develops, constipation and intestinal obstruction may also occur, and blood may be present in the feces. This occurs due to injury to the inner walls of the intestines by worms.

Basic methods of treatment for helminthic infestation

Veterinarians often prescribe medications that can destroy many types of worms. The medicine is introduced into the cat's mouth so that it swallows it. If ascariasis is treated in cats, treatment includes two doses medicinal product. The break between doses should be strictly 14 days. During the treatment process, it is necessary to thoroughly clean the room, disinfect the cat’s resting places, its tray, food and water bowls.

It is important to spend in the house wet cleaning using disinfectants, which contain chlorine. You can also use compounds that have an antimicrobial effect.

If repeated therapy is required, it is advisable to use a drug that has not been used before. At the same time, it is very important that its composition is radically different from how the treatment was carried out before. IN otherwise, it is difficult to talk about the effectiveness of therapy.

Is ascariasis dangerous for humans?

It is worth noting that ascariasis can be transmitted to humans. Getting into human body, the cat roundworm does not reach sexual maturity, but causes serious harm. Children are especially hard hit. Therefore, in the fight against helminthic diseases It is important that not only animals, but also people are subjected to therapeutic or preventive procedures.

Preventive measures

How to reduce the risk of infecting animals with worms?

1. After arriving from the street, remove your shoes.
2. Do wet cleaning of premises daily.
3. Clean your cat's litter box in a timely manner.
4. Remove the mat under the door or wash it systematically with a disinfectant.
5. Process raw foods. Heat treat fish, liver and lungs.
6. Switch to dry, ready-made food.
7. Make sure that domestic cat didn’t go out into the entrance.
8. Do not contact with other animals.

Outdoor cats must be vaccinated and treated for fleas. To prevent a walking cat from catching and eating mice, you can hang a bell around his neck. This device will repel rodents, birds and other possible carriers of worms.

Roundworms are common

What is toxocariasis?

Each egg is covered with a special shell, which reliably protects it from most negative influences. external influences. It is noteworthy that it can remain without a host for a very long time and still remain viable. As soon as the egg is in the cat’s intestines, the process of roundworm development begins.

Adult roundworms can reach a length of two tens of centimeters, which is quite a lot, considering the rather modest size of the cat itself. These are round worms of white or yellowish color who usually live in small intestine animal.

Routes of infection

As already mentioned, living exclusively inside the house, without the opportunity to go outside, does not protect cats from infection. Of course, this significantly reduces the threat, but still roundworm eggs have the opportunity to get into the room, for example, on the soles of shoes, with some objects, on dirty hands. From there, little remains to be done. A curious cat catches the eggs on its paws or fur, then licks them off and swallows them while cleaning.

A cat can become infected while hunting

Naturally, street animals are almost constantly at risk of infection. Another risk factor for them is hunting, as a result of which they catch, for example, mice, which also act as carriers of pests.

A kitten can become infected with roundworms while in the womb. They are able to cross the placenta and thus be transmitted to unborn babies. It is worth noting that this is extremely dangerous for them, even life-threatening.

Signs of the disease

For a cat, it is important to diagnose ascaris in a timely manner, so owners should closely monitor their pet and, at the first suspicion of the presence of a pest, contact a veterinarian.

One of the symptoms of the disease is watery eyes.

It has a number of signs, but many of them are similar to the symptoms of other diseases, so examination of the animal by a specialist is very important. In any case, the owner should be alerted to any of the manifestations listed below:

• stool disorders;
• vomit;
• refusal to eat;
• weight loss or slow weight gain in a kitten;
• development of seizures, pneumonia, anemia;
• watery eyes;
• lack of shine in the coat, its unhealthy appearance.

Kittens experience bloating, often very severe. Adult animals become sedentary and nervous. Also characteristic feature diseases – “riding” anus on the carpet. This occurs due to itching that bothers the animal.

Diagnostics

For more accurate diagnosis you can get tested

Why, in this case, should you go to a veterinary clinic if you can purchase the drug yourself and use it? The thing is that calculating the required dosage is not always easy; much depends on the condition of the animal. In addition, you need to choose the right product.

Treatment

the cat must be given a prescribed anthelmintic drug in the required dosage

It has been clinically proven that roundworms in cats and dogs cannot cause helminthic infestation in humans.

Dog eggs or feline roundworm will not be able to develop in the human body, even if they are purposefully “planted” there. This is due to the fact that human roundworm in the intestines develops at a temperature of 36.6 degrees, and roundworms of cats and dogs at a temperature of 38.5 - 39 degrees.

A person can become infected with other worms from animals, so pets need to be examined once every 3 months. full course deworming, and when diagnosing helminthic infestation – adequate treatment.

Even if your pets are constantly at home, the possibility of ascariasis in cats cannot be ruled out. An animal may “just for a second” jump out onto the landing, or may sniff and lick your outdoor shoes, which almost always contain worm eggs.

Puppies and kittens can ingest eggs in their mother's milk or become infected in utero from a sick mother. Before mating, animals must undergo anthelmintic treatment.

How do roundworms develop in animals?

Treatment must be carried out in several stages to kill adults and larvae.

Symptoms of the disease

Signs of ascariasis in cats:

• Digestive disorders, vomiting, diarrhea;
• Pneumonia;
• The animal practically does not gain weight, the cats look thin and emaciated;
• Pale nose, tongue, sour eyes, tousled dull fur;
• Itching of the anus.

In dogs, the main signs of ascariasis are:

• Insatiable appetite. Despite regular complete feeding, the animal greedily “swallows” food;
• Intestinal disorders, diarrhea, constipation, sometimes vomiting;
• The abdomen is unnaturally distended with gases;
• The wool is dull, “lifeless”;
• The breath has a sweetish odor;
• Coughing, the animal makes sounds as if clearing its throat.

How dangerous is ascariasis for pets?

Ascariasis in cats and dogs causes severe consequences in animals:

It is impossible to make a diagnosis on your own; if ascariasis is suspected, it is necessary to undergo examination and appropriate treatment.

We are responsible for those whom we take into our home. While living with us, animals should receive our love and adequate treatment when necessary.

IN veterinary practice more often used official name This disease is toxocariasis. It comes from the name of the genus of roundworms that causes this pathology and carries Latin name Toxocara.

The causative agents of toxocariasis can be three types of roundworms:

• Toxocara leonina. The worms are creamy-white in color, up to 10 cm in adulthood. Their formed eggs can be released with feces and penetrate new hosts.

• Toxocara mystax. The worms are light yellow in color and up to 18 cm in length. From the intestines they migrate throughout the body and, reaching oral cavity, are re-swallowed.

• Toxacara catti. They are similar to small earthworms, but do not have rings on their body. The largest representatives of Toxocara, which grow up to 20 cm, migrate through the bloodstream until they settle in the liver for a year, where their growth and development occur. Once formed, they enter the trachea and are re-swallowed.

At the first stages of infection, only ascaris eggs are present in the animal’s feces. But it is impossible to see them with the naked eye. When the illness continues long time, then adult sexually mature individuals begin to pass excrement, which are easy to notice due to large size. The surface of their body is smooth and shiny.

Despite the fact that they can live in different organs animal, reproduction occurs only in the gastrointestinal tract.

Methods of infection

Roundworms and their eggs can be found anywhere in the world because they are resistant to various climatic conditions. For cats, the main source of toxocariasis is their infected relatives, who excrete environment feces containing eggs.

Such eggs move very easily and quickly in space, so they can be found anywhere: on pieces of furniture, in the soil, on the clothes of the owners, etc. The largest number of eggs is present on the coat of cats, where they fall during licking and firmly adhere to the fur.

The most in frequent ways infections are:

• undercooked food products(meat, liver, fish, bones);
• roundworms swallowed together with small rodents (mice or rats) or with insects (fleas, grasshoppers, flies);
• dirty, undisinfected palms of people, their clothes or shoes, which are rubbed or licked by pets;
• contacts with other cats and female cats during exhibitions or matings;
• randomly picked up objects and food particles on the street;
• intrauterine infection during pregnancy, when the larvae penetrate the placental membranes and colonize the bodies of developing kittens.

The last type of infection has the most serious consequences, which can lead to irreversible consequences in the first months after the birth of kittens: severe intoxication, blockage of intestinal loops and rapid death. Often, the greater intensity of infestation in kittens leads to balls of roundworms breaking through the thin walls of the intestine, after which peritonitis develops.

Symptoms

The most frequent symptoms toxocariasis in cats are:

• lethargic state of the pet, tired appearance;
• poor appetite or the opposite picture - incredible hunger with a general decrease in weight;
• bloating abdominal cavity(especially noticeable in kittens)

• frequent diarrhea and vomiting, colic, constipation;
• blood impurities in excrement;
• dull coat and its thinning;
• pallor of the mucous membranes and signs of anemia;
• souring into inner corners eye;
• the main signs of allergies are dermatitis, dried scales and crusts near the eyes or nose;
• labored breathing;
• periodic seizures and the like epileptic seizures;
• signs of anal itching are constant licking of the anus, fidgeting with the anus on the carpet or floor.

Such symptoms can be caused not only by the presence of roundworms, but also by many other diseases, so even the appearance of most of them cannot be an unambiguous sign of toxocariasis.

The only one reliable symptom the presence of roundworms in feces can be considered, but the cat owner will not be able to accurately determine what species these helminths belong to, therefore, having found similar manifestations, you should immediately contact a veterinary clinic.

Diagnostics

Diagnosing and identifying roundworms can be a challenge even for an experienced veterinarian. By external signs and the symptoms, the doctor can only assume that the cat has toxocariasis, after which the turn comes diagnostic tests. First of all, a scatological examination of stool is carried out to identify eggs.

In order to be sure of the result, the veterinarian must obtain the data three times, so samples are submitted for analysis at least 3 times at intervals of a week. This is necessary because negative result may be a sign of a stage of infection in which there are no mature roundworms in the cat’s body yet or the female did not release eggs at the time of stool collection.

• collect the sample in the morning, when the number of eggs in feces is maximum;
• deliver the analysis to the laboratory as soon as possible a short time, and if this is not possible, then you should put a hermetically sealed container with the sample in the refrigerator until the owner can go to the veterinary clinic.

Treatment

Getting rid of roundworms this moment carried out in one way - by taking special medicines. Most of them are very strong drugs, so using them thoughtlessly is not recommended. Each medicine has its own side effects and is selected according to age, condition and physiological characteristics cats.

The most known drugs in the form of ointments or drops that are applied to the withers area, where the cat cannot lick them:

• "Helmintal K" - effective remedy from roundworms for cats weighing more than 4 kg;
• “Prasicide” - suitable not only for adult animals, but also for young cats from 6 months;
• "Prasitel" - used in the case of pregnant animals and kittens in the first month of life.

The elimination period of these drugs is about 25 days, during which they manage to eliminate several generations of roundworms from the body.

For those who prefer tablets, you can also choose the appropriate remedy:

• "Kaniquantel Plus" - has an attractive smell for cats, so it is easy to use;
• "Dirofen Plus" - its use is not permissible during the first 1.5 months of pregnancy;
• "Drontal" - drug fast acting, but it cannot be used for kittens under 6 months and for pregnant cats;
• "Milbemax" - complex remedy for single use.

You can also use drugs for periodic deworming, which is recommended once every 3 months.