What are worms in cats?

Roundworms, Tapeworms, Lungworms, Whipworms and Hookworms. All of these worms can affect your cat and some are a potential hazard to your family’s health. Statistics show that 60% of all cats in the UK have worms at any one time.

Worm treatments do not have a preventative action - they only eliminate the worms present at the time of treatment. Regular dosing is necessary to keep your pet healthy and worm free and prevent them from contaminating the environment with eggs and the dose is dependent on the weight of your cat. It is therefore important for vets to weigh your cat regularly to ensure he is receiving the correct dose.

What are the symptoms of worms in cats?

Mild infestations cause little or no symptoms in a healthy cat; a more severe infestation can cause vomiting, with diarrhoea or constipation, leading to loss of weight and condition. In addition, the presence of worms may weaken your cat’s immune system making it more susceptible to other infections.

Routes of Infection

  • Ingestion of worm eggs from the soil;
  • Ingestion of worm larvae developing in a host animal, e.g. mouse, bird, rabbit, etc.
  • Ingestion of infected fleas;
  • Primary infection via placenta and mother’s milk.

How often should you worm your cat?

Kittens

Worming is recommended at 2, 5 and 8 weeks of age and monthly thereafter until your kitten is 6 months old. The vet or nurse will be able to advise you on the best product to use.
Worms and your cat

Adult Cats

Adult cats should be wormed every 3 months (4 times yearly). This is especially important in families with young children to reduce the risk of health problems.

Pregnant queens

These should be wormed around the time of giving birth to prevent transfer of worms via milk. There is no transfer across the placenta in cats, unlike dogs.

Treatments available

Granules (Roundworms and some Tapeworms)

Tasteless granules which can be mixed in with your cat’s food.

Tablets (Roundworms and Tapeworms)
To mix with your cat food or given directly by mouth. Please ask a veterinary nurse to do this free of charge if you find giving tablets difficult.

Injection (Tapeworms only)
This can be given to cats that are difficult to dose, but only treats tapeworm.

Spot on (Roundworms only)
One of the flea preparations used on the back of the neck also treats roundworms. There is also a spot on preparation that has been developed especially to treat tapeworm in difficult cats.

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