Cat

Parasite is a type of disease that needs to be strictly prevented, both for cats and humans. When a cat is infected with parasites, in mild cases, it will cause itching on the skin surface, causing minor symptoms. If the whole body is infected, it will cause a variety of complications. At the same time, humans are also one of the hosts for parasites. It is often seen in the news that cats are infected with parasites and then transmit them to humans.

There are many kinds of internal parasites in cats, the common ones are: roundworms, stripworms, hookworms and Toxoplasma gondii. Once a cat is infected with these parasites, the cat's coat color will deteriorate, weight loss, diarrhea, enlarged belly, and in severe cases, the cat will vomit larvae. Of course, some initial symptoms of parasites are easily confused with symptoms of other diseases, and we need to identify them. We can observe and judge from the following two aspects.

Method 1: Check for parasite symptoms

Observe whether your cat has some common symptoms of worms. Such as unhealthy coat, pale gums, lethargy, and decreased appetite. More obvious symptoms include bloody stools, diarrhea, vomiting, a bloated-looking abdomen, or licking and rubbing the anus on the floor. Kittens often develop hookworms brought from their mother cats. Hookworms are invisible to the naked eye and can only be identified under a microscope. Symptoms in kittens include paleness, weight loss, and anemia.

Method 2: Check for parasites

1. Check if there are any noodle-like things in your cat’s feces or vomit. They may be white or brown. Contrary to their name, these are usually roundworms.

2. Use gloves and tools when examining cat feces. Move the stool around and look for any grainy particles. They may also resemble tiny sesame seeds. This is a tapeworm, which may be stationary or squirming.

3. Check the cat’s anus. If you do have tapeworms, there may be a small amount of rice-like worms remaining on the hair around the anus.

4. Check your cat’s bedding or other sleeping areas for parasites. Tapeworms, in particular, can crawl from a cat's anus onto bedding. Tapeworms and roundworms may be wriggling or dead.

How to prevent and treat parasites?

First of all, be sure not to let cats roam freely. There are many dangers to cats if they roam freely, such as accidents when going out, infection with infectious diseases, loss, etc. The most common one is probably infection with parasites. Cats can become infected with fleas on grass, and fleas are hosts for tapeworms. Cats can become infected with tapeworms through fleas. Not only tapeworms, cats can also be infected with Toxoplasma gondii through the soil. Toxoplasma gondii can be transmitted to pregnant women, causing them to miscarry.

Secondly, the owner’s home environment must be clean. For example, there should not be too many useless clutter piled together to prevent dust accumulation from becoming a breeding ground for fleas. Remove carpets to prevent fleas from laying eggs there. Furniture must also be washed and disinfected frequently; sofas, bed sheets and some fabrics must be washed and disinfected. Neither does the wallLet it go to prevent ticks.

In addition to these, the prevention of cats themselves is also very important. Cats should be dewormed every three months with topical medications. Topical drops are the most effective, because drops penetrate the sebaceous glands and act on the whole body to eliminate insects, and they need to be dropped directly on the skin. Drops on the hair will have no effect.