What is the likelihood we picked up worms from our pets?
November 17, 2013 11:53 AM Subscribe
Our dog had tape worms several weeks ago. Presumably she got them from raw pork fat she got out of the garbage overnight. We gave her medication as prescribed by the vet and they cleared up quickly. We just noticed several small worms sticking to the area around our cat's butt.
This is an extremely friendly, cuddly cat that sleeps by our faces every night, often with his head on one of our heads. He has full run of the house and tends to walk and sit on a lot of household surfaces.
Needless to say, my husband and I are pretty skeeved out at this point. We have both been feeling under the weather the last couple days, with fatigue and headaches, but no GI issues at this point (nor have we noticed worms in our poop).
Could we have picked up worms from our cat? How and when will we know if we have? Should we head to the doctor tomorrow to be evaluated for this or wait to see if we develop symptoms? Is there anything preventative beyond washing our hands frequently that we can do?
This is an extremely friendly, cuddly cat that sleeps by our faces every night, often with his head on one of our heads. He has full run of the house and tends to walk and sit on a lot of household surfaces.
Needless to say, my husband and I are pretty skeeved out at this point. We have both been feeling under the weather the last couple days, with fatigue and headaches, but no GI issues at this point (nor have we noticed worms in our poop).
Could we have picked up worms from our cat? How and when will we know if we have? Should we head to the doctor tomorrow to be evaluated for this or wait to see if we develop symptoms? Is there anything preventative beyond washing our hands frequently that we can do?
Our cat had tapeworms a few months ago. Neither our vet nor my obstetrician were at all concerned we would have contracted said worms. PS: IANAD
posted by Coatlicue at 12:09 PM on November 17, 2013
posted by Coatlicue at 12:09 PM on November 17, 2013
If piperazine is available OTC where you live, the worst thing about taking it is the potential embarrassment of asking the pharmacist for it.
posted by scruss at 12:12 PM on November 17, 2013
posted by scruss at 12:12 PM on November 17, 2013
Pretty much everyone with cats that go outdoors have cats with tapeworms, but humans really only ever get them (assuming a reasonably sturdy immune system) if they're eating a lot of dirt.
I had outdoor cats for 10 years - and oh yeah, they had tapeworms, I'd treat them every year or so when it got alarming - and certainly never had worms.
posted by Lyn Never at 12:18 PM on November 17, 2013
I had outdoor cats for 10 years - and oh yeah, they had tapeworms, I'd treat them every year or so when it got alarming - and certainly never had worms.
posted by Lyn Never at 12:18 PM on November 17, 2013
The otter lady is correct, the cat ate a flea at some point(probably while grooming), that is how animals generally get tapeworms. It was not the pork fat. You need to treat for tapes AND fleas (Frontline Plus for 3-4 months at least).
posted by biscotti at 2:02 PM on November 17, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by biscotti at 2:02 PM on November 17, 2013 [2 favorites]
Just to confirm, my vet says they get tapeworms from eating fleas.
posted by MexicanYenta at 12:03 AM on November 18, 2013
posted by MexicanYenta at 12:03 AM on November 18, 2013
I'm not sure about your dog, but I've had this exact problem with my cat.
The kind of tapeworms that cats get and the kind of tapeworms that humans get aren't the same -- you won't get tapeworms from her. But it does mean she ate a flea, and she probably has fleas right now. Fall is a time of year to be cautious about that, because the fleas are trying to get out of the cold, so they're hopping a ride on your cat.
I don't like the idea of giving my cat a flea treatment because I don't think it's healthy, so I use a flea comb on her. That link is to a flea comb that looks roughly like mine, they're available at basically any pet store. The teeth of the comb are really close together, so they catch the fleas, eggs, everything. Have a bowl of soapy water nearby, and dunk the comb with the flea on it into the water, push off the flea and let it drown. Also have a paper towel nearby so you can wipe off the comb. The fleas tend to like to go on the head/face and the back by the base of the tail. The upside is that her coat will look beautiful after combing, too. If your cat is really infested, she might not like being combed at first (or at least mine didn't), but all the cats I've had in the past have grown to love it.
posted by rue72 at 1:03 AM on November 18, 2013
The kind of tapeworms that cats get and the kind of tapeworms that humans get aren't the same -- you won't get tapeworms from her. But it does mean she ate a flea, and she probably has fleas right now. Fall is a time of year to be cautious about that, because the fleas are trying to get out of the cold, so they're hopping a ride on your cat.
I don't like the idea of giving my cat a flea treatment because I don't think it's healthy, so I use a flea comb on her. That link is to a flea comb that looks roughly like mine, they're available at basically any pet store. The teeth of the comb are really close together, so they catch the fleas, eggs, everything. Have a bowl of soapy water nearby, and dunk the comb with the flea on it into the water, push off the flea and let it drown. Also have a paper towel nearby so you can wipe off the comb. The fleas tend to like to go on the head/face and the back by the base of the tail. The upside is that her coat will look beautiful after combing, too. If your cat is really infested, she might not like being combed at first (or at least mine didn't), but all the cats I've had in the past have grown to love it.
posted by rue72 at 1:03 AM on November 18, 2013
It is incredibly unlikely you have worms, but if you are really scared, you can certainly have your (human) doctor run a test on your poop.
That said, as other commenters have noted, the vector for cat and dog tapeworms is fleas. The animal generally gets tapeworm when it ingests an infected flea during grooming. This happened to one of my (now four-year-old) cats when he was 5 months old...it was seriously disgusting, but treatment turned out to be super easy once I was able to verify that it was indeed tapeworms I was dealing with.
Cats and dogs can both get tapeworms, but roundworms are also common, and the treatments for these are NOT interchangeable. I.e., medication for roundworms won't kill tapeworms, and medication for tapeworms will not kill roundworms.
If your pets do have tapeworm, the segments will resemble grains of rice when "fresh" and sesame seeds when they drop off the fur and dry up.
Roundworms, on the other hand, will do this thing where they sort of vacillate between stretching out into little spaghetti-like strands (about 0.5" long) and curling up into a spiral shape.
Your vet may be able to give your pets a broad-spectrum wormer that does treat both types of parasite. However, you can get effective treatments for both roundworm and tapeworm separately over-the-counter.
For roundworms, piperazine formulas are generally effective (though you also need to maintain scrupulous litterbox hygiene in the case of cats when using piperazine, as it works by paralyzing the worms so they can be passed out of the body...meaning they can still "wake up" and wreack havoc if they are not removed from the environment).
For tapeworms, you will need to get a medication called praziquantel (commonly sold OTC under the name "Tape Worm Tabs"; you only get about 3 tabs per bottle but it is extremely effective and repeat dosing is only occasionally necessary due to how this med works). Tapeworms don't respond to piperazine due to the way the indigestible head of this worm adheres to the animal's gut, and praziquantel actually breaks the head down so that the animal's stomach acids can digest it and pass the worm parts out. So essentially tapeworms are like the Video Game End Boss of parasites: destroy the head, and you win!
But, I digress. Since knocking out the tapeworm I've treated all 4 kitties here for fleas monthly (with the topical stuff from the vet, e.g., Revolution). I have NEVER had a recurrence of Wormy Butt in any of them.
posted by aecorwin at 9:44 PM on November 18, 2013 [3 favorites]
That said, as other commenters have noted, the vector for cat and dog tapeworms is fleas. The animal generally gets tapeworm when it ingests an infected flea during grooming. This happened to one of my (now four-year-old) cats when he was 5 months old...it was seriously disgusting, but treatment turned out to be super easy once I was able to verify that it was indeed tapeworms I was dealing with.
Cats and dogs can both get tapeworms, but roundworms are also common, and the treatments for these are NOT interchangeable. I.e., medication for roundworms won't kill tapeworms, and medication for tapeworms will not kill roundworms.
If your pets do have tapeworm, the segments will resemble grains of rice when "fresh" and sesame seeds when they drop off the fur and dry up.
Roundworms, on the other hand, will do this thing where they sort of vacillate between stretching out into little spaghetti-like strands (about 0.5" long) and curling up into a spiral shape.
Your vet may be able to give your pets a broad-spectrum wormer that does treat both types of parasite. However, you can get effective treatments for both roundworm and tapeworm separately over-the-counter.
For roundworms, piperazine formulas are generally effective (though you also need to maintain scrupulous litterbox hygiene in the case of cats when using piperazine, as it works by paralyzing the worms so they can be passed out of the body...meaning they can still "wake up" and wreack havoc if they are not removed from the environment).
For tapeworms, you will need to get a medication called praziquantel (commonly sold OTC under the name "Tape Worm Tabs"; you only get about 3 tabs per bottle but it is extremely effective and repeat dosing is only occasionally necessary due to how this med works). Tapeworms don't respond to piperazine due to the way the indigestible head of this worm adheres to the animal's gut, and praziquantel actually breaks the head down so that the animal's stomach acids can digest it and pass the worm parts out. So essentially tapeworms are like the Video Game End Boss of parasites: destroy the head, and you win!
But, I digress. Since knocking out the tapeworm I've treated all 4 kitties here for fleas monthly (with the topical stuff from the vet, e.g., Revolution). I have NEVER had a recurrence of Wormy Butt in any of them.
posted by aecorwin at 9:44 PM on November 18, 2013 [3 favorites]
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posted by The otter lady at 12:04 PM on November 17, 2013 [7 favorites]