CAT ILLNESSES

Cat Parasite Problems

Worms

There are three main types of worms that trouble cats;

Roundworms are long and stringy and live in the intestines. Kittens could have picked them up from their mothers, or hunting and eating wildlife can contract them. Adult roundworms shed tiny small eggs into the faeces but they only become apparent if you see them in the faeces or they vomit a roundworm.

 
Lungworms are small and live in the airways causing a mild cough. Hunting also picks these up. Lungworms are only detected by laboratory analysis of faecal samples.

Tapeworms, which are long and flat, are also picked up from wildlife. However, they can also be contracted from fleas. The tapeworm attaches itself to the intestine wall and sheds proglottids, white rice like, segments into the faeces.

 
  If your cat prefers to stay inside and is free of fleas, infrequent worming is required, but if your cat is always outside then it needs to be wormed every three months. Heartworm is less common in cats but can cause heart and breathing problems and the coccidiosis parasite can cause diarrhoea and vomiting, together with weight loss and dehydration particularly in kittens. All cats should be wormed regularly as prevention is better than cure.

Fleas

Cat fleas can only live outside in semitropical areas so cat fleas are picked up from inside the home. The flea eggs are laid on the cat and when the cat is inside the house, in the heated and often poorly ventilated, carpeted homes so common these days, the eggs drop onto the floor, where they hatch into tiny maggots. These maggots wriggle into dark recesses where they feed on shed skin cells from the cat and adult flea droppings. They form into resistant pupae and wait until they are able to reach a suitable host before they hatch. They are able to jump huge distances to reach the cat. Therefore, it is essential, not only to spray the cat, but the environment as well. Your vet can recommend suitable treatments; he even can give you preventative products, instead of waiting for the problem to occur. Fleas can bite humans but cannot survive without the cat or dog being present.

 

If you are looking for information about cat illnesses you might find these articles helpful cat health problems, cat infections and diseases and cat ailments. Alternatively, the following links may also be of use:

 

Other parasitic problems are head lice, ear mites, ticks and ringworm. You may see lice moving around in the cat’s fur or spot the eggs or nits stuck to the hairs. Unlike fleas they do not transfer to the home so can be eradicated by veterinary insecticides Ticks, wingless and bloodsucking arachnids, are picked up from long grass, take their fill of blood from the host and drop off. They must not be pulled off otherwise part of the tick will remain and this could cause infection. Instead, apply an insecticidal spray directly on to it and it will fall off of its own accord or you can pull it off easily. If your cat is shaking its head and scratching it’s ear then ear mites may be the problem. Ear mites are tiny eight- legged animals that live in the ear canal and feed on earwax. Because the mites cause irritation to the ear, the ear produces more wax so eardrops are the answer. The eardrops kill the mites but any treatment must be continued for a few weeks to kill any eggs, and any other cats and dogs must be treated too.

Ringworm is a fungus that causes bald, scaly patches on the fur of the head. Ringworm is highly contagious but easily treated with several weeks’ treatment of drugs from your vet. Remember to avoid contamination with grooming implements.

 
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