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Old May 2nd, 2006, 09:11 AM
MOOSEDRY's Avatar
MOOSEDRY MOOSEDRY is offline
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worms

hi all.

a few questions. i'm being tested right now for pinworms (yuk!). although i don't have a definitive answer yet, i'm wondering if this is something i could have caught from my cats (i have three, two are outdoor, one indoor - of the two that go out, one is an avid hunter). i'm reading differing opinions on the net, so i thought i'd ask the experts - can humans catch pinworms from cats?

also, last night, i was sure i spotted a worm-like creature poking out of the anus of the one that stays indoors. went to the vet for advice, and was told to treat all three cats for tapeworms (i'm told "revolution" flea treatment will take care of all other worms, but tapeworms require a pill).

am i the only person who sucks at pilling cats? all three of them fought me tooth and nail (literally!). by the end of it, i got pills in all three, but they were foaming at the mouth and not at all impressed. my method is to kneel on the floor with the cat between my legs, with her back to me. i grasp the head and hold it upright, while prying open the jaws at the same time. i drop the pill as far back in the throat as possible, then clamp the jaws shut and stroke the throat to encourage swallowing. well, it took three attempts with each cat - i'd let go of the head and the first thing they'd do is spit the pill out and try to run away. i've tried putting butter on the pill to get it to slide down the throat easier, i've used water-filled syringes to encourage swallowing after administering the pill, etc. i'm about ready to give up on attempting to ever pill my cats again. if i can't find a method that works, i'll be visiting a techie every time from now on to get them to do it.

any advice??????
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Old May 2nd, 2006, 09:31 AM
Lucky Rescue Lucky Rescue is offline
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If you yourself have pinworms, you must have picked them up someplace else, since cat pinworms cannot live in human beings.

Cats who go outside and kill prey will regularly have tapeworms, which are fairly harmless but disgusting.

Pilling cats can be tricky. What I do is wait until the cat is relaxed - napping or whatever. I pet the cat on the head, then just when it's been lulled into not suspecting anything, I stroke a final time, lift the head and open the mouth all in one movement. Push the pill down as far as you can, close mouth and keep head tilted upwards and firmly stroke the throat.

I also keep a dab of canned catfood handy, and put a small blob on the cat's closed mouth, which will always make it swallow.

Cats have a unique hatred of being restrained, and grasping it between your knees is likely to make it resist with all it's might.
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Old May 2nd, 2006, 10:08 AM
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MOOSEDRY MOOSEDRY is offline
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thanks for responding, lucky.

one other question for you - are tapeworms contagious between cats?

thanks again.
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Old May 2nd, 2006, 10:20 AM
Lucky Rescue Lucky Rescue is offline
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Yes tapeworms are contagious, usually by a cat licking up and swallowing a flea infested with tapeworm eggs. The egg sac is the thing you saw poking out of your cat's butt. It falls off, and dries out. Flea larvae might eat it, and if the cat licks up the flea while grooming, the eggs will then hatch.

Tapworms do little harm to their hosts, but the sight of the slimy wiggling egg sacs (especially if you find one on your ankle) is so gross that most people treat the cat right away.

I feel sick now.
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