How to Identify Worms in a Cat - Identifying the Type of Worm

1. Understand why you should try to identify the worms. If you suspect your cat has worms, the next step is to try to identify the type of worm. This helps you to know what sort of medication is going to be effective in getting rid of the infestation.

2. Look for migrating tapeworm egg packs. Look under your cat's tail. Tapeworm egg packets migrate out of the cat's anus and get stuck around the fur near the rectum. The egg packets are a creamy-white color and are variously described as looking like rice grains, cucumber pips, or sesame seeds.[4]
- The egg packets may also get stuck to the cat's bedding, so have a quick look at your cat’s bedding as well.
- If you find these, take your cat to its veterinarian to get treated for tapeworm.

3. Check your cat's feces for tapeworms. This is much easier to do if your cat uses a litter tray. Examine the feces for the presence of worms. Sometimes these are visible on the surface of the stool, but more likely you will need to put on plastic gloves and use a disposable tool to break the pellet open and look for worms inside.
- Tapeworms are a creamy white color, flat, and segmented. They average around 4 to 28 inches in length.[5][6]
- Dipylidium caninum: The cat can get this type of tapeworm by eating fleas infected with tapeworm eggs.[7]
- Taenia taeniaeformis: Cats can get this type of tapeworm when they hunt, catch and eat rodents infected with this kind of tapeworm.[8]

4. Recognize roundworms. Roundworms are very common and look like spaghetti or noodles. On average they are two to four inches long, but can grow up to five inches in length.[9] There are two different kinds of roundworms, both of which can be picked up in different ways:
- Toxocara cati: These worms can be picked up via the mother's milk, and most kittens are infected at birth. These are commonly responsible for pot-bellied kittens, and cause vomiting and diarrhea.
- Toxascaris leonine: These roundworms are acquired from contact with infected cat or rodent feces. The worm is sometimes vomited up whole, or passed out in the stool.

5. Identify hookworms. Hookworms are small (0.5 to 1 centimeter), curly worms that have a hook-like mouth. They are very hard to see with the naked eye. Ancylostoma duodenalis can be found in a mother cat’s milk, though kittens can also be infected by this kind of worm by walking on soiled, infected bedding.
- The tooth-like mouth parts attach to the lining of the small intestine and release an anticoagulant that causes blood seepage into the gut. Infected kittens tend to be anemic, lacking in energy, and grow poorly.

6. Ask your vet to check your cat for heartworms. Heartworms are much more common in dogs than in cats. That said, it is still possible for cats to become infected. This sort of worm is found in blood vessels rather than in the intestine, which means that you will have to get a vet to check your cat for these types of worms.
- Dirofilaria immitis: Infected mosquitoes can transfer dirofilaria eggs into your cat’s bloodstream. The signs are nonspecific such as lack of energy, weight loss, and a cough. Sadly, some cats show no symptoms and die suddenly, because of a blockage in a main blood vessel to the heart.

7. Have your vet take a fecal sample for analysis. The best way to check for worms (excluding heartworms) before they become a huge health liability is to take a fresh fecal (stool) sample to your veterinarian’s office. Adult worm will lay eggs while living in the cat’s intestinal tract. These eggs will frequently (but not always) be passed in the stool and can be seen after special preparation and examination under a microscope.[10]
- The eggs of different worms have a different physical appearance which aids in their identification.
- If the examination of your cat and its feces proves fruitless, this does not mean that your cat does not have worms. It merely means that no worms were passed out of its body. Some cats can harbor large amounts of worms and not pass any out. The only way to be certain is to collect a fecal sample to take to your vet for analysis.[11]

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