So my good friends’ cat had been having soft stool for a couple of days and had vomited a few times. Normally the cat would love to eat, running to the food dish when it was time but now she didn’t seem to care. Feeling crappy (pun intended) she would lay down for snuggles rather than play. Now these are all relatively common findings for cats that aren’t well but so many things can cause these clinical signs. So being the good pet owners they are they took their cat to the vet for some tests! 

Any idea what they found?

Well I guess the title gives it away,…. yea they found round worm! Internal parasites gross out a lot of people, being all wiggly and gross like probably doesn’t help. Hook worms, tape worms, round worms, whip worms, so many worms, so many possibilities.  

Cool right? Well the issue is that other than causing disease in our pets these parasites can pose significant health risks to owners as well. Often parasites are picked up through infected soil or feces either through contact or through ingestion. Not all worms and parasites of pets are infectious to humans but some are zoonotic (meaning they can pass from pet to owner), unfortunately round worms fall into this category. Now don’t panic, just be clean.

• Have your pet tested regularly by bringing fecal samples to your annual exam (or earlier if your pet is sick).
• Make sure to practice good hygiene, wash your hands after cleaning up after your pets (this is especially important in the context of young children).
• Clean out litter boxes promptly as some eggs hatch the longer the waste sits there. 

Intestinal parasites are treated by a number of medications, normally when given, depending on their size may result in the owner seeing more worms being expelled (the parasites are dead and no longer attached to the host). Often with treated pets the common recommendation is to retest the feces after treatment has been completed. If your pets are going outside, if they have fleas, if they hunt they should be tested and treated for parasite prevention, for their health and yours!