Hi, My wife and I found 2 abandoned kittens near our house after church today. One seems alright, but the other has some form of worm around its' butt. I don't know if they are tape worms or maybe maggots, but there are a lot of them (they are tiny... about the size of 1/2 an eyelash). I have given the kitten a bath and my wife has been trying to remove the worms. The kitten's butt appears to be swollen as it is protruding (kind of like a hemroid). As near as we can tell the worms have made a hole in the protrusion. We have tried some peroxide to get them out, but I'm curious to know if anyone might have a better idea of exactly what these worms are and how/if we can do something we haven't thought of yet. I will be taking the cat to the vet first thing monday, but until then we want to do what we can to help.
Thanks
Answers:
For right now, just wait until the vet appointment tomorrow. Be sure to bring a small, fresh stool sample with you. This way they can check to see what parasites your kittens have. It sounds like tapeworms, but they can have other things too, like roundworms or coccidia. Nothing else is going to work on them so you might as well stop using the peroxide.
Be sure to wash your hands immediately after handling the kittens as some parasites like rounds can be transmitted to people.
Tapeworms. Deworm them both with praziquantel AND pyrantel pamoate (to cover roundworms as well) and get Frontline on them asap. Cats get tapeworm from chewing fleas.
I suppose I should add - before you get too attached to any stray, make sure to have them examined by your vet and their blood tested for FeLV/FIV. These are fatal and there is no treatment, so it is always best to know as soon as possible. So, deworm, deflea, and see your vet! Good luck :)
i'm not sure if you should give a new kitten that is obviously sick a bunch of meds, you should probably just try to make it as comfortable as possible and get it to a vet as soon as you can!!
and congrats on the rescue!
i ve seen it in kittens before could be fly eggs and maggots if so wash/brush them of asap cause they get so big. could also be lice eggs
tape worms would only be seen in the form of a grain of rice and there wouldnt be that many. if you are worried take the cat to the vets tomorrow
Maybe you should take them to a vet to be sure. I wouldn't bombard the kitten w/ too many drugs b/c his little body is already dealing w/ whatever that is on his rear. I don't think tapes would make any wounds on the anus. You could try deworming w/ food grade diatomaceous earth. You would need to mix 1/2 tsp in the canned food for about 3 weeks. It takes a while, but it is chemical free and very safe. You can usually find it at farm and feed stores. (And no vaccinations until he is strong and healthy either, he may have a bad reaction).
It soundl like either tapeworms or maggots. Chances are that the cat has a prolapsed rectum, just a mild one, and flies were attracted laid eggs that hatched into maggots. although it could be tapeworm segments, usually you just see one or a few at a time.
What you are doing is perfect care until you can see the vet. Just keep it clean with warm water, a little peroxide won't hurt. Offer food, bedding, etc. just as you normally would.
What a nice thing to do to take them in. Good luck with them!
If you have a magifying glass around you can check the worms and see if you can tell their shape. If they are flat, they are tapeworms. If they are round, they're round worms but there isn't anything you can do until you take him to the vet. I'm not sure peroxide on his fanny is a good idea - just a bit of soap and water will do. If his rectum is protruding a bit he may have diarrhea and that is the cause of the protruding. Maggots, I would think, would be larger than what you're describing. Poor baby, so glad you guys found them and are taking care of them. Please do let us all know how they are once they have visited the vets.
For now, clean water, bland but filling foods, a nice cleansing bath and defleaing would probably be the best you can do for them. If the kitten does have diarrhea, you don't want to feed anything super rich and cause him/her to end up with it getting worse! Try feeding them boiled rice mixed with just a bit of baby food meats - just be sure to get it without onions! Or boil the rice in chicken broth? Also most cats will eat plain yogurt - make sure it has live cultures in it tho - excellent for the digestive tract! If that seems to work and the cat is doing well - a bit of boiled chicken would be okay but if he's going to the vet tomorrow I doubt if you'll see that kind of improvement that quick. I'd do the rice in broth and a bit of yogurt tonite and see how it goes? Good luck!!
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