Worms in a kitten: Symptoms, signs and treatment

The life and health of kittens directly depends on its owner. One of the dangers is worms in a kitten; they can harm not only the health, but also the life of the pet. Parasites can live not only in the intestines, but also in the liver, muscles, blood and even in the baby’s heart. A pet infected with helminths represents a danger not only to its own health, but also to everyone around it; children are especially susceptible to infection. Kittens are most often exposed to such dangers as worms, and their symptoms are much more pronounced than in adults.

Causes of worm infection in kittens

For many owners, it is difficult to imagine that a small kitten, who is just beginning to explore the world around him, can be infected himself and be a carrier of worms. But this erroneous misconception is fraught with serious danger both for the feline itself and for all family members. Therefore, it is very important to know about possible routes of infection by endoparasites:

• intrauterine transmission of worms from a pregnant cat;
• contact with environmental objects, which may include water, infected animals (cats, mice, rats), grass in the yard;
• contact with contaminated (contaminated) objects, such as shoes, clothes, rugs in the hallway;
• feeding meat or fish products that have not passed veterinary control and have not been frozen or treated with boiling water;
• eating contaminated prepared food;
• the presence of fleas and lice eaters in the kitten, which are carriers of the larval form of the helminth;

Symptoms of worms in a kitten

Having settled in the cat’s body, the parasites begin to feed at the expense of the animal. As a result, the body loses nutrients and vitamins, which can lead to severe exhaustion and intoxication. To avoid this, it is important to pay attention to the well-being and health status of your pet in a timely manner. Common symptoms that are typical for any type of infestation may include:

• decreased appetite or excessive eating;
• digestive disorders with signs of vomiting, diarrhea and flatulence. There may be blood or mucus in the stool;
• intestinal obstruction due to extensive infection;
• unnaturally swollen belly;
• tendency to eat inedible objects such as paper, small stones, lime, soil;
• signs caused by vitamin deficiency and chronic intoxication: depression, exhaustion, dull coat and shedding;
• developmental delay compared to healthy kittens of the same age.

In some cases, other signs may appear:

• slight cough or chest wheezing;
• yellowness of the mucous membranes, enlarged liver;
• increased body temperature;
• itching or hives;
• lacrimation, conjunctivitis.

During the growth period, the kitten’s immune system is weakened and the body’s resistance is reduced, so the symptoms of helminthic infestation can manifest themselves clearly. The owner is advised to pay attention to changes in the general condition of his pet. This will allow you to identify symptoms of infection with endoparasites and contact a veterinarian in time to avoid serious or irreversible consequences.

Prevention

To ensure that treatment of worms in children is not required at all, it is necessary to actively engage in prevention, which consists of both daily precautions and hygiene procedures, as well as taking medications.

How to protect your baby from parasitic infection:

• Maintain hygiene – regularly wash your child’s hands and bathe him;
• regularly care for toys - washing and cleaning (after diagnosis, all toys must be disinfected);
• cut your nails as often as possible, clean them every day;
• iron clothes after washing;
• get rid of bad habits - sucking fingers, pens, biting nails;
• give only boiled water to drink and explain the reasons;
• avoid swimming in natural bodies of water;
• use repellents (insects often carry worm eggs), destroy all insects that enter the house;
• regularly check pets for parasites;
• Wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly, conduct sufficient heat treatment of meat and fish.

Some types of helminthiases are difficult to cure, so we recommend preventive measures to avoid infection. When contacting the clinic, parents will receive full advice on how to properly carry out prevention to avoid problems in the future.

Contraindications to deworming in kittens

Despite the large selection of modern anthelmintic drugs for kittens, deworming for preventive and therapeutic purposes is not recommended for self-prescription in the following cases:

• chronic viral or bacterial infections;
• general weakening of the body after surgery or serious illness;
• severe exhaustion of the body;
• serious disorders associated with liver and kidney disease;
• previously identified intolerance to anthelmintic drugs;
• significant helminth infestation.

In these cases, deworming is carried out only under the strict supervision of a doctor or is postponed until the condition stabilizes.

In any case, consultation with a specialist and selection of an individual treatment scheme is highly desirable.

Classification of parasites

Different types of worms affect the body differently, and have their own characteristics both in the development cycle and in appearance and damage caused. There are three most common groups of worms: nematodes, cestodes, and trematodes.

The first group is the protocavitary worms. They live in soil and water, so they can easily become infected in the sandbox and during a walk in general. It is this group that includes the most common pinworms and roundworms, and also includes hookworms, trichinella, and guinea worms. Depending on which parasite caused the infection, ascariasis, enterobiasis, trichuriasis, etc. are distinguished.

Cestodoses are tapeworms that can live both in the intestines (the most common variant is tapeworms) and in organs (usually the larvae of tapeworms, echinococci, and alveococci live there). In accordance with which of these types of worms are found in children, echinococcosis, taeniasis, hymenolepiasis, etc. are distinguished.

And the last of the three popular groups is trematoses caused by trematodes. These are several types of flatworms - schistosome, cat/liver fluke, leukochloridium. They provoke opisthorchiasis (transmitted from fish of the carp family) and fascioliasis (the liver and bile system suffer, infection through plants or water).

Basic questions about deworming kittens

At what age can a kitten be wormed?

The first deworming of an animal can be done when it reaches 3 weeks of age. To prevent endoparasites from developing in the baby’s body in the future, it is necessary to carry out treatment every 3–4 months. If you neglect this rule, after a while your pet runs the risk of becoming infected with helminths again. To prescribe an exact treatment and prevention regimen, calculate the correct dosage and select an anti-worm drug, it is recommended to consult a veterinarian. The specialist will examine the animal and give the necessary recommendations, if followed, your pet will be healthy and happy.

Which form of deworming drug should I choose for my kitten?

As a rule, it is recommended to use medications in the form of suspensions for kittens. So, from 3 weeks of age you can make a choice in favor of such products as Dironet and Dironet Junior. These are complex anthelmintic drugs AVZ, which are based on several substances that act on round and tapeworms. If your baby tends to be capricious during procedures, showing aggression, you can stop with drops on the withers. Among them, we can highlight the broad-spectrum drug Dironet Spot-on, which is used for kittens from 2 months.

If you plan to get vaccinated?

Deworming before vaccination is a mandatory measure. It is necessary to eliminate the negative impact of parasites on the animal’s body and reduce the risk of complications after vaccination. As a preventive measure, anthelmintic drugs for kittens are given once 10–14 days before vaccination. It is believed that during this period the body restores its immune status after suffering parasitosis. To speed up this process, you can use particularly mild antiparasitic agents, for example, Dironet Junior. It stimulates the immune system and can significantly reduce the waiting period.

The kitten weighs little. How to calculate the dose of the drug?

Before using the drug, you should carefully read the instructions, which indicate the required dosage per 1 kg of animal body weight. When treating cats weighing less than 0.5 kg, you can dilute the amount of suspension collected according to the instructions with water to limit the loss of the substance during administration. To calculate the exact dosage, be sure to consult a veterinarian. He will weigh the baby and help carry out deworming correctly.

Diagnostics

Diagnosis of worms in children is carried out in different ways - depending on what worms the child is infected with, the habitat, location of the eggs, and toxins found in the body will differ.

To make a diagnosis, the following may be prescribed:

• blood test - shows anemia, hemoglobin and eosinophil levels;
• analysis for parasites - in 99% of cases it helps to detect helminthiasis, and in most cases it helps to accurately determine the type (biomaterial for research - blood from a vein);
• examination of stool - there may not be eggs in the stool, even if there is an infection, to ensure the presence of worms, this diagnosis should be carried out 3 times, which takes time;
• smear - especially effective in case of pinworm infection, since their eggs are found just outside the anus;
• stool analysis for dysbacteriosis;
• if there is a suspicion of infection of internal organs, and not just the gastrointestinal tract - CT, X-ray, ultrasound.

Diagnostics allows you to accurately identify the type of parasite and prescribe specific treatment. The doctor prescribes medications, diet, additional supportive procedures, and gives recommendations for care and hygiene.

In some cases, parents pay increased attention to helminthiasis and are constantly worried about infecting their child. This leads to regular “preventive” courses of serious anthelmintic drugs, which do not bring any benefits to the baby’s body. If your child is not losing weight, feels well, eats well, has a healthy complexion, and does not have itching in the anal area, he is likely healthy. If you want to make sure of this, it is better to get tested than to take an unnecessary course.

AVZ anti-worm preparations for kittens

Suspensions

• Suspension "Dironet Junior".
  The main active ingredients are pyrantel and sodium ribonucleate, as well as excipients. The product is used for the prevention and treatment of various nematodes (toxocariasis, toxascariasis, uncinariasis, hookworm infection, trichocephalosis).
• Suspension "Dironet".
  The drug contains active ingredients such as pyrantel, praziquantel, and ivermectin. The suspension is aimed at combating ectoparasites, as well as round and tapeworms.

These medications can be prescribed from 3 weeks of age.

Pills

• Tablets for cats and dogs “Azinox” (from 3 weeks).
  Their main active ingredient is praziquantel. The product is active against tape parasites at all stages of development.
• Tablets for cats and dogs “Alben S” (from 3 months).
  A complex drug containing praziquantel and albendazole. It has nematodocidal and cestodocidal effects, which are aimed at all phases of development of round and tapeworms. It is the drug of choice for the treatment of resistant helminthiases.
• Dironet 200 tablets for cats and kittens (from 3 weeks).
  One tablet contains pyrantel, praziquantel and ivermectin. A wide spectrum of anthelmintic action allows you to fight round and tapeworms.
• "Febtal tablets" for cats and dogs (from 3 weeks).
  The composition includes a single active ingredient - fenbendazole, which has a wide spectrum of action. The drug is used as a treatment and prophylaxis for various nematodes and cestodes, both adult forms and larvae and eggs in the gastrointestinal tract and lungs, as well as cestodes. It has the least contraindications and can be used by pregnant women.

Symptoms

There are a lot of symptoms, and individual manifestations depend on which helminth eggs have entered the body. Next, we will talk about the general symptoms for all parasitic infections, and then about enterobiasis, ascariasis and 5 other types of infections.

General symptoms:

• increased irritability, restless sleep, decreased perseverance and attentiveness, frequent hysterics and anger;
• increased appetite associated with active weight loss;
• symptoms from the digestive system - diarrhea, constipation, nausea, pain in the right hypochondrium;
• dizziness and headache;
• food allergies;
• nasal discharge;
• diseases and infections of the reproductive system;
• brittle nails/hair;

Enterobiasis is a helminthiasis in which the body is infected by pinworms. The larvae emerge from the eggs within 4-6 hours; in 2-4 weeks they become adults - grayish or white roundworms 5-10 mm long. They settle in the cecum and appendix, and lay eggs outside the anus - at night, female pinworms come out into the air for this purpose. This reproduction mechanism leads to severe itching at night - hence restless sleep, tossing and turning, and screaming.

Additional special symptoms:

• night urination;
• grinding teeth;

Ascariasis is a helminthiasis in which the body is colonized by roundworms. These worms are already larger - the average length of an adult is 25-30 cm. The larvae and eggs enter the body with insufficiently disinfected fresh fruits and vegetables. The development period takes place in the intestines, after which they pass into the lymphatic and blood vessels, and with the flow of blood and lymph they are distributed throughout the body - in the liver, heart, lungs. They then enter the oral cavity and are re-swallowed. From this moment, adult roundworms begin to develop. This takes approximately 3 months.

How to suspect the presence of worms in children:

• the liver, spleen, lymph nodes enlarge;
• the temperature rises, sometimes up to 38 degrees;
• malaise and weakness appear;
• respiratory pathologies develop - pneumonia, bronchitis and bronchial asthma;
• pressure drops;
• Gastrointestinal symptoms appear - constipation, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, pain in the form of contractions;
• fear of light;
• nightmares at night;
• dry cough - sputum with an orange tint and bloody spots.

It is more difficult to breed roundworms than pinworms, since the female lays almost 250 thousand eggs every day. In no case should you rely on traditional methods or buy the first remedy you come across at the pharmacy - be sure to contact a specialist.

These are not all worms in children that inhabit the body. There are more than 300 species of helminths in the world, and 70 of them are found in Russia alone. In addition to the two listed types, 5 more types are becoming widespread:

• trichocephalosis - characterized by a lag in both physical and intellectual development, but in general it is almost asymptomatic;
• opisthorchiasis – the temperature rises, the nodes of the lymphatic system enlarge, skin rashes appear;
• hymenolepiasis – the main consequence is rhinitis;
• toxocariasis - has many symptoms that distinguish it from other helminth infections: keratitis, cough with suffocation, ophthalmitis, chorioretinitis, facial swelling;
• wide tapeworm - characterized by anemia, intestinal disorders, pain in the abdominal area.

Infants may experience symptoms after just a few weeks of life if they have received the eggs and larvae of worms from their mother, for example during childbirth. As a rule, symptoms manifest themselves in the form of lack of weight gain, excessive drooling, rash, pallor, blue under the eyes, constipation. The child is constantly worried, screams, sleeps and eats poorly. The screaming can be unbearable and the baby will turn blue in the process.

Worms are often the cause of the development of pulmonary pathologies and are diagnosed using ultrasound or x-ray. Parasites, in particular Echinococcus tapeworm, can damage not only the respiratory system, but also move further to the brain and heart. In areas where helminths develop in the lungs, scars and adhesions appear, and the shape of the lungs begins to change. Such changes provoke a wide range of diseases - asthma, fibrosis, bronchitis, pleurisy, emphysema, etc. When a tapeworm enters the lungs, echinococcosis is formed, when the parasite develops in the form of a cyst.

Symptoms will largely depend on which helminth has entered the body, but the child’s anxiety and the presence of the above general symptoms should alert parents. If signs of worms appear, make an appointment with a pediatrician or gastroenterologist to get tested in a timely manner.