Topic: Can cats get tapeworms from ANY other cause besides fleas?
Melanie Reber
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 3707
posted
I've just returned home from the vet for my cat Bob, who is obviously not doing well again. When the vet took his temp, she discovered a tapeworm! This cat DID have a horrible flea and tapeworm infestation over 2 years ago...and has since NOT stepped one paw out of doors. He has NO other exposure to other animals, and I have NOT seen one sign of a flea.
So, how did this happen? Vet said it could not be a leftover infection, that it must be new, and the only thing that can cause tapeworms is by ingesting fleas.
Did I bring a flea home on me? Did that one flea cause this? I KNOW that where there is one flea, there are others, however...we did a comb and could not find any, and again, I have NOT seen any on him or anywhere in the house.
They are keeping him for observation while they do some more blood work, urinalysis and de-worm him.
I have tried searching on-line and all I can find are references to fleas and tapeworms... does anyone know IF there could be another cause for this? Miss Merry????? Others???
No wonder we both are very Bart-ish again.
Thanks so much in advance for any help you can provide to solve this latest mystery. M
nenet
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 13174
posted
I kow they can get it from ingestion of the adult, or the eggs, or larvae, as well.
Do you ever feed your cat raw meat? Is there another animal in the house? Have they been treated for tapeworms?
You can get a cyclical tapeworm colony from one animal to the next, if they aren't all treated at once and all areas cleaned repeatedly (especially the litter box and sleeping areas) to remove all possible eggs/body pieces, etc.
Tapeworm is actually very hard to get rid of, so in my opinion it is possible that your kitty has the same infestation as before, but was light enough to escape under the radar. We had to treat our cats (they were strays) multiple times to get rid of it.
Melanie Reber
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 3707
posted
Bob is my only animal now (well, besides the fish clan), and he has not been exposed to any other animals or people for a few years now.
He has been on a strict Rx diet of dry food for at least 2 years when we went though this the first time, and the only other food he ever gets is a half can of wet each day. NEVER anything raw or not one of those two items.
I'm on my way to pick him up now, so Ill try to pick the vets brain a bit more on this.
Posts: 7052 | From Colorado | Registered: Mar 2003
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nenet
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 13174
posted
Good luck to you and your cat, Melanie. I hope the vet can give you some ideas as to how this could happen. If they do, can you please pass them along?
posted
Tapeworms often break off in pieces and you have to take care of the eggs so you do not get more. The also have much bacteria and viruses when you kill them. Getting rid of them is not always simple.
Gail
-------------------- Gail Posts: 234 | From Sterling, Ma | Registered: Jan 2008
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Dawnee
Unregistered
posted
I don't believe your vet is right in that it couldn't be left from 2 years ago. Not all parasite treatments work 100% all the time. Did you cat just get one treatment or has it been every few months/every six months etc?
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Melanie Reber
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 3707
posted
Good afternoon,
Please forgive me for taking so long to get back to this. It has been a hectic few days.
Thanks to each of you for your well wishes and added information. I think you are correct in that this tapeworm MUST be leftover from his previous infection.
I have not seen any sign of one flea on Bob and I have combed him several times looking. His vet is not convinced...but oh well.
He does have a few other issues going on though.
His thyroid should be in the range of (2-3), and it is 7.9
His WBC count should be in the range of (4,500-15,000), and it is 1,000
His Lymphocyte count should be in the range of (1,500-7,000), and it is 1,156
And, his Neutrophil count should be in the range of (2,500-12,000), and it is 1,700
I'm not quite sure what all this adds up to yet, but will try to do some more research a bit later today.
Other than that... his heart and lungs look good and the urine sample had no crystals, so the urinary obstruction he dealt with last time is not showing up again, thank Goodness.
We are going to put him on a Thyroid med immediately, but the med has the side effect of further lowering the WBC so he will need to be monitored closely.
He will also begin Doxy immediately. The vet is being cautious with a 6 month Rx. She of course wants to see him again before prescribing any longer, which I think is fair of her, considering she didn't do any TBD testing with him.
The vet went ahead and gave him the first de-worm dosage and gave me another dose for next month.
So, I am off to the pharm for more meds for myself and for Big Bob.
Thanks so much again to each of you for your help! M
Posts: 7052 | From Colorado | Registered: Mar 2003
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nenet
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 13174
posted
Hey Melanie thanks for keeping us updated.
I am very sorry Bob is having such a difficult time, and that you are both having to go through this. Our male cat has heart disease (he is only 4 years old) and it is so hard to think of him suffering, but so far he is a pretty happy cat all things considered. You are being such a great pet owner!
One thing I am curious about, don't antibiotics sometimes lower WBC too? Does the Vet have any options for raising that count?
Good luck to you and Bob. I wish you guys the best.
Melanie Reber
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 3707
posted
Sorry Dawnee, I forgot to answer your question. From what I remember his last vet did the same as this one is suggesting, only 2 doses one month apart.
I now have a link to a farm supply where I can get more for him... as I do feel he needs longer treatment. It will just be tricky to make sure there is no interference with the other new meds he will be taking too.
Posts: 7052 | From Colorado | Registered: Mar 2003
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Melanie Reber
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 3707
posted
Thank you so much Nenet for your most kind reply. Bob is my only baby now, so he is pretty special to me.
I am not too sure about the WBC and ABX, as I haven't had time to do any research on that yet. (have been pretty ill myself and tied up with the IDSA stuff)
But hope to find some answers today somewhere. If I do, I'll update. Actually, as I was doing some reading yesterday and came across issues with HGA, it struck a chord with what Bob's labs are reporting. So, he may be dealing with that too, but I hate to say for certain just yet until I can do more checking around.
I am so very sorry that your love has heart issues, and yes, it does hurt to see them suffer.
Posts: 7052 | From Colorado | Registered: Mar 2003
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Melanie Reber
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 3707
posted
Posts: 7052 | From Colorado | Registered: Mar 2003
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