Tapeworms

• Roundworms

• Hookworms

• Tapeworms

• Heartworms

Tapeworms (cestodes), are very common parasites of the small intestine of cats and dogs; they are flat and can measure from a few millimetres (Echinococcus) up to 2.5 metres (Taenia hydatigena - only in dogs) in length. They attach to the gut’s wall of the cat and dog and live of the gut’s content, which is absorbed, through their integument (“skin”).

 

How Tapeworms are Transmitted

Adult tapeworms live in the intestine of cats and dogs and produce eggs, which are shed in the environment through the faeces. These eggs contain a first stage larva and, when eaten by an intermediate host, for example a small mammal such as a mouse for Taenia and Echinococcus multilocularis, or an arthropod (flea or lice) for Dipylidium caninum, the development proceeds up to the formation of the second larval stage. These larvae are infective for the cat and, when it ingests the intermediate host or its tissues, they attach to the wall of the intestine and become adults within a few weeks.

 

Disease

Adult tapeworms are aesthetically unpleasant but cause little harm in cats, although severe infections may cause intestinal damage due to the physical presence of the worms.

 

Treating Tapeworm Infection

A few anthelmintic products are marketed for the treatment and control of all the most important cat cestode infections. A few of them are also effective against all other common cat worms thus ensuring a complete protection of your pet and you.

Be sure to give to your pet the one that best satisfies its and your needs, in terms of ease of use, efficacy and safety (especially if very young animals are to be treated).