Kittens often acquire parasites from their mother’s milk, while adult cats occasionally eat the eggs or eat parasite-infected cockroaches. Cats are relatively susceptible to parasites, so it’s a good idea to know the warning signs so you can respond early.
How to tell if a cat is infected with parasites?
Cat ectoparasites
It is relatively easy to find ectoparasites in cats, such as fleas (zǎo), lice (shī), ticks (pí), scabies mites, demodex, ear Mites, etc., can basically be confirmed by visual inspection.
What are the symptoms of ectoparasite infection in cats?
The most important manifestation of cat infection with external parasites is itching. If you see cats often scratching and biting hair, you need to pay attention. The cat can basically be sure that there are parasites such as fleas. Develop a deworming plan immediately to avoid further impact.
If the cat is not dealt with in time, or the abnormality of the cat is not found, the following situations often occur.
Skin lesions
There may be lesions on the skin, which may be parasite migration or bites, or The infection is caused by scratching, and is characterized by a red rash that bleeds into the skin.
Depilation
Depilation due to skin damage, or cat scratching. Cat hair loss that can be detected with the naked eye.
Lice are parasitic on the cat’s body surface, close to the skin, flesh-colored or white, and need to be carefully identified to recognize.
Lice move more slowly than fleas, but they are harder to catch than fleas because they stick to the skin. Lice can cause skin inflammation in cats and, in severe cases, hair loss and ringworm.
There are worm eggs in the fur
While brushing the cat, it is found that there are white worm eggs in the cat’s hair, which is also a sign of parasite infection. The flea eggs are white salt particles.
There are black particles in the fur
There are many black particles in the hair, especially at the root of the hair. These black particles are actually It is flea feces, the main component is digested cat blood, the black dots will dissolve into red when put into water, indicating that the cat has fleas,
It even further indicates that there may be tapeworms on the cat, and fleas often It is the host of tapeworms.
It should be noted that if the cat suffers from fleas, do not squeeze the fleas with their nails. With a pop, the flea corpse and the tapeworm eggs in the body will splash out and stick to the hands or clothes, thereby Causes human infection with taeniasis.
Ticks
Spring and summer are the seasons of high incidence of ticks. They are active in wooded places, such as grasses and shrubs. The skin that has been bitten by ticks is not painful. Itching, it’s hard for cats to spot it, maybe what you see is a bean-sized blood blister that’s actually a tick.
Occasionally, redness, itching, and swelling may occur after being bitten, but they are not the main symptoms and are difficult to detect.
After being infected with ticks, the cat will be lethargic, anorexia, sometimes fever, dark urine, etc., there is a certain probability of infection with babesiosis, if you have experience, you can use the cat’s external deworming medicine drop into Blood vesicles and ticks will fall off on their own and cannot be forcibly removed. You can also take your cat to the veterinarian for treatment.
Internal parasites in cats
The main parasites in cats are: hookworms, tapeworms, roundworms, heartworms worms, toxoplasma, etc.
Internal parasites are difficult to detect, but we can find out through some signs:
Dim hair
If your cat has dull hair Dullness, often caused by malnutrition or nutrient malabsorption.
If you check the cat’s diet and cat food without problems, then you should suspect that the cat is infected with parasites.
Pale gums
Healthy cats will have pink gums just like us.
If your cat’s gums are whitish or whitish, it may be a sign of anemia, most likely a parasitic infection.
How do I check my gums?
Put the cat on your lap or table, grab the cat’s front legs and curl it up, support the cat’s chin, and pull the cat’s lower lip with your thumb.
The tip of the other finger lifts the cat’s upper lip, exposing the gums above the teeth.
Dark red tarry stools
Examine the cat’s stool, the cat has diarrhea, possibly due to parasites interfering with digestion, dark red tarry stools, possibly hookworms attached to the intestines blood loss from the wall.
Vomiting frequently
Having experienced frequent vomiting recently, a problem with interfering parasites needs to be suspected. It’s possible that the parasite is irritating the stomach lining, or blocking part of the space where the stomach flows out.
Loss of appetite
Pay attention to the cat’s recent diet, whether it is anorexia, loss of appetite, or weight loss.
Loss of appetite may be related to parasites, which may be inflammation of the intestinal lining, stomach pain, or parasites taking up space in the intestines.
Swelling belly
The cat’s belly is getting bigger, it may not be pregnancy, it may be caused by parasites Abdominal pain that makes the tummy swollen.
Lack of energy
The cat is lethargic and lethargic, the parasite steals nutrients from the gut, and the cat will appear exhausted due to the lack of necessary energy.
Of course there are many causes of signs of drowsiness, and you need to analyze them on a case-by-case basis.
Found white worms or eggs
In the cat’s feces or anus or activity area, found sesame or cucumber seed-sized milky white egg packs, or found flat cream-colored segments, Or like a dollop of spaghetti, the cat is infected with a parasite.
What should I do if my cat is infected with parasites?
Contact an online veterinarian to prescribe medication based on symptoms.
If you are worried, you can go to a nearby veterinary hospital for an antigen test, or a routine or blood smear.
