Deworming Cats: Importance, Symptoms, Prevention
Deworming is a crucial preventive care routine to reduce parasites and improve pets’ health. The veterinarian will suggest regular deworming for your cat if the risk of contracting intestinal parasites is high.
Depending on your cat’s lifestyle and where you live, you may need to deworm your pet more frequently than once. Apart from the lifestyle, the climate, temperature, and local wildlife also play a major role in deciding the risk level of the cat. Generally, cats that spend more time outside will have more chances of contracting parasites.
In this piece of content, you will get all the information like how long does it take to deworm cats, when the cat should be dewormed, and much more. So, let’s see all the details.
Table of Contents
How are Worms Contracted?
There are various ways that a cat can get the worms. Below are some of them:
1. Tapeworms
It is the most commonly encountered worm. When pet owners see tapeworms, they witness portions of the worms on sheets that resemble white rice or sesame seed grains or next to the pet’s rear end.
2. Roundworms
A cat can infect the roundworms by taking the roundworm eggs from diseased rodents’ muscle tissue or other creatures they may encounter. The cats that stay outside are more prone to exposure to hookworms. Kittens generally get the roundworms from the milk of their mother.
3. Hookworms
Hookworms stay in the soil. If your pet stays outdoors, it can acquire hookworms by grooming its feet after passing through an area with an infection.
When and How Often Should the Cat be Dewormed?
Kittens are more dewormed than cats of more age because the kittens are more exposed to intestinal parasites from their mother.
The kittens should be dewormed at intervals of 2,4,6, and 8 weeks. The cats that are big-age must go through a monthly medication that prevents heartworm and fleas, as well as treating and managing hookworms & roundworms.
A veterinarian is the perfect professional to decide this timeframe for your cat. Sometimes, fecal tests do not give the proper results. Thus, it is important to talk with the veterinarian regarding deworming of your pet and then decide on the deworming cat schedule.
How to Know if Your Cat has Worms?
It is tough to figure out if your cat has worms until you see them yourself. However, there are some symptoms through which you can know if your cat has worms which are as follows:
The following are the major symptoms:
- Weight Loss
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Lethargy
- Dragging their behinds over the floor
- Swollen abdomen
How Long Does It Take to Deworm Cats?
When the medication enters the cat’s body, it starts working by killing the intestinal worms; it does this within 1 to 2 days. If you are lucky, then in the period of one to two weeks, you can expect the dewormer to completely remove each remnant of the parasites.
Do remember that regular check-ups with the vet at the time of deworming the cat are very important.
What is the Importance of Cat Deworming?
Just imagining your pet contracting the worms is concerning. No one will like their cozy pet who sleeps in their bed and has worms.
The most important reason to deworm the cat is to protect the cat from the negative health effects of an infestation.
Worms can cause health problems for medically delicate cats or weaken with age. They can be exposed to anemia or even become dehydrated due to vomiting & diarrhea.
If the cats get infected and you ignore deworming, your pet may face many issues in its growth & development.
How to Prevent the Cat from Getting Worms?
Here are some ways to prevent your cat from getting the worms:
1. Create a Deworming Schedule for Your Cat
Periodic deworming is unavoidable for cats because they enjoy chasing after rats and other animals that could serve as hosts for intestinal parasites.
2. Keep Your Home Free from Fleas
Fleas frequently contain worms, which can bite your pet and give them parasites. Thus, it is important to keep your home free from fleas. For this, you need to keep your floor and furniture clean.
3. Try to Keep Your Cat Indoors for More Time
If you keep your cat outside for longer, there may be a risk from predators and traffic. Thus, try to keep your cat inside longer, and pay proper attention to them when you allow them to roam outside.
Conclusion
At last, we would say that deworming cats is very important; otherwise, the cats may face various problems. It is important to be in touch with a good veterinarian and focus on your cat’s deworming schedule.
Keep reading:
Related Posts
