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Worms In Dogs And Cats

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What are Worms?

Worms medical terms: Helminths, Nematodes, Cestodes, Taenia, Echinococcus, Zoonosis, Unthriftiness, Zoonotic, Antihelmintics

Worms or helminths are internal parasites that drain pets of blood and nutrients. Dogs and cats get worms that can be classified by shape into round or flat. Three types of round-shaped worms (nematodes) live in pet intestines: roundworms, hookworms, and whipworms. Two types of flat-shaped tapeworms (cestodes) live in pet intestines and other organs, including the liver: echinococcus and taenia. Dogs commonly get hooks, whips, rounds, and tapes. Cats commonly get rounds, hooks, and tapes, but not whipworms.

Pets can also get lungworms, esophageal worms, bloodworms, kidney worms, liver flukes, and intestinal protozoa. The most common pet worms are roundworms, and hookworms. Heartworms (Dirofilaria immitis) are not intestinal parasites but are parasites that live in the heart. Heartworms are not spread like regular intestinal worms, but are spread by mosquitoes. They infect both cats and dogs and can cause death.

How do pets get worms?

Puppies and kittens are born with intestinal worms. This occurs because worms resting within the mother’s body are stimulated to grow by hormones secreted during pregnancy. The newly developed worms within the mother pass through the placenta (transplacental) and into the young before they are born. In addition, worms are passed through the mother’s milk (transmammary) to the young. Puppies, kittens, and lactating bitches and queens should be wormed routinely.

Adult pets pick up worms from eggs that stay in the soil after pets have defecated. Some worm eggs survive for years in soil. Pets also pick up worms from

eating fleas
catching prey, such as mice and snails
eating feces of other pets and farm animals

How quickly do worms produce eggs?

A puppy with 10 worms can produce 5 million worm eggs by the time it is six weeks old.

Who Gets Worms?

Almost universally, puppies and kittens have intestinal worms. Puppies and kittens whelped in large kennels or in unhygienic conditions have the greatest worm burdens. Pets using pet parks, doggy day cares with communal potty areas, farmyards, and city streets where feces is on the sidewalk are prone to having worms. Pregnant and lactating females have worms. Pets kept in humane shelters generally have intestinal worms.

Worms and Deworming Medications
Common Name	Scientific Name	Size	Where Pets Pick It Up	Zoonotic Risk To Humans	Deworming Medications
Roundworms	Ascarids Toxocara canis Toxocara Baylisascaris	½ to 8 inches	Toxocara from mother’s placenta, mother’s milk, & the ground Baylisascaris from raccoons & skunks	Visceral larval migrans	Drontal Feline (Rx) Drontal Plus Canine (Rx) Heartgard Plus (Rx) HomeoPet Worm Clear Interceptor (Rx) Iverhart Plus (Rx) Panacur C Revolution (Rx) Sentinel (Rx) Tasty Paste Worm Protector 2X
Hookworms	Ancyclostoma caninum Uncinaria	¼ - ½ inch	Mother’s placenta, mother’s milk, the ground & eating infected prey	Larva migrans Eosinophilic enteritis	Drontal Feline (Rx) Drontal Plus Canine (Rx) Heartgard Chewables (Rx) Heartgard Plus (Rx) HomeoPet Worm Clear Interceptor (Rx) Panacur C Revolution (Rx) Sentinel (Rx) Worm Protector 2X
Whipworms	Trichuris	2-3 inches	The ground		Drontal Plus Canine (Rx) Interceptor (Rx) Sentinel (Rx) Panacur C
Threadworms	Strongyloides	¼ inch or less	Transmammary Ground	Infects humans	Panacur C
Tapeworms	Dipylidium Taenia Diphyllobothrium Echinococcus	Adult is up to 2 feet long, but dried segments in feces are size of rice grain Segments dry to size of sesame seed	Dipylidium from eating fleas Taenia from eating rodents Diphyllobothrium from eating freshwater fish Echinococcus from sheep, cattle, deer, coyote, rodents	Hydatid disease	Cestex (Rx) Droncit (Rx) Drontal Feline (Rx) Drontal Plus Canine (Rx) HomeoPet Worm Clear Panacur C Tape Worm Tabs Cat Tapeworm Tabs Dog

Product Active Ingredient	Species	Roundworms	Hookworms	Whipworms	Tapeworms	Schedule
		Can cause human infections	Can cause human infections		Can cause human infections
Cestex (Rx) Epsiprantel	dogs cats				+	single dose with food
Droncit (Rx) Praziquantel	dogs cats	+			+	single dose with food
Drontal Feline (Rx) praziquantel pyrantel pamoate	cats kittens	+	+		+	with food
Drontal Plus Canine (Rx) Praziquantel Pyrantel pamoate Febantel	dogs	+	+	+	+	with food
HomeoPet Worm Clear	dogs cats	+	+		+	daily for 1-2 weeks
Panacur C Fenbendazole	dogs	+	+	+	+	with food
Tape Worm Tabs for Dogs Praziquantel	dogs			+	+	with food
Tape Worm Tabs for Cats Praziquantel	cats	+	+		+	with food
Tasty Paste Piperazine	dogs puppies	+			+	&
Worm Protector 2X Pyrantel	dogs puppies	+	+			repeat at 2,4,6,8,10 weeks of age

The articles here were answered by a variety of pharmacists and veterinarians

Date	Category	Topic
02/01/12	Other	Licking
01/31/12	Flea & Tick	What To Give To Prevent Fleas, Tick And Heartworm
01/29/12	Other	Questions
01/28/12	Heartworm Medicine	Heart+worms
01/22/12	Wormer	Worming
01/19/12	Heartworm Medicine	Heartworm Strands
01/17/12	Wormer	Dewormer Every Month
01/15/12	Wormer	Worms
01/14/12	Other	Some Kind Of Worm
01/11/12	Flea & Tick	Flee
01/11/12	Other	Weight Loss
01/10/12	Other	Tapeworms
01/04/12	Other	What Med Do I Buy .
01/04/12	Digestive Care	Pet Accidents
01/03/12	Digestive Care	Constant Loose Stools
1 2 3 4 5 »»


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Weight loss

Dull coat

Swollen belly

worms

Anemia

Over ¾ of fecal exams do not find parasites present in feces

Because puppies & kittens are born with worms, they should be dewormed regularly

Some worms that infect pets also infect people

To prevent human infections, pets in homes with children, immune-compromised individuals, or elderly persons should be deworm at least every 3 months

Dogs commonly get hooks, whips, rounds, tapes and heartworms

Cats commonly get rounds, hooks, tapes and heartworms, but not whipworms

Puppies

Kittens

Cats that catch prey

Pets raised on farms

Pets raised in yards that have had pets for many years

Tape Worm Tabs

Panacur C

HomeoPet Worm Clear

This information is for educational purposes only and is intended to be a supplement to, and not a substitute for, the expertise and professional judgment of your veterinarian. The information is NOT to be used for diagnosis or treatment of your pet. You should always consult your own veterinarian for specific advice concerning the treatment of your pet.

The information about medications is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, allergic reactions, drug interactions or adverse effects, nor should it be construed to indicate that use of a particular drug is safe, appropriate or effective for your pet. It is not a substitute for a veterinary exam, and it does not replace the need for services provided by your veterinarian.

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Worms In Dogs And Cats

What are Worms?

Worms medical terms: Helminths, Nematodes, Cestodes, Taenia, Echinococcus, Zoonosis, Unthriftiness, Zoonotic, Antihelmintics

How do pets get worms?

Who Gets Worms?

Worms and Deworming Medications