The infected with parasites cats can have many symptoms or not submit any. It will depend on the type of parasite you are infected with. At Petlifey, we explain how to know if your cat has parasites and the main symptoms.
How to tell if a cat has parasites
The most common symptoms in cats infected with parasites are diarrhea, vomiting, loss of shine in their coat or weight loss. Although they do not always manifest themselves. The most advisable thing is to deworm your cat twice a year, especially if it goes outside.
Tapeworms or worms in cats
The most common internal parasites are tapeworms or worms. They are called Dipylidium, that is their scientific name, and their symptoms may go unnoticed, but living in your cat’s intestine, they sometimes appear in their feces.
If there is a significant infestation, your feline may vomit, irritate the anus, stunted growth, or lose weight.
Giardiasis in cats
This is a protozoan parasite that also affects cats and dogs, but usually has no symptoms. Sometimes it can produce blood in the stool and diarrhea in very young cats that have been weakened by infection from other parasites.
Coccidiasis in cats
Coccidia is another parasitic protozoan, it is not exactly a parasite, and it mainly affects cats and dogs.
The symptoms can be seen in newborn puppies or few weeks, and may include diarrhea and bellyache. There is the complication of your pet suffering from severe dehydration that endangers its life.
Ankylosomas in cats
There are some blood-sucking parasites called Hookworms (Ancylostoma), which live in the cat’s small intestine. These can cause many diseases and also cause the death of the feline due to severe anemia and a low level of protein.
The symptoms of the Pussycats infected by Anquilosomas are: black stools or diarrhea, vomiting, weakness and lethargy. If the disease worsens, anemia occurs, which can lead to the death of elderly or young cats.
Also, small skin lesions produced by larvae may appear on the pads of your kitty’s legs.
Roundworms in cats
The most common parasites in young cats are roundworms, which have a double difficulty: they spread very easily to people and are very resistant to treatments.
If they infect small children, the larvae can cause serious ailments, for this reason we advise you to take your feline to the vet a couple of times a year to check that your cat does not have parasites.
Cats that are infected with roundworms have the following symptoms: diarrhea, distention of the abdomen and some of them may sleep more than normal and lose weight.
Sometimes, although it does not usually happen, the number of parasites is so great that it obstructs the intestines.
Apart from these complications in the digestive system that we have just mentioned, felines infected by roundworms can have fever, cough and pneumonia, since the larvae reach their respiratory system.
As a preventive measure or if your kitten has parasites, you will have to deworm it to eliminate these insects. There are a series of pipettes and exclusive products for you to get rid of.
