Overview
If your cat has been diagnosed with hookworm disease , you may be concerned about what this means for your dearie . hookworm disease are a usual enteral sponge in cats and dogs , causing symptoms such as looseness of the bowels , vomiting , and anemia . However , most septic cats are symptomless and infections are often only identified on routine screening mental testing . Fortunately , hookworms are treatable , but there are some thing you ’ll require to know about hookworm disease to keep your cat from getting infect again .
What Are Hookworms in Cats?
Hookworms are a blood - suck enteric parasite that occurs in CAT , heel , and man . Hookworms are a common parasite of cats , peculiarly those that go outside , have approach to feral CT populations , hunt , or approach potentially pollute environments . The most common mintage of hookworms in Arabian tea areAncylostoma tubaeformeandAncylostoma braziliense . Once infective larvae of these species give the cat ’s GI pathway , they suppurate into adult hookworm that steadfastly attach to the enteric bulwark via six keen teeth . Adult hookworms can exist in the intestine for four to 24 month , living off the horde ’s blood . Large hookworm disease infestations can lead to anemia and decease , especially in unseasoned animals .
WhatCausesHookworms in Cats?
Any age or breed of cat can be infected with hookworm , but young cats are more potential to be move . Cats get infect with hookworm disease in several ways . One of the most common ways cat become infected with hookworm is through have infective larva from the environs . This can occur from ingesting polluted feces or soil . The hookworm larva are swallow and travel to the GI tract , where they maturate into adult .
Cats can also acquire hookworms from eating infect prey such as rodent . Cockroaches , in particular , are a very common transport host of hookworm larvae . When the cat ingests the roach , the dormant larvae are released into the cat ’s digestive tract , where they develop into adult hookworms .
Hookworms can also be transmitted just by walk in areas contaminated with morbific hookworm larvae . The larvae can penetrate the peel , after which they trip to the lung via the cat ’s veins and lymphatic system . The larva then transmigrate through the lungs to the trachea . big numbers of migrating larvae can cause respiratory symptom and pneumonia . Once they gain the trachea , the larvae are cough up and swallowed , tolerate them to reach the digestive tract where they suppurate into grownup hookworms .
Hookworms in dogscan be impart from mother to pup before birth and during breast feeding . This does not come in cats .
It is crucial to note that the same cat can become infected with hookworm more than once . Cats can become re - infected from the surroundings and infective hookworm larvae can survive in soil for a few months under optimum consideration . septic cats also drop hookworm ballock in their faeces , further contaminating the environs . Practicing safe sanitization by removing and disposing of feces quickly is indispensable to concentrate the risk of re - contagion .
Humans can also become infected with hookworms from the environs . This typically occurs by ingesting contaminated soil , most often occurring in nipper who play in areas where taint cats or hotdog ca-ca . human can also be infected via direct skin incursion of the infectious larvae . Direct transmission of hookworm from cats to humans does not occur .
Symptomsof Hookworm in Cats
Many cats taint with hookworm disease are symptomless and do not show any sign of infection , so routine screening tests are important to name hookworm disease infections . In kitten , heavy infestations of hookworm may causeanemiaand death . Other symptoms of hookworm infection can include :
If you suspect your cat may have hookworms , or any other type of parasite , visit your veterinarian to name the problem and have appropriate discourse .
How to DiagnoseHookworm in Cats
If a hookworm infection is suspect , your veterinarian will first do a full head - to - tail physical examination on your quat . Your veterinarian may also urge additional symptomatic examination , such as the evaluation of a fecal sample distribution . Your cat ’s faecal sample may be used for the following tests :
Hookworm Treatmentfor Cats
If leave untreated , hookworm infection can lead to anaemia , respiratory illness , loss of body condition , bankruptcy to thrive , and even end , particularly in young animals . Hookworm infection should be treated immediately with deworming ( anthelminthic ) medication to defeat the grownup worms . In severe infections , additional supportive guardianship such as fluids , stock transfusion , smoothing iron supplements , or ahigh protein dietmay be needed to support the animal until the worms are killed . Your veterinarian will make up one’s mind the best course of treatment base on your cat ’s exam results and the severity of the contagion .
Hookworm Medication for Cats
Anthelmintic dewormers are used to obliterate adult hookworm and treat hookworm infections . These admit medication such as :
General Cost of Hookworm Treatment for Cats
In most cases , two rounds of deworming medication are recommend to clear a hookworm disease infection . In severe infections , extra medicament and supportive handling may be necessary , which will get an additional toll . For the modal hookworm disease transmission , African tea possessor should anticipate to pay around $ 25-$150 for intervention , depend on the medications prescribe .
How to PreventHookworms in Cats
The best means to prevent hookworm infections is by deworming kittens with an age - appropriate anthelminthic deworming medicine at 2 , 4 , 6 , and 8 weeks of long time . All cats should also be started on a monthly prophylactic medicament as soon as they are old enough to do so .
Environmental sanitation is also an of import footstep to keep transmission and specially to prevent re - infection after a kat has tested positive for hookworm . dejection should be removed from the litter box or the surround and disposed of promptly . This prevent hookworm disease ball from hatching and larvae from developing .
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