There are two species of roundworms affecting cats and kittens: Toxocara cati and Toxascaris leonina. Even though roundworms are occasionally passed or vomited up, most of the time these worms are unseen in the cat's intestinal tract; do not expect to see any sign of them in the litter box or in fecal material. You will most likely never know they are present unless tests are conducted. We will present the Toxocara cati information first followed by information for Toxascaris leonina.
Toxocara Cati
Why is infection bad?
Roundworm infection can have numerous negative effects. It is a common cause of diarrhea in young animals and can cause vomiting as well. Sometimes the worms themselves are vomited up which can be alarming as they can be quite large with females reaching lengths of up to seven inches. The worms consume the host’s food and can lead to un-thriftiness and a classical “pot-bellied” appearance. Very heavy infections can lead to pneumonia as the worms migrate and, if there are enough worms, the intestine can actually become obstructed.
It should also be noted that human infection by this parasite is especially serious (see below). It is important to minimize the contamination of environmental soil with the feces of infected animals so as to reduce the exposure hazard to both humans and other animals. A classical source of infection is a child's outdoor sandbox, in which outdoor cats may defecate.
How does infection occur?
In cats, there are three ways by which infection with Toxocara canis occurs:
Note: dogs cannot be infected with Toxocara cati. They have their own roundworm: Toxocara canis. | Adult Toxocara cati (Photocredit: CDC & Alaska State Public Health Library) |
Lifecycle of a Roundworm:
Toxocara cati has one of the most amazing life cycles in the animal kingdom. Having an understanding of how roundworms develop from eggs to adults will help ensure that a proper deworming schedule is maintained and that roundworm control plans makes sense. Let us begin at the beginning with the egg.
(Photocredit: CDC Division of Parasitic Diseases) |
STEP ONE: Note: Fresh feces is not infectious. It takes a month out in the world before the worm embryo is infective. In this time, visible fecal matter has melted into the soil and it is the soil/dirt that has the infectious eggs. |
(Photocredit: CDC Division of Parasitic Diseases) | STEP TWO: |
(Photocredit: Morguefile.com) Above: In the process of grooming, a cat can consume roundworm eggs from soil. (Photocredit:Carolyn Wil via wikimedia commons) (original graphic by marvistavet.com) | STEP THREE: If the host is a nursing mother, second stage larvae can migrate to the mammary gland instead of the lung. Kittens can thus be infected by drinking their mother’s milk. Larvae that had encysted in the liver and gone dormant will re-awaken during the host's pregnancy, continuing their migration just in time to infect the nursing kittens. In this way, a well dewormed mother cat can still find herself infecting her kittens. Note: When cats are dewormed, this affects only worms in the intestinal tract. It does not affect encysted larvae. It is very difficult to prevent mother to kitten transmission and routine deworming is not adequate. |
| STEP FOUR: Worms mate and lay eggs of their own Once back in the intestine, the larvae complete their maturation and begin to mate. The first eggs are laid about one week after the fourth stage larvae have arrived in the intestine and about 4-5 weeks after infection has first occurred. From here the cycle repeats. |
Why is it important to know the lifecycle?
There are some important "take home points" from this information:
- Fresh feces is not infectious, but dirt could be.
- Cats can get roundworms from cleaning dirt off their fur.
- Cats can get roundworms from hunting.
- Mother cats readily give roundworms to nursing kittens.
- There is a whole body worm migration which means that all the worms in the process of migration must be killed off if the cat is to be "roundworm free." In other words, one deworming treatment is not enough.
How do I know if my cat is infected?
You may not know and this is one of the arguments in favor of regular deworming. This is one of the reasons why once monthly topical Revolution is a great idea for our cats. Of course, there are ways to find out if your pet is infected. If a cat or kitten vomits up a worm, there is a good chance this is a roundworm (especially in a kitten). Roundworms are long, white and described as looking like spaghetti. Tapeworms can also be vomited up but these are flat and obviously segmented. If you are not sure what type of worm you are seeing, bring it to your vet’s office for identification. Fecal testing for worm eggs is a must for kittens and a good idea for adult cats having their every 6 months. Obviously, if there are worms present, they must be laying eggs in order to be detected but, by and large, fecal testing is a reliable method of detection. | Toxocara egg (Photocredit: CDC Division of Parasitic Diseases) |
How are roundworms treated?
Numerous deworming products are effective. Many flea control and/or heartworm prevention products provide a monthly deworming which is especially helpful in minimizing environmental contamination. Common active ingredients include:
- Pyrantel pamoate (active ingredient in Strongid®, Nemex®, Drontal®, Heartgard® and others)
- Piperazine (active ingredient in many over the counter products)
- Fenbendazole (active ingredient in Panacur®)
- Selamectin (active ingredient in Revolution®)
- Emodepside (active ingredient in Profender®)
- Moxidectin (Active ingredient in Advantage Multi®)
- Eprinomectin (active ingredient in Centragard®)
- Milbemycin oxime (active ingredient in Interceptor®)
There are two important concepts to keep in mind about deworming. Medications essentially anesthetize the worm so that it lets go of its grip on the host intestine and passes with the stool. Once it has been passed, it cannot survive in the environment and dies.
This means that you will likely see the worms when they pass, so be prepared as they can be quite long and may still be alive and moving when you see them.
The other concept stems from the fact that larvae in migration cannot be killed by most deworming products. After the worms are cleared from the intestine, they will be replaced by new worms completing their migration. This means that a second, and sometimes even a third deworming is needed to keep the intestine clear. The follow-up deworming is generally given several weeks following the first deworming to allow for migrating worms to arrive in the intestine where they are vulnerable.
Do not forget your follow-up deworming.
What about Toxascaris Leonina?
The life cycle of Toxascaris leonina is not nearly as complicated. This parasite does not migrate through the body in the way that Toxocara does. Instead, the Toxascaris second stage larva is consumed and simply matures in the intestine, a process which takes 2-3 months. Unlike Toxocara, Toxascaris can complete its life cycle in many host species besides the domestic cat. There is no encysting or arrested development as with Toxocara. The life cycle is simple: the egg is passed, it develops for a week, it is eaten by a new host, it develops for 2-3 more months in the host intestine, it finds a mate and produces eggs of its own.
(Photocredit squirrel: Morguefile.com)
(Photocredit Toxascaris egg: Joel Mills via Wikimedia Commons)
Note: Toxascaris leonina can infect both dogs and cats alike.
As with Toxocara cati diarrhea can result from the presence of Toxascaris leonina and deworming is needed to control symptoms and prevent contagion. Many of the newer deworming products are not labeled for use against Toxascaris leonina, which does not necessarily mean that they do not work but here are the reliable classics that have been used for decades with efficacy:
- Pyrantel pamoate (active ingredient in Strongid®, Nemex®, Drontal®, Heartgard® and others)
- Piperazine (active ingredient in many over the counter products)
- Fenbendazole (active ingredient in Panacur®)
Because Toxocara has a body migration, a sequence of deworming is typically performed so as to get all the larvae that were migrating at the time of the earlier deworming. Because Toxascaris does not migrate, only one deworming should cover it.