My cat has tapeworms.?

Question

My cat has tapeworms from what I have researched and I am calling my vet tomorrow. What if they touch you or get on you can they go through your skin? I had one on me and did not know what it was til I saw one on my cat when she was laying beside me, I washed my hands and put alcohol on my hand as soon as it happened. From what I understand the only way a human can get a tapeworm is by ingesting a flea with a tapeworm. Can someone please answer my question?? We do not have fleas, but they like to eat bugs that come in from the outside, but my mom does visit me at my house could it have been possible a flea was brought in with her? I have a 15 month old daughter and this is gross so some advice would be nice please!

Thanks for your answers! My cats are inside cats, they eat only cat food ,but do kill any bugs that come inside. They are not allowed in our bedrooms or bathrooms so they are only in our living room/dining room kitchen area in our apt is that enough of a confinment? What if I cannot get a tape worm to take to the vet then what? Other then cleaning and disenfecting is there some kind of treatment I need to do to my carpet? The reason I mentioned flea is because of everything I have read it says the flea is the host of the tapeworm in which the cat ingests it but could it have been from a bug from the outside that came inside? Am I too worried about this, I feel like I cannot touch anything and I feel like stuff is on me now and I am just jumpy if I feel anything at all.

I talked to my vet and will be taking them in asap, he said they will be given a shot and they can still have their regular exam and shots too which is good, he said that the segements only live 20-30 mins outside the body and he said the only way a human can get it is if they ingest a flea with the tapeworm egg like the cats did ,and he told me that it cannot go through your skin and he said that the segements do not come out everyday 24/7 and that is what I thought, he said everything will be fine and not to worry. He did say even though they are inside cats and we do not have fleas they still need to get advantage put on them so if anything is brought in from the outside world then it would not happen again. I am much more at ease cause I have been walking on egg shells like wearing shoes all over my apt and not wanting them to get on me and I have not let my daughter on the floor but now I am comfortable again. Thank you all so much for your advice it helped alot too!

Answer 1

I would just like to state that it only takes one flea that is infested by a tapeworm larve to infect your cat ( very true!!)....if a human eats an infected flea they can get tapeworms as well.

I would have your cats treated for fleas with frontline or advantage to make sure so they don't get reinfected....which I would think would be the most logical way that indoor cats get them...

This same situation happened to our indoor kitty....after getting tapeworms we wondered how she could ever get them...we did a lot of reasearch...fleas!!! We also didn't see any fleas on her...but it is the best possible explanation.

Answer 2

Tapeworms can also be caught from eating infected animals like mice.

Tapeworms do not go through the skin - you can only get them by eating an infected host i.e flea.

You do not need to take a tapeworm to the vet for identification to get treatment, they can give the cat a broad spectrum wormer.

Indoor cats still get fleas. It's most likely that your cat caught tapeworms from fleas if she doesn't go outside. As far as I know, the flea is the only bug that transmits tapeworms so she won't have got it from eating any other bug.

Chalice

Answer 3

Hi,

I was a vet tech for several years and did the lab work for parasites in cats.

You are correct the only way for you to get tapeworms is if you ingest the tapeworm or it's eggs.

You will need to take a stool sample to your vet for confirmation of the parasite your cat has - then you will receive medication for your cat.

I would keep your cat confined to a bathroom or a room until it has gone through it's full treatment.

Now by reading your comments - is your thought that your cat received worms from fleas? Cats do not receive worms in this manner - they usually get parasites from ingesting something outside that had the parasites eggs in it.

****UPDATE***All you need to do is the normal disinfecting procedures & you will be fine - thourgly vacumme your carpet that will take care of it.

You don't have to worry about bringing an actual worm segment to the vet. When you bring in the stool sample to vet they examin it under the microscope it will be full of the worm eggs.

How your cat got infected is that someone tracked the worm eggs in with their shoes.

Answer 4

You are fine, they cannot enter through your skin. The egg could have come from anywhere, travelling on a shoe even, it then enters kitties system and POOF you got worms baby.

You see the vet tomorrow so you will get advice then, but I will tell you that any of baby's toys etc, that lay around areas the cats are active in, I would wash those toys etc with a good antibacterial soap. I would also use an all purpose cleaner and clean the hard surfaces of your home, seats, window frames, you get the idea. Spray the surface of your fabric items or wash them, and you should be fine. Cat parasites don't jump to humans well, humans bodys fight it off and pass them harmlessly.

Hope that helps.

Answer 5

Other than a bad case of the heebie jeebies, you are not in danger from having a worm segment on your skin.

Your vet will likely give you a drontal for your cat, and you may want to re-treat in a few weeks just to be sure.