Can cats die from tapeworm?

Question

Hello. My oldest cat was infested with tapeworms. He withered from 16lbs to 6lbs in about 6 months. We took him to 2 vets (the first telling us he was just losing weight from old age. The 2nd one told us he was infested with tapeworms) Wednesday we took him back to the vet. He was extremely lethargic, weak, and quit eating. Last night he passed away at the vet. So here is my question. Can tapeworms cause a cat to die?

Hello. My oldest cat was infested with tapeworms. He withered from 16lbs to 6lbs in about 6 months. We took him to 2 vets (the first telling us he was just losing weight from old age. The 2nd one told us he was infested with tapeworms) Wednesday we took him back to the vet. He was extremely lethargic, weak, and quit eating. Last night he passed away at the vet. So here is my question. Can tapeworms cause a cat to die?

Updated details:
We took him to the vet right after we first noticed the weightloss in June. He ran a battery of tests and bloodwork. He tested him for heartworm. All of his blood work came back normal. After that, he maintained his weight for awhile, and then another rapid weightloss occured when we took him the 2nd time. Same tests were ran and it all came back normal. I really feel the vet dropped the ball and gave the old age excuse because he was 14. Its just extremely unsettling.

I'd say the first weight loss was about 3lbs. Then the 2nd was about 5lbs, maybe more. That was when we took him to the vet in September.

Answer 1

Yes, especially since he was so emaciated. Tapeworm basically eats everything your animal eats, preventing the cat from getting enough nutrients and fuel. He can definitely starve to death by having tapeworm.

The tapeworm will continue to grow and when it is ready to reproduce, the animal will die or crap it out.

If they had caught it in time, there is a simple injection they could have given the cat to kill the worm and not harm the cat.

Answer 2

Tapeworm Cat

Answer 3

Tapeworm Weight Loss

Answer 4

Absolutely. It's actually ONE tapeworm cats get - not several. This one worm attaches it's head to the wall of the cat's stomach and then quickly grows segment upon segment - "proglottids" - each containing a set of sex organs and the ability to reproduce on its own. Since it's eating the food taken in by its "host" the tapeworm causes the animal severe weight loss. And the longer you wait to get the cat treated, the bigger and bigger the tapeworm can get till it's pretty much taking up the entire stomach of the cat.

Now what doesn't make any sense is tapeworms are quite easy to get rid of. One single pill can kill the tapeworm and all its proglottids. Did your vet not give the cat treatment? I've NEVER heard of a treated cat dying from tapeworm. Unless, of course, you waited till the cat had lost an excessive amount of weight before you took it to the vet. If that's the case then the cat's internal organs were probably severely compromised, resulting in its death. So your cat pretty much starved to death since the tapeworm was getting all of its nutrients. If that is the case - why did you wait so long to get this poor cat to a vet?

Also a bit concerned that the first vet said he was "losing weight from old age". How much weight had he lost at this point? And was a fecal test done? You're either not giving us all of the story or you went to one seriously incompetent vet.

Answer 5

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RE:
Can cats die from tapeworm?
Hello. My oldest cat was infested with tapeworms. He withered from 16lbs to 6lbs in about 6 months. We took him to 2 vets (the first telling us he was just losing weight from old age. The 2nd one told us he was infested with tapeworms) Wednesday we took him back to the vet. He was extremely...

Answer 6

Yes. Certainly from malnutrition as well as the infiltration of major organs. However, if the cat was being treated for tapeworms then the most likely cause of death would be a complication from the tapeworm due to old age.

Answer 7

Yes. Tapeworms are parasites that feed on any nutrition the cat may have ingested. Basically, your poor pet died from starvation. The first vet should have done fecal and blood tests to rule out anything like the worms.

Answer 8

I've never seen or heard of that in over 20 years. Tapeworms do compete for food, but he'd have to be extremely infested for him to die. A simple pill would have gotten rid of them easily. If he was old, there's a better chance he had kidney problems, diabetes, or cancer--all common in older kitties. Outdoor cats are prone to getting feline leukemia virus and feline immunodeficiency virus.

Answer 9

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Answer 10

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