Can a human get worms from cats? How do I know what kind of worm it is?
Image by devaburger
A quick look at the four levels of my worm box. From right to left:
working level (where I put scraps/egg shells/coffee grounds)
processing level 1 (the wormies have polished off most of their bedding already)
processing level 2 (empty for now, since I only started the box recently. you can see the hardware cloth bottom each level has for aeration.)
collection/drainage level (for the odd little bit that falls through and to collect leachate).
Question by jodi w: Can a human get worms from cats? How do I know what kind of worm it is?
My daughter found a very small flat looking worm on my cats butt. I am scared to death my kids might get them. My cat is an inside only cat and does not have fleas. He is always on our beds and furniture, and now I am scared my family could have gotten them because I dont know how long he has had them. He has no symptoms.
What do you think? Answer below!
3 Responses to Can a human get worms from cats? How do I know what kind of worm it is?
Leave a Reply
Sometimes, but it depends on the type of worms. Some are spread mostly by ingesting the worm (or egg or infected flea) – which, really, children may do by accident.
If it is a tapeworm, there was a flea, period. It can’t be transmitted to a cat without going through a flea first.
Other worms may have been from bad meat, food, or contact with other animals (such as mice/rats if never outside) or feces.
You need to take your cat to the vet to identify the worm and treat it ASAP. Then you’ll know what to watch out for with your kids in the unlikely chance they are infected.
Erin
January 23, 2012 at 6:38 am
If it was a little worm on the butt and small like a grain of rice it was a tapeworm. The vet told me it wasnt contagious to humans. They contract them either by eating a rodent or swallowing a flea.
Patti
January 23, 2012 at 7:33 am
So far, all answers have correct aspects to them. It is indeed a Cestode, or tapeworm, and could be Taenia taeniformis or the Genus Dipylidium. What you saw was a proglottid, or a segment of the worm which needs to reproduce on the exterior of the host, in this case, your cat. A flea could be involved, and is considered an intermediate host. Or; it could involve some sort of rodent. All parasitic worms have complicated lifecycles involving specific hosts in order to complete the life cycle. In rare cases, and based on species of Cestode, humans can be infected as well. Take a stool sample of the kitty to the vet, and he will know what to do insofar as meds for the pet.
http://www.ask.com/bar?q=tapeworms+of+cats&page=1&qsrc=2417&ab=0&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.peteducation.com%2Farticle.cfm%3Fc%3D1%2B2122%26aid%3D768
SmartBompa
January 23, 2012 at 7:48 am