Kitten Has Worms, Concerned?

[chloebelle]

Hi all! I just adopted a kitten yesterday morning. She is 8 weeks old but came from a very questionable home. She was outside in this woman's yard with (not exaggerating at all) 20-30 other cats. I get the feeling the woman was not caring for them and that is why she was so eager to get rid of them. I assumed she had worms because her belly was bloated even in the pictures the lady sent me, I immediately made a vet appointment which is first thing tomorrow morning. When I got her she was eating, drinking, playing and snuggling. She used her litter box and did not have diarrhea, but yellow and especially smelly poop. She also had especially smelly gas. However, she seemed fine so I was content to wait until morning. Today when I woke up she had used the litter box and there were visible roundworms in her stool. In the past few hours, she's taken to hiding and doesn't want to play. She purrs and likes snuggling if I put her in my lap but doesn't seek it out. Is she in pain? I tried to get her into the vet today instead but no openings and they say it isn't an emergency. I've never dealt with worms before and I'm just worried.

 

[EmmiTemmi]

Worms are very common in kittens and it's something that can wait a few days for a vet appointment if necessary. The vet will most likely prescribe Panacur or something similar to get rid of them. My two boys just finished a round of it for their worms.

While waiting for the vet appointment, just keep an eye on her. She should be fine. Worms are gross and smelly, but nearly every kitten gets them at some point, since their immune systems aren't very robust yet.

 

[pharber-murphy]

I've heard that these worms aren't particularly harmful to their host, but it would probably be better to get your kitty to a vet and start treatment at the earliest opportunity.

As for the change in behavior, she needs time to adjust to her new home, new food, new smells, new sounds, new sights, new everything - and to living indoors instead of outdoors. It's a lot for a new kitten to take in, so I wouldn't worry too much about the changes in her mood. She'll settle into her "new normal" and everything will be fine.

I hope you and your new buddy have a wonderful life together!

 

[EggSandwich]

I'm pretty sure you have all the advice you need, but I will say this: Watch out for fleas. Especially if the kitten was in the conditions that you're saying she was in. Even if you don't see any, just ask the vet to flea comb her. You'd be surprised. And if she does have fleas, biting/eating them could bring on another bout of worms; some fleas carry worm eggs I believe.

When it's is all said and done, the community here would love to see more pictures..

Good luck with your new kitty!

 

[chloebelle]

Hi everyone! She did end up going to the vet the next day. She was dewormed and her poop is back to normal. She did have fleas, but she was given revolution and I went though her fur w the comb a few times and used a spray the vet gave me for the house. I want to try that D-however-you-spell-it Earth stuff too, but I'm finding less and less flea carcasses in my bed when she sleeps on it (down to 0 today!) and found nothing when I combed her today. She's still scratching, but not quite as much. Her belly is still bloated so I'm waiting on it but she has a vet follow up next Wednesday. Here's one of her playing with her high tech toy from petco.