Worms

[simon's mommy]

A couple of weeks ago one of my cats had tape worms. I called my vet and they were closed. So I called my back up vet. The vet there said my other cats could not get them. I want to know is this true? I wanted to treat all of my cats and the vet said I did not have to because it was a tape worm not round worms.

Now one of my other cats has tape worms. I am so mad! We are going to the vet tommrow.

Can someone tell me if what I was told is true or not? Also can someone tell me how cats get tape worms? I was told they get it by eating an infected flea or from mice? My cats are indoor and I do not have mice. Also they are treated with Advantage every month. We have lots of ladybugs in our home could the cats get worms from eating a ladybug?

Thanks for the help.

 

[sandie]

Tapeworms need a host such as the mice or fleas. I really don't think it's possible for a ladybug to host them. It is true that they really don't pass the tapeworms from one to the other, but in most cases if they are in the same location, they are subject to the same fleas or rodents. Although you use advantage, at some point there could have been a flea that hadnt hit the body yet and the cat ate it.

 

[simon's mommy]

Sandie thank you. I was just wondering because my normal vet said it could pass from cat to cat. I talked to them yesterday to make the appointment.