Question about cats and worms

United States
June 16, 2007 10:39pm CST
How can you keep a cat from picking up tapeworm from other cats? Should you quarantine an affected cat during treatment? Or, keep the cats from sharing a common litter box? What tips can you share for preventing the tapeworm from spreading to all cats in the household?
1 response
@sedel1027 (17846)
• Cupertino, California
17 Jun 07
Since tapeworms are passed on by fleas, it can not be caught by another cat. So no, you don't quarantine the cat. What you need to do is take the infected cat to the vet and get them dewormed. Treat all your animals for fleas just in case, clean the litter box thoroughly and clean any bedding (even though they can not pass it to each other this way, there are probably body segments left behind). If your other animals have not been dewormed recently and you know they have fleas, get them dewormed just in case.
1 person likes this
• United States
30 Jun 07
That had bothered me, because the little cat was too young to treat when we got her, and she had worms too. I guess the fleas got her. The two cats were living in the same spaces. So, why not. Thanks for the tips.