# indoor cats and live-wormy droppings? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 21, 2007, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indoor-cats-and-live-wormy-droppings/416434 "2007-08-21T23:09:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Spoleto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Spoleto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoleto)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2007, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indoor-cats-and-live-wormy-droppings/416434/1 "2007-08-21T23:09:37Z")
this is gross, sorry! but my neighbor just told me that the indoor female (& pregnant!) cat she recently took in, has started to drop little wormy things (“similar to the way maggots look”) from her rectum or tailend… verbatim: “they don’t drop them constantly… but since they (other two indoor cats) drink out of my bathroom sink, I see them in there and almost as soon as they’ve hit the sink, they turn brown and die.” ICK!! now, apparently the two indoor cats she already had have been experiencing this “off and on for some time,” and then when this new cat join the bunch, she started doing the same thing. Probably passed it to eachother through litter box, but WHAT can it be? and since I gave her the female cat, I’d like to get that cat to a vet, but worried it might be $$$$$$ outrageous, or will it??? Any clues out there??? And if there’s meds for the cat, is it ok for her to receive it if she’s pregnant? ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2007, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indoor-cats-and-live-wormy-droppings/416434/2 "2007-08-21T23:20:37Z")
Well, it’s pretty obvious the cats have worms. You’ll need a trip to the vet to determine exactly what kind and what treatment plan is appropriate, especially for the pregnant one. If you’re concerned about cost, a lot of areas have low-cost traveling vets that circulate on a schedule at pet shops, and a lot of vets also have low cost “compassionate care” programs designed to allow the animals to receive the care they need. ---
**Author:** ![Spoleto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Spoleto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoleto)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2007, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indoor-cats-and-live-wormy-droppings/416434/3 "2007-08-21T23:35:48Z")
[QUOTE=gotpasswords] Well, it’s pretty obvious the cats have worms. [/QUOTE] yes, I think you’re right, and after a little google researching, it may be tapeworms… poor cats; i’ll call my vet tomorrow a.m. and see what they suggest. If I need to bring the cat in, there’s no way those things will jump out into my car? I would put her in a crate, of course. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2007, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indoor-cats-and-live-wormy-droppings/416434/4 "2007-08-21T23:44:20Z")
If they have tapeworms, and it sounds right, then they have fleas. If you don’t eat a segment or a flea you will be safe. ---
**Author:** ![Spoleto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Spoleto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoleto)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indoor-cats-and-live-wormy-droppings/416434/5 "2007-08-22T00:31:54Z")
[QUOTE=DrDeth] If they have tapeworms, and it sounds right, then they have fleas. If you don’t eat a segment or a flea you will be safe. [/QUOTE] but could i carry a flea on my clothes and it get on my indoor cats and dogs? my neighbor didn’t mention fleas on her pets, wouldn’t the people living with these cats be itching all the time? ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indoor-cats-and-live-wormy-droppings/416434/6 "2007-08-22T00:55:53Z")
[QUOTE=Spoleto] but could i carry a flea on my clothes and it get on my indoor cats and dogs? [/QUOTE] My cats have gotten fleas that way. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indoor-cats-and-live-wormy-droppings/416434/7 "2007-08-22T01:20:26Z")
Is the neighbor really, truly sure that the pregnant cat **is** pregnant? I have a friend who grew up owning multiple cats. About a year ago she took in a pregnant cat to foster, and she sure looked pregnant. Big belly, enlarged teats, etc. Turns out it wasn’t a pregnancy, it was just worms. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indoor-cats-and-live-wormy-droppings/416434/8 "2007-08-22T01:24:38Z")
Sounds just like it has a tapeworm. They are incredibly disgusting, but fairly easy to cure. There are prescription meds for them that are safe for pregnant cats. I find enough conflicting stories about whether various non-prescription meds are safe for pregnant cats, that I won’t hazard a guess. ---
**Author:** ![Spoleto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Spoleto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoleto)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indoor-cats-and-live-wormy-droppings/416434/9 "2007-08-22T01:53:39Z")
[QUOTE=Ferret Herder] Is the neighbor really, truly sure that the pregnant cat **is** pregnant? I have a friend who grew up owning multiple cats. About a year ago she took in a pregnant cat to foster, and she sure looked pregnant. Big belly, enlarged teats, etc. Turns out it wasn’t a pregnancy, it was just worms. [/QUOTE] Oh gosh, if this female cat’s ENLARGED abdomen with swollen teats is just worms, I’m going to ahve nightmares until it gets treated! :eek: from my research, assuming it’s tapeworm, they don’t get THAT large. other type of worms do, but the description of these things, fit the exact description of the “segments” which fall off the tapeworm inside the cat, the segments, also seen sometimes, so neighbor said, on fur of tailend, this also fits descrption of tapeworm. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indoor-cats-and-live-wormy-droppings/416434/10 "2007-08-22T03:04:47Z")
[QUOTE=Spoleto] Oh gosh, if this female cat’s ENLARGED abdomen with swollen teats is just worms, I’m going to ahve nightmares until it gets treated! :eek: from my research, assuming it’s tapeworm, they don’t get THAT large. other type of worms do, but the description of these things, fit the exact description of the “segments” which fall off the tapeworm inside the cat, the segments, also seen sometimes, so neighbor said, on fur of tailend, this also fits descrption of tapeworm. [/QUOTE] Now, I don’t know what **kind** of worms they were, so don’t freak yet. 😃 I just know I saw what looked to me like a pregnant cat, and what my friend who had a lot of experience with cats thought was a pregnant cat. Then we get a phone call after a vet visit, telling us no pregnancy, just “worms.” It’s quite possible you’re dealing with a regular pregnant cat with tapeworms. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indoor-cats-and-live-wormy-droppings/416434/11 "2007-08-22T14:06:34Z")
Sounds like tapeworms, which use fleas as an intermediate host. My recommendation in cases like this is to spay the cat and treat the flea/tapeworm infestation. ---
**Author:** ![Archergal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Archergal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archergal)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indoor-cats-and-live-wormy-droppings/416434/12 "2007-08-22T18:29:09Z")
Tapeworms is what I first thought of too. Of course, the cat may have OTHER worms as well. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indoor-cats-and-live-wormy-droppings/416434/13 "2007-08-22T19:05:51Z")
My sister brought home a pregnant barn cat. A couple weeks later it gave birth to kittens with worms eating through them. Descriptions and details not forthcoming. The cat needs to be dewormed. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indoor-cats-and-live-wormy-droppings/416434/14 "2007-08-22T19:36:36Z")
[QUOTE=Harmonious Discord] My sister brought home a pregnant barn cat. A couple weeks later it gave birth to kittens with worms eating through them. Descriptions and details not forthcoming. The cat needs to be dewormed. [/QUOTE] Oh my friggin’ lord. I post a lot of TMI on this site, but that one will literally be haunting me for days.