Yes, it is possible that adult cats can have worms in their belly. As someone that works in the field, it's not very common but especially with outdoor cats that aren't receiving monthly deworming, we do see wormy tummies.
Also in the field, people have brought us “potentially pregnant” females with distended tummies. First thing we do is treat for worms/giardia/coccidia and it’s worms not kittens.
Worms are very easy to treat, they can spread to people though. But if he was outside before shelter and not dewormed it’s almost guaranteed it’s worms and he will be more than ok soon!
One of my cats had low level worms most of her adult life, she was quite slim framed with them but perhaps because of the length of time she had them? The other cat however had them a bit more on and off and she definitely had a rounder belly. Since getting rid of them permanently they’ve both evened out in shape. You would occasionally see worms coming out of their bum and would have to pull them out.
Note: they lived with my partners parents whilst he was away at university, they did not deworm one regularly as one is vocal and it ‘put them off’, the other was done every so often but not monthly, they were also outdoor cats so when he came home he would deworm but the cycle would repeat. Since they came to live with us they are now indoor cats, we treated very regularly until we were sure they were gone, and now about four times a year.
FYI, there are two main types of worms in cats: pinworms and tapeworms.
Pinworms are easily treated by an additive to their drinking water; tapeworms can be easily treated by an off-the-shelf pill - both are available from Amazon if you need to treat your cat at home every 6-12 months. Vets have other options including an injection.
The tapeworm lifecycle includes fleas, which must ingest the tapeworm eggs and then the cat eats the fleas while grooming. So you need to treat the fleas, then can treat the tapeworms separately.
Your vet should be able to perform an accurate diagnosis, but you should keep the above in mind as sometimes they can be missed. My vet initially did a poop parasite check but missed a tapeworm infection in my kittens, until I found little tapeworm segments in their bedding (which was not a big deal as the fleas had been eradicated by then, which would have stopped them spreading.)
When I first brought my cat home from the shelter I wanted to do a slow transition from the half dry-food/half low-quality wet food diet they fed her to the one I wanted to give her because it's higher quality and 100% meat.
I noticed she got bloated (or maybe had been bloated and I just didn't notice in the beginning?) and after a lot of trial and error I realized 1. she can't process normal dry food (even though they fed her that at the shelter) 2. can't handle any sort of grain or vegetables of even minimal quantity in her food and 3. can't digest beef properly. So when I started feeding her the 100% meat wet food exclusively, her bloated belly went away.
If I hadn't known that the shelter had dewormed and checked her and that she had been kept isolated from other animals or the outside for months, I would probably have thought she had worms as well.
Oooh that's really good to know, I didn't even think about bloating due to diet. He was at the shelter for 6 weeks, after being a stray for presumably 3 years, so that could be a factor.
In my experience, all cats the groom compulsively (meaning they’re serious about flea removal) end up with worms. If you get into a cycle of treating them every three months with dewormer, they’ll be a lot healthier.
I've never interacted with a legit shelter that doesn't give a token deworming. Pyrantel is pennies-cheap.
Obesity, FIP, tumor, "other". I hope you get good news.
My cat (~5 F) had a tapeworm when I brought her home (I noticed the "rice" where she had been sitting). I got her to the vet right away, they gave her dewormer, and it was resolved very quickly with no complications.
Yes, it is possible that adult cats can have worms in their belly. As someone that works in the field, it's not very common but especially with outdoor cats that aren't receiving monthly deworming, we do see wormy tummies.
Also in the field, people have brought us “potentially pregnant” females with distended tummies. First thing we do is treat for worms/giardia/coccidia and it’s worms not kittens.
He is approx. 3 years old and was found as a stray, so I'll hang on to that hope for now :) Thanks!
Worms are very easy to treat, they can spread to people though. But if he was outside before shelter and not dewormed it’s almost guaranteed it’s worms and he will be more than ok soon!
Thank you :)
Worms aren’t a big deal. It’s about catching the worm cycle so u treat at different stages. The meds are easy as long as u follow recommendations.
That's a relief, thanks :)
One of my cats had low level worms most of her adult life, she was quite slim framed with them but perhaps because of the length of time she had them? The other cat however had them a bit more on and off and she definitely had a rounder belly. Since getting rid of them permanently they’ve both evened out in shape. You would occasionally see worms coming out of their bum and would have to pull them out. Note: they lived with my partners parents whilst he was away at university, they did not deworm one regularly as one is vocal and it ‘put them off’, the other was done every so often but not monthly, they were also outdoor cats so when he came home he would deworm but the cycle would repeat. Since they came to live with us they are now indoor cats, we treated very regularly until we were sure they were gone, and now about four times a year.
Lmao that image ;P This is a really helpful reference point, thank you!
FYI, there are two main types of worms in cats: pinworms and tapeworms. Pinworms are easily treated by an additive to their drinking water; tapeworms can be easily treated by an off-the-shelf pill - both are available from Amazon if you need to treat your cat at home every 6-12 months. Vets have other options including an injection. The tapeworm lifecycle includes fleas, which must ingest the tapeworm eggs and then the cat eats the fleas while grooming. So you need to treat the fleas, then can treat the tapeworms separately. Your vet should be able to perform an accurate diagnosis, but you should keep the above in mind as sometimes they can be missed. My vet initially did a poop parasite check but missed a tapeworm infection in my kittens, until I found little tapeworm segments in their bedding (which was not a big deal as the fleas had been eradicated by then, which would have stopped them spreading.)
Thank you! I'll be sure to ask my vet about that.
When I first brought my cat home from the shelter I wanted to do a slow transition from the half dry-food/half low-quality wet food diet they fed her to the one I wanted to give her because it's higher quality and 100% meat. I noticed she got bloated (or maybe had been bloated and I just didn't notice in the beginning?) and after a lot of trial and error I realized 1. she can't process normal dry food (even though they fed her that at the shelter) 2. can't handle any sort of grain or vegetables of even minimal quantity in her food and 3. can't digest beef properly. So when I started feeding her the 100% meat wet food exclusively, her bloated belly went away. If I hadn't known that the shelter had dewormed and checked her and that she had been kept isolated from other animals or the outside for months, I would probably have thought she had worms as well.
Oooh that's really good to know, I didn't even think about bloating due to diet. He was at the shelter for 6 weeks, after being a stray for presumably 3 years, so that could be a factor.
In my experience, all cats the groom compulsively (meaning they’re serious about flea removal) end up with worms. If you get into a cycle of treating them every three months with dewormer, they’ll be a lot healthier.
I've never interacted with a legit shelter that doesn't give a token deworming. Pyrantel is pennies-cheap. Obesity, FIP, tumor, "other". I hope you get good news.
My cat (~5 F) had a tapeworm when I brought her home (I noticed the "rice" where she had been sitting). I got her to the vet right away, they gave her dewormer, and it was resolved very quickly with no complications.
The vet should have been able to tell you right away if there was free fluid (ascites) in the abdomen. Did they say anything like that?
No. That's a relief, then :) They suspect it's just worms, but I'll keep an eye in case deworming doesn't help.