What to look out for
Bloated tummy
Cats and kittens with worms can have a ‘pot belly’ – a rounded abdomen caused by the worms living inside them.
Stomach upsets
Worms can cause cats to have upset stomachs, and even vomit. There might even be some white worm segments in their vomit.
Diarrhoea
This could be in addition to vomiting or might be seen on its own. Again, you could see worm segments in their diarrhoea.
Change in appetite or weight loss
A sudden change in how much a cat or kitten eats is another sign. Because worms can live off the food cats eat, cats with worms may become hungrier and start eating more – or asking for more food.
More signs to look out for
Weakness or lack of energy
When worms are living off the food your cat is eating, it’s helping the worms inside your cat to thrive instead of your cat. Some worms feed off our cats’ blood, which can again cause them to feel tired.
A rough or dull coat
This is again down to worms taking the nutrients a cat needs to stay healthy.
Sledging or scooting
Cats sometimes slide their bums along the ground because of the irritation worms are causing there.
Excessive licking around their bottom
If worms are causing irritation there, cats will try to soothe in the only way they know how – licking.
Seeing bits of worms
The above signs aren’t specific only to worm infections – they could be the result of other ailments instead. But one certain sign a cat has worms is if you can see white worms or worm segments in your cat’s fur, around their bum, in their bed or in their poo or vomit.
These worms could be alive and wriggling or they could be dried out and look like little grains of rice, depending on how long they’ve been outside of the body. Roundworms are cylindrical – like spaghetti – whereas tapeworms are flatter – like ribbons – and segmented.
Spotted these signs in a kitten?
If you think your kitten has worms, ask your vet for advice now. Heavy worm infestations can cause serious – sometimes even deadly – complications in kittens, so your vet will need to recommend a worm treatment that’s right for your kitten’s age and body weight.
Spotted these signs in an adult cat?
Take a look at our quick guide to treating worms in cats.
Not seen these symptoms?
It’s good to remember that not all cats show these signs. A healthy-looking cat can mean the problem goes unnoticed, but worms could still be living off our cat’s food and blood and shedding worm eggs into the environment. That’s why regular worming is important – just because we can’t always see signs of worms, it doesn’t mean they’re not there. And any gap in treatment gives a worm problem the chance to build.
It’s generally recommended that pets are treated with a wormer quarterly. However, more frequent deworming may be needed if you have children, if there are pregnant, elderly or immunosuppressed individuals living in your home.
Worming cats can be simple with tasty chewable tablets, such as FRONTLINE® WORMER. It can be given on its own or with food and it kills intestinal worms commonly found in the UK, making it a convenient way to protect our feline fussy eaters from worms.
With the right treatment, our cats can overcome the problems worms can cause before they become a bigger issue.
1 Wright I, Stafford K, Coles G. The prevalence of intestinal nematodes in cats and dogs from Lancashire, north-west England. J Small Anim Pract 2016; 57: 393–395.
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