Feline parasites, such as roundworms infest cats in almost the same way as worms in dogs. This process is usually completed in three ways.

* The cat can consume worm eggs from the soil. These roundworm eggs generally come into the environment from the excretion of other infected dogs and cats. The eggs have the capacity to withstand environmental changes and are immune to mild disinfectants. The sticky egg shells cling to the paws or to the fur of the pet. Cats generally ingest the eggs by licking the places where these eggs cling to.
* Most kittens are infected through their mothers. Roundworms have a long migrating lifecycle inside the body of a cat. Larvae get encysted in tissues and can remain there for years. The litter of an infected mother is already infected in utero. Larvae can also be passed on to the kittens through milk during the lactation period.
* A cat can ingest an infected host animal like a rodent. Larvae in the host develop into roundworms within the cat’s body.

The first stage of the roundworm lifecycle is while it is dormant in the environment. This is the period before it actually infects the host. This fact means that fresh feces are not infectious.

Tapeworms are intestinal parasites that can infect cats and dogs alike. However the kind of tapeworms that cats are most susceptible to are different from those that infect dogs in most cases. Cats are most likely to be infected by three groups of tapeworm species.

* Dipylidium caninum
* Taenia
* Echinococcus

In most cases the manner in which each of these groups infects the cat is different. The Taenia species infects a cat when it eats a prey that is already infected. Dipylidium caninum infects cats when they eat lice or fleas that carry larvae of tapeworms. Echinococcus infection is through eating raw meat or carrion of an infected host.

Tapeworms comprise of segments. The segments towards the extreme that carry eggs are shed off and these reach the environment when the host excretes. Tapeworms require a minimum of two hosts to survive. The intermediary carries the larvae that live in the tissues of the host. The larvae develop into adults when the secondary host is eaten by a primary host like a cat or dog.

The dog tapeworm, Dipylidium caninum, is the second most common tapeworm after the Taenia species in cats. Its typical lifestyle comprises of the following stages:

Roundworms are common feline parasites that can infect cats of all ages. During a lifetime practically all cats get infected at one time or another because roundworms can even transmit to kittens through the lactating mother.

There are two species of roundworm that predominantly infect cats.

* Toxocara cati
* Toxascaris leonina

Eggs of Toxocara cati pass through the feces of an infected cat. The embryonic worm in the microscopic egg needs a month in the open environment to reach its infective stage. Having reached the infective stage, Toxocara eggs can weather harsh conditions and survive for years.

This second stage larvae are ingested by a cat or by another animal. They hatch in the intestines. This is the primary host of the roundworm. The young roundworm then migrates and gets encysted in other body tissues of the host.

If the primary host is a cat, larvae get encysted in the cat’s liver. From here onwards the larvae can take two routes depending upon the condition of the host cat.

Hookworms are considered to be the most pathogenic of all canine and feline parasites including roundworms and dog tapeworm.

Hookworms are excessively greedy blood suckers and cause extensive loss of blood. They ‘hook’ on to the walls of the intestines and draw out blood and ingest it directly. Some can bite and cause lacerations which result in blood leaking. To add to the miseries, the esophageal glands of the hookworm secrete an enzyme that inhibits blood coagulation.

Hookworms can penetrate skin and infect humans as well. Barefoot humans and children who play in areas where dogs defecate are at a high risk of infection. A study of the lifecycle of hookworms can go along way in achieving the goal of treating hookworm infection and eradication of hookworms from the environment.

Depending upon the species, an adult hookworm can lay up to thirty thousand eggs in a day. A moist loamy soil and warm temperatures are most conducive to hookworm survival. But these hardy parasites have been known to survive in tougher climatic conditions also. Unlike other worms in dogs hookworms develop in feces only when the feces are broken up naturally by earthworms or rain. Larvae in their infective stage move out from the feces and wait in the soil or vegetation for a host to pass by.

Roundworms have evolved in a manner that they can thrive in almost any environment. They can be found in freshwater, sea water and even in terrestrial environs. There are nearly 20,000 species of roundworms out which 15,000 are parasitic. They are also the most prevalent of the worms as compared to all other types of worms in dogs.

Many dogs are born with roundworms. These are generally passed to them by their mothers through the uterus or through the mammary glands. A mother can transmit larvae that are lying dormant in her tissues or organs to the fetus of her puppy. She can also transmit the larvae while nursing since the larvae can enter the mammary glands and pass on to the young one.

There are, however, other ways in which roundworms can enter the body of a dog. The most common among them is by ingestion. Dogs can consume roundworm egg or larvae infected feces since many dogs do have a tendency towards coprophagy (eating feces). They can also ingest larvae by eating other infected animals like rodents.

There were times when it was believed that the only way worms in dogs passed on to puppies, was through the mother’s system while they were still in the uterus. Whereas this contention still holds good for some types of worms, it has now been established that worms can infest puppies through other means also.

Worms like dog tapeworm, and dog roundworms and even some feline parasites have a typical lifecycle and can enter a pet’s body through various means.

Worms are intestinal parasites that reside mostly in the small intestines. Worms like tapeworms and roundworms are extremely migratory within a dog’s body and they are expelled and ingested during different stages of their lifecycle. Infestation can be through ingestion of larvae or eggs of worms or through ingestion of infected intermediate hosts like rodents and mice. Worms are passed through feces and puppies ingest worms directly from the environment as well. Sometimes the infection can be passed on by contact with the coat of the infected mother.

Hookworm is a parasite that lives in the small intestines of mammals. It is also the most common of the intestinal parasites that infest dogs. There are different types of hookworms that can infest dogs and cats.

* A.caninum can infect a dog.
* Uncinaria stenocephala can infect both dogs and cats.
* A.braziliense and A. tubaeforme species of the hookworm infect only cats.

Hookworms are smaller than other intestinal parasites like dog tapeworms and roundworms. Their affect on the host’s body is also different from other parasitical worms. Worms in dogs are usually excreted and are visible in stools but hookworms are so small that they cannot be seen with the naked eye. In most cases even a microscopic examination is unable to reveal their presence.

Hookworms are also different from other worms in the manner in which they cause diseases. The other kinds of worms mechanically obstruct the intestinal passage and migrate through tissues but hookworms cling to the intestinal walls and suck the host’s blood.

Dogs can get infested with hookworms in many ways. Hookworms lay eggs in the intestines of an infested animal. These are then excreted through stools. Once the eggs hatch, the larvae can migrate through water and vegetation and enter a dog’s body through various routes.

Parasitic worms in dogs and cats normally reside in the intestines. The one aspect of these parasitic worms is that worm larvae and eggs can remain dormant for years in tissues and wait for an appropriate trigger to surface and infest your pet. In many cases it is the stress factor that acts as a trigger for worms to migrate. Feline parasites like roundworms and hookworms can surface abruptly in advanced stages of pregnancy and transmit to the young ones.

Kittens can get infected while in the womb of the female cat or through the milk of the infected mother. Adult cats can get infected by ingesting worm infested feces. They can also fall prey to these parasites if they consume a prey that is infected. Larvae of roundworms can migrate to various parts of the body and can travel up to the eye and cause damage to vision. Vomiting, diarrhea, an extended abdomen, dehydration, weight loss and listlessness are other common symptoms that manifest themselves among cats infested with worms.

Out of the numerous intestinal parasites, roundworms and tapeworms are the most common feline parasites that infest cats. The connection between these two intestinal parasites ends here. Roundworms are round and slimy creatures whereas tapeworms are flat and segmented.

Both the worms shed eggs that are passed out in the feces of the cat. But roundworms and tapeworms look different. Roundworm eggs excreted in feces are microscopic, whereas tapeworm eggs are released as packets from the end segments that detach from the worm. These segments can be seen in the cat’s feces or clinging to the hair near the anus of the cat.

Roundworms

The two common species of roundworms found in cats are:

* Toxocara cati
* Toxascaris leonina

Eggs from both the species are generally eaten by a cat when they are still in their non-infectious stage. They may also be ingested by an intermediate host, say, a mouse or a rat.

Toxocara cati differs from the other roundworm in one feature. It has the capacity to remain dormant in female cats. A queen may harbor larvae from previous infections that remain encysted in various tissues in the body. At the time of pregnancy these larvae migrate to the mammary glands. Larvae transmit through milk too. That the litter of an infected mother will be infected as well is a foregone conclusion.

It is not easy to break the life cycle of intestinal parasites like roundworms and dog tapeworm.
The main hurdles are the encysted larvae that can remain in a dog’s body for years. Since the worm eggs have a huge appetite of bearing vagaries in their environment, they can remain dormant for a long time before becoming active.

Looking for an appropriate treatment at the first visible signs of worms in dogs is the first thing that should be done. Noticing the symptoms of worms in dogs depends on the amount of time that you spend with your dog and the level of care that you provide for your pet. Keeping your eyes open for such symptoms should be a priority as these parasites can pass on to humans too. Preventive measures become equally important so that you can ensure that your pet does not get infected again.

Prevention

There are three broad ways by which roundworms get into dogs.

* Larvae present in female dogs can be passed on to puppies in vivo and through mother’s milk.
* Larvae in the tissues of an intermediate host can be indirectly ingested when the animal is eaten.
* Eggs in the environment can be directly consumed by dogs.