This week I had one of those cases that invariably makes my clients shudder in revulsion. The patient was a two-year-old male long-haired tabby called Sasha. All was seemingly fine with Sasha until that very morning when his owner spotted seed-like fragments on his red-plush bedding where the cat had been napping. Sasha’s owner had the presence of mind to take a photo of the fragments which she then showed to me at the clinic. Sasha had cestodiasis.

Cestodiasis is the infestation of dogs and cats by tapeworm. There are various species of tapeworm, but the one that most commonly infects urban cats is the Dipylidium caninum. The dipylidium is a flat ribbon-like worm, typically around 30 centimetres long. It lives inside the small intestine where it feeds off the food consumed by the cat, and moves about by flexing the full length of its body.

The complete tapeworm is made up of a head and neck followed by a string of segments called proglotids. The head has miniscule suckers that help it to attach to the animal’s intestine. The neck of the tapeworm is where new segments grow, while the segments at the rear end of the tapeworm are cast off through the animal’s faeces once they reach a mature stage. These segments are usually around half a centimetre long and can be seen around the cat’s rectum, tail, or in its faeces.

The remarkable thing about the segments of the tapeworm is that each piece has reproductive organs capable of producing many eggs. The segments themselves are not complete organisms but are still capable of moving through animal fur until they die and dry out. As soon as they dry out, they burst and pervade the cat’s fur with many tiny packets of eggs. Each egg packet is capable of holding around twenty tapeworm eggs which, under the right breeding conditions, are each capable of growing into an adult tapeworm.

The full lifecycle of the tapeworm is a complex vicious circle that can only be broken through sustained flea prevention and control

With such a prolific breeding rate, it would seem almost impossible to control this parasite, but a good understanding of the lifecycle of the tapeworm is what helps pet owners, under the guidance of their veterinarian, to reduce the likelihood of a repeat infestation.

The full lifecycle of the tapeworm is a complex vicious circle that can be likened to the classic case of which came first – the chicken or the egg? What is certain is that the vicious circle can only be broken through sustained flea prevention and control.

Imagine a cat that is infected with tapeworm and also has fleas. The fleas lay their young in the cat’s fur.  While still in their larval stage, the immature fleas eat the eggs of the tapeworm that they find in the cat’s fur. The flea larvae then become infected with tapeworm. As the cat grooms its fur, it ingests infected fleas. The fleas break down in the stomach and the tapeworm hatches. The tapeworm hooks onto the small intestine and in two to three weeks it matures and starts laying eggs. And the cycle of internal infestation starts all over again.

So true is this last statement, that left unchecked there is almost no limit to the maximum number of worms that may infest your cat.

And to the question as to which came first …the tapeworm or the flea? The answer is academic but, what is certain, is that any animal that has fleas can also have tapeworm, and any animal that has tapeworm is almost certainly to have fleas – such are their lifecycles intrinsically linked.

This mutual dependence is just one reason why veterinarians strive so hard to drive regular flea treatment programmes. Another very important reason is that children can get infected if they accidentally ingest an infected flea. Although the risk of this happening is quite remote and more likely to happen in environments with low hygiene, the more the vicious circle that promotes their mutual dependence is broken, the less the risk of repeated infection. The important thing is that you immediately take your pet to the vet as soon as you suspect something might be wrong.

If present, clinical signs may include the cat licking an irritated rectum, or dragging its rear end along the ground in an attempt to relieve the itching caused by segments of the worm expelled from the body.  Sometimes, the tapeworm will detach from the intestinal wall and be vomited whole. Occasionally, tapeworms will be expelled from the body through diarrhoea. The most obvious is the tell-tale sign of egg packets that have fallen off the cat’s body onto its bedding.

Having diagnosed tapeworm, your veterinarian will prescribe medication that specifically targets this type of worm. Your vet will advise how to administer the medication to make sure that the tapeworm is eradicated, and how often to repeat the medication to prevent or reduce the likelihood of re-infestation, as well as what remedial action you should take at home.  It is important to bear in mind that even if de-worming treatment was successful, if the flea problem is not tackled, then your cat or dog can be re-infected with tapeworm within around three weeks.

Due to the prolific breeding of both fleas and tapeworms, most cats and dogs are likely to get infected at one point, particularly when they are still very young. Sasha’s owner was horrified to learn that her cat had tapeworm, but quickly understood that this does happen and that it is also a matter of good flea control. Sasha was duly given the appropriate medication and flea treatment and his owner has already scheduled the next flea prevention treatment for her cat.

thisweekwiththevet@gmail.com

Dr Martin Debattista is a veterinary surgeon.

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