Two kitty questions - one about how much to feed her and the other is a strange thing

[BAM]

My cat adopted us about 3 months ago. She was very thin as she was a stray and we thought she was somewhere around a year old. Of course she has gained weight since then but she has an absolutely voracious appetite. She weighs about 9 1/2 lbs. now and seems to keep getting bigger. I feed her just under a 1/2 can of food 2x/day and give her some dry food overnight. She seems to want a lot of food to get satiated and when she starts feeling hungry, she eats very odd things like.......pieces of rugs, plastic, strings, pieces of her scratch board, dried flower arrangements. If I drop some cheese or my healthy turkey bologna on the floor or other food a "normal" cat would eat, she shuns eat but is happy eating plastic. Geesh, go figure! I really don't want a fat cat but I don't want her to not be getting enough nourishment. I really could use some advice on this.

The other thing is odd. There are a couple of areas that she sleeps on. I've noticed strange things that she's leaving behind. They look exactly like sesame seeds. I've looked at them with a magnifying glass and I don't see any legs or something that looked alive as they don't move at all. They just look like sesame seeds. I've also noticed them on my vanity where she sometimes sits to look out the window. I've put some in a plastic container. I don't have a vet yet and really don't have the money to spend to have a professional look at it but it is weird. I looked at her kitty litter to see if there's something in there that looks like it and no luck. What could this be? Any thoughts? Thanks!

Bam

 

[tobermory]

The seeds are signs that your cat has a worm -- probably tape worm. You really need to get her to a vet.

Tobermory

 

[BAM]

The seeds are signs that your cat has a worm -- probably tape worm. You really need to get her to a vet.

Tobermory

OMG! What actually are those seeds? Can humans contract something? This is all new to me. Thanks so much!

Bam

 

[JanetP1507]

A tapeworm would explain her voracious appetitie too. Get thee to the nearest vet! I believe the seeds are eggs.....I just saw Dr. Oz on Oprah last week discussing parasites and worms and humans and he was talking about the seed thing. I think he said they can be spread from animal to human so you might want to get yourself check out as well.

Here is some info for you:

http://www.cat-world.com.au/TapewormInCats.htm

 

[janiejoey]

Bam,

It is a tape worm. My dog had one, took her to the vet, they gave her one tablet, she pooped it out and that was that. The vet says she got it by ingesting a flea.

The tape worm is made up of many separate sections. At night, part of it comes out and release the eggs. In the morning you find them in her bed as little grains of rice or sesame seeds. It's the eggs that have been dried out. You can't get a tape worm inside you,by touching those eggs, don't worry about that.

Take her to the vet, she'll be OK. Then love the heck out of her.

Janie

 

[meowracer]

Yes - a very easy fix, and you will not get them that way. You may even see some in her poop, and maybe if you can see some that way, it will save a test at the vet. You will want to make sure she doesn't have any more fleas though, or she will quite possibly end up with more worms.

 

[BAM]

OMG, I'm sick! I've been touching those things! I've been feeling sicker than my norm since we got her. I might have it too! I'm freaking out here. I actually have some deworming medication. When we took her to a traveling vet van to have her shots, etc., I bought the meds and didn't give it to her because I didn't want to burden her body with anything unnecessary. I've just noticed the seeds in the past month or so. I will be administering the medications asap. Now I'm another story and my mother too since she lives with me. ARGH!!!!!! What part her body are those seeds falling from? Maybe I don't want to know!

Bam

 

[meowracer]

Ummm, I think you KNOW where they are coming from!! Read this...

http://www.catparasite.com/feline-tapeworms-cat-tapeworm

And unless you ingest a flea, and one that happens to be carrying the tapeworm whatever it is, then you will not get them. Don't freak out.
Just take care of your baby. And it is entirely possible that she got the tapeworms from her mom, and that there are no more fleas on her, if there ever were. Be sure that the worm meds you have are for tapeworms. That is sometimes a separate thing, I think. Give her some love

 

[BAM]

Thanks everyone!!!! I'm now running late for an appt. because of this. I may have more questions later on. Thanks again!!!!!!

Bam

 

[kathryn]

OMG! What actually are those seeds? Can humans contract something? This is all new to me. Thanks so much!

Bam

The "seeds"' are the tapeworm eggs. You may also find some around her anus.

If you manage to see a fresh poo, you might see actual tapeworm segments (parts of the worm that are coming out) moving around on it. (I have had the dubious privilege of seeing that, when one of my former cats had a tapeworm, and the litter box was in the bathroom in my old apartment and we both happened to be going at the same time).

That could explain the appetite as well.

Tapeworms have to go through some kind of intermediary host (often a flea) before they are passed on to their final host.

 

[Fitnessfreakk366]

OMG, I'm sick! I've been touching those things! I've been feeling sicker than my norm since we got her. I might have it too! I'm freaking out here. I actually have some deworming medication. When we took her to a traveling vet van to have her shots, etc., I bought the meds and didn't give it to her because I didn't want to burden her body with anything unnecessary. I've just noticed the seeds in the past month or so. I will be administering the medications asap. Now I'm another story and my mother too since she lives with me. ARGH!!!!!! What part her body are those seeds falling from? Maybe I don't want to know!

Bam

Bam, you can't catch the worms from a cat. That was the first thing my vet told me. I just got a kitten about 4 months ago and he had the same symptoms yours has. Ate tons, seen those weird sesame seed things and he would vomit the worms. So the vet gave me three different liquid shots to put in his mouth to kill the worms. They did the first dose, I did the 2nd does two weeks later and the third dose two weeks later. He's worm free now.

You cannot catch them, though. Even if you ate one of those eggs, the acid in our bodies would kill them.

 

[janiejoey]

Bam,

Using a regular deworming pill, will not get rid of the tapeworm. It is a special pill just for the tapeworm. Please take the kitty to the vet and have them/or you administer it to your darling kitty.

Don't freak out, it's OK. You will not get this tape worm inside you, unless you yourself ingest a flea. That is very unlikely.

Let us know how it goes.

Janie

 

[PhyllisG]

Take them to the vet with you and that will help your vet to prescribe medication. Look like kernels of rice? Tapeworm. Don't freak out. It is not that big of a deal. Just take care of your kitty.

 

[BAM]

I can not thank all of you enough! You have allayed my worries. Meowracer, thank you for the link. My bf just stopped over and I made HIM give her the pill. I called the place where I got the meds and this is what they said: Give one pill of Droncit today and then in a week, give her 15 drops of Pyrantel (50 mg.) 1x week for 3 weeks. Hope this does it! I have a very challenging digestive system right now and hearing that these were in my house and possibly contagious was just not what I needed to hear. Apparently I will be fine. Hopefully this will take care of her appetite as well. Thank you all again! You are godsends!!!!!

Bam

 

[BAM]

I just went through and re-read all of your responses. JanetP1507, thanks for that link. It was most eye opening. Well this morning, kitty was licking her behind a bit more than usual so hopefully the pill is starting to work. I was wondering one thing. Since her appetite has increased for good reason, should I give her more food to satisfy this increase until the tapeworms have diminished or just stick to what I've been doing? She still is continually looking for more food. She's certainly not losing weight but has gained some. What do you think?

Thanks again, everyone!!!!

Bam

 

[kathryn]

I was wondering one thing. Since her appetite has increased for good reason, should I give her more food to satisfy this increase until the tapeworms have diminished or just stick to what I've been doing? She still is continually looking for more food. She's certainly not losing weight but has gained some. What do you think?

I'd try to feed her the amount suggested for her ideal weight on the food package (in two feedings).

You could also try giving her some canned pumpkin (the unflavored stuff). A spoonful would be a tasty treat (at least many cats think so). It's got good fiber in that helps with hairballs and could make her feel fuller (and might help move the dead/dying tapeworm(s) along faster).

Everybody's mentioning the worm eggs looking like rice. I've never seem them as very 'ricey' looking: more like sesame seeds.

 

[BAM]

I'd try to feed her the amount suggested for her ideal weight on the food package (in two feedings).

You could also try giving her some canned pumpkin (the unflavored stuff). A spoonful would be a tasty treat (at least many cats think so). It's got good fiber in that helps with hairballs and could make her feel fuller (and might help move the dead/dying tapeworm(s) along faster).

Everybody's mentioning the worm eggs looking like rice. I've never seem them as very 'ricey' looking: more like sesame seeds.

Thanks Kathryn! I'll try the canned pumpkin. She's a very odd cat eater so am not sure that she'll eat it alone but if not, I can mix it with her regular food. They sure look like sesame seeds to me as I described in my original post. I just had some sushi with, yep, sesame seeds and guess what I was thinking about. I have to try and get that image out of my mind!

Bam