1st May 2006

My cats have both been wormed, but one of them was sick today and I found worms in her vomit. Why is this?

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Question:

I have two cats and both were wormed about two months ago for roundworm and tapeworm. I came home today and one of them had been sick (not sure which) and there were a lot of worms in the vomit – about two inches long, white and thin. What are they? I’d assumed my cats would not get worms as they had been treated.

Answer:

From your description, these worms are most likely roundworms (toxocara cati or toxascaris leonina). Yes, I would have expected your cats to be free of worms two months after treatment. Reasons for worming failure include poor compliance with the treatment (some cats will hold a tablet in their mouths and spit it out later), or a particularly large worm burden that required repeat treatment. You will have to give both cats the worming treatment again, with a good quality wormer from your local surgery, and repeat at three-monthly intervals.