My cat has hookworms. How to prevent re-infection and protect us?

Hookworms are commonly spread by fecal/oral route. Clean the litter box daily and wash your hands afterwards to minimize contamination. it is best to wash bedding and clean the floors just to be safe.

Hookworm is most commonly passed from stool of an infected animal, so it is possible your dog got the infection from your cat if she plays in the litterbox. Screening and/or treating all animals in the house (as well as picking up all stool and eliminating exposure to stool!) sounds prudent in your case. I would contact your vet for an appropriate medication and dose for your animals, or to see if they prefer to screen the stool first. Be sure to wash your hands well as hookworms can be zoonotic!

Hi. Poor little one! The best way.to disinfect is to always wash hands, clean surefaces with a dilute bleach solution, clean or get new litter box, wash any bedding, place sheet over furniturr for now to wash later, and pick up feces right away and wash hands. Once treatment is all done, repeat and recheck fecal sample for testing

I have attached a handout below with more information for you. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1530 Hookworm eggs are not immediately infectious, so there is no need to wash sheets and bedding. Similarly, there isn't any need to wear gloves when petting Lady or wipe the floor. Humans are most commonly infected from soil that is contaminated with hookworm larvae, so it would not be recommended to go outside barefoot to help prevent infection. Here is more information on humans. https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/hookworm/index.html The best way to prevent infection to yourself or other dogs is to keep Lady and any other dogs on a monthy heartworm preventative that also includes a dewormer for hookworms. And right now, be sure to pick up her stool immediately after she goes, so the eggs don't have time to hatch and get into the soil Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

Depending on the doctor and worm burden. rechecks (for this individual diagnosis) aren't always needed because the three days of panacur tends to be successful. If however, loose stool/diarrhea persist, it would then be recommended to have an additional fecal exam performed to determine if there is still an intestinal parasite present. Once the treatment is complete, it should be safe to let the cat out of the crate but make sure to clean the litter pan well, specially if there are other cats in the home.

It's definitely a good idea to clean and sanitize everything after your cat has had worms just to prevent spreading it back to your cat (or yourself from contact with any affected material as roundworms are transmissible to people and other pets). I would make sure at the very least to completely change the litter, wipe down the litter box with a sanitizing wipe, and wash any bedding your cat regularly sleeps on including your own, their beds, the couch, etc. This can help get rid of any roundworm eggs that may still be in the environment as it can be spread through fecal matter.

Make sure both Prissy and your cat are up to date on the flea treatments, as fleas transmit tapeworms. Use good hygiene, washing your hands after petting the cat and dog, and after scooping the litter box. Good hygiene will prevent you from getting the worms. I hope this helps!