Cat tapeworms: Are missed eggs in the house a risk for re-infection?

It is possible for tapeworm eggs to survive months after being passed by your pet but they then require an additional 'intermediate' host before reinfecting your pet dog or cat. The most common type is passed through fleas and these can last for over a year before developing fully (other rarer types are passed through raw meat including rodents etc if cats catch mice). It is helpful to get your vet to confirm the type of tapeworm in order to understand the cycle of infection - using an insecticidal household flea spray is essential to break the flea/tapeworm life cycle

Hello, and thank you for your question. The tapeworm segments consist of tapeworm eggs, that can be ingested by fleas. I would ensure that Milton has (and continues to be) on monthly flea control, and that he received an appropriate deworming treatment for tapeworms. As long as the fleas are well controlled, the tapeworms should die away and not recur. The only way that humans can get infected by tapeworms is to ingest an infected flea, so it is safe to say the risk is low! I hope this helps, and that Milton is doing well!

Hi there. Yes, this appears to be a tapeworm segment. Cats generally get them from fleas, or from catching and eating rodents - they can't catch it directly from each other. Many over-the-counter dewormers are not effective against tapeworms, so you'll need to check the label on the one you're using. If it doesn't contain praziquantel, it won't work. The best option would be to get a prescription dewormer from your veterinarian to make sure the meds will be effective. I would also recommend making sure that all of your cats are on a good quality flea control medication like Revolution or Bravecto, to help prevent reinfection once they've been dewormed. If they hunt outside regularly, they should be routinely dewormed every 2-3 months to prevent tapes from returning.

This is really not necessary for you to do. The way cats get tapeworms is by eating fleas infected with the tapeworm larvae. They will not get tapeworms by ingesting the segments you see in the feces. So, that being the case, you should be more concerned with treating the environment to get rid of the fleas/flea eggs, etc. and by treating the cat with flea medication (either topical or oral) every month. If you have a yard and cat goes outside you should treat the yard as well. If a cat has tapeworms they definitely have fleas. Disinfecting the house with bleach is not helpful in preventing transmission of tapeworms (you cannot get the either) but if it makes you feel better by cleaning the house with bleach you can certainly do that - I would use a 10:1 dilution of water to bleach (10 parts water to 1 part bleach). Hope this helps.

Unfortunately there is no way to stop cats from shedding the tapeworm segments. You don't have to keep her quarantined if you don't want to . I understand the segments are gross and you have a toddler but the segments are not harmful. The only way your toddler would get tapeworms would be from ingesting an infected flea. I would be more worried about getting the fleas under control. So, if Yuki had fleas, they are definitely in your house so you should treat the house for fleas as well. I recommend this product: https://www.allivet.com/p-1389-knockout-es-area-treatment.aspx?SearchTerm=knockout+Auto

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to hear that Rashmika had tapeworms but it sounds like you are addressing that. This is a good question. Tapeworms require an intermediate host so a pet cannot transmit them directly to other pets or people. Other pets would have to eat the intermediate host (most often a flea carrying tapeworm eggs) to get a tapeworm infection. So your other pets and your family are extremely safe to be around her right now. Good luck with Rashmika

Tapeworms need to go into a secondary host to spread. That means that cats get them from eating rodents and fleas, and you, your family and the other cats and dogs can't get them from being exposed to the segments. Please get Mr. Kitty treated for tapeworms and use a flea prevention product on all the animals to prevent them getting tapeworms from eating fleas. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you get answers to your veterinary questions.