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My cat has worms in poop. Is her dewormer working for tapeworms?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | American Shorthair | Female | spayed | 6 years and 8 months old

My cat is taking dewormer and when she had a bowel movement this morning, I saw these worms in her poop. I attached a picture. What type of worm is it? I want to make sure the dewormer I'm giving her will get rid of it. The wormer is pyrantel pamoate 50ml. She had been vomiting and lost a little weight and was a little less active. Could worms cause these symptoms? Thank you

3 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Dr. Dayna, DVM, CVA

Veterinarian, Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist

Published on December 12th, 2017

From the picture these look to be tapeworm segments. Often you will see them dried on the rear end too. Pyrantel is a great broad spectrum dewormer, but it doesn’t kill tapeworm. Droncit ( praziquantel) kills tapeworm. I always recommend a full fecal exam looking for microscopic eggs as animals who have parasites often have more than one kind. Tapeworm can cause gastrointestinal signs if she has a high enough worm burden. Best of luck and I hope she improves soon! Thank you for using Pet Coach.

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

Answered By Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA
Veterinarian, Certified Dog Trainer
Published on October 13th, 2018
Hi there. Yes, it certainly possible that she may have had tapeworms that weren't found on her fecal exam at the vet's office. It's actually quite rare to find tapeworm eggs on a fecal - they're usually diagnosed by seeing the tapeworm segments in the pet's stool or on their fur near the rectum, which only happens if you're lucky enough to see it at the right time.

Some dewormers treat tapeworms, but not all. If the dewormer contains praziquantel, then yes - it treats tapeworms. If not, it may or may not be effective. In that case, I would call your veterinarian and let them know what you're seeing, so that they can prescribe a dewormer specifically for tapeworms if needed.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Answered By Andrea M. Brodie, DVM
Veterinarian
Published on April 21st, 2018
A stool sample would help in determining what kind of worms Lemmy is suffering from. If you use a wormer containing also praziquantel, it will hit both, roundworms and tapeworms. So you need to ask your vet for a wormer that will also kill tapeworms.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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