My 8-week kitten is vomiting roundworms, not eating for 12+ hours. What do I do?

It is rare for worms to kill a cat unless they cause a full obstruction of the bowel with severe, persistent vomiting or extreme weight loss. It would be important to deworm her within the next 48hours and to schedule an emergency vet assessment if she becomes weak

I recommend getting your cat seen by your vet or an emergency vet right away. Cats need to eat, if they go more than a few days without eating they can develop serious liver problems which can be fatal. Continuous vomiting for so many hours is very exhausting and dehydrating, so your kitten likely needs some medical intervention to get better. Your vet will do an exam, labwork, possibly x-rays, and based on these results, your vet will have a better idea what is going on and can better advise you about treatment options.

Vet clinics are still open on an emergency basis, and this is an emergency. A dropper of water isn't nearly enough to prevent dehydration in a cat that is not eating or drinking. Vomiting up worms means there are tons of worms inside, and there could even be lung worms. From the picture, there looks to be flea dirt on Prince's skin, which could mean he is anemic.

If Gizmo hasn't eaten in 3 or more days, she is at risk of developing serious liver related complications. At this point in time, she needs to be examined by your veterinarian. Blood work should be submitted to assess major organ function. Bring the medication your gave her (or the package it came in) to your vet for examination as well. She may require hospitalization and supportive care until she is eating on her own. Discuss payment plans with your vet as well as alternative financing options such as Care Credit (www.carecredit.com). You may also seek financial assistance through Red Rover (www.redrover.org).

Intestinal worms are very common in kittens, and usually quite easy to treat :) If you are seeing them in the litter box, it's likely that they are either roundworms or tapeworms. If you can, try and put some of the worms in a plastic bag to show your vet - he/she can prescribe an appropriate dewormer to get rid of them. If Snow is not eating anything and has a fever, I would be concerned that something more serious may be wrong - worms do not normally cause these symptoms. It would be best to take him to the vet today for an exam. Your vet may recommend blood work or other testing to help diagnose the problem so that he can be properly treated.

I would get her in to see your vet as soon as possible. It is vital that cats eat because after only a few days of not eating they can suffer liver damage. Take the worms too to see if they can identify them. Your vet will do an exam and labwork and based on these results will be better able to tell you what is wrong and how best to treat it.

Poor Frodo! Some cats do vomit during deworming due to the strength of the medication combined with the parasites moving through the GI system. These side effects should only last a few days, so if it's been longer than that, I would be concerned that it could be due to something else, such as a GI illness, a foreign body, or pancreatitis. I recommend withholding food for 12 hours, then feeding a bland diet of boiled white meat chicken (no bones) in small amounts several times a day for a couple of days. Then slowly add back in his normal diet. If the vomiting continues in the absence of food, he vomits the bland diet, develops diarrhea, stops drinking water, starts vomiting water, or becomes very lethargic, he will need to see a vet right away.