Can a mother cat's tapeworms cause illness or death in kittens?

Yes, worms can be passed from mom to babies. Most kittens will have 1-2 dewormings before they are fully weaned from mom once they are a bit older. It is best to talk to your vet to see if it's safe to deworm the mother and when the kittens can get started on their own deworming protocol.

I'm sorry that your cat had such an awful passing. Unfortunately, without an exam it would be hard to say. If there was a large parasite load, dying parasites can block/obstruct the intestines, and some parasites such as heartworm can block arteries leading to death, but it would be hard to say if this or another issue was the cause of Bendingo's passing. If you do get another cat, making sure they are regularly dewormed and up to date on vaccines can help them stay healthy. Working with your vet and having regular exams done can also help check for any health issues that need treatment as well.

Tape worm segments look like small grains of rice or sesame seeds. Regular wormers do not kill tapeworm. You would need to use a wormer with the ingredient Praziquantel. Since you mention that he is a kitten, it is better to have him wormed by your veterinarian. Tapeworm will likely not kill your kitten, but it needs to be treated. Your vet can also give James a good wellness exam to determine whether he is healthy. The bloat and diarrhea can very well be due to intestinal parasites.

Tapeworms don't typically cause major illness in cats and I would be concerned that Tiana has something more serious going on. Other types of intestinal parasites, infectious diseases or even ingestion of a foreign object resulting in an intestinal blockage would be more likely to cause these signs. I would recommend having Tiana examined by your veterinarian. They might recommend checking a stool sample or x-rays depending on what they find on exam. Hope she's feeling better soon!

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

Poor Garfield! Tapeworms do not usually cause any significant weight loss or other symptoms in cats, so I would be very concerned that Garfield has a more serious problem. I would recommend taking him to the vet for an exam when you are able to. He/she can do some diagnostic testing (blood work and x-rays) if needed to help determine what's wrong, and will get him started on appropriate treatment depending on what is found.

I'm so sorry for the loss of the kittens. They may have had a parasite infection or virus such as panleukopenia. Salmonella can also kill them quickly. Without a post mortem exam there is no way to know what they dried from. Mom will probably go back into heat fairly quickly so you might want to get her spayed. Monitor her mammary glands that they don't get engorged or painful. You can apply cool compresses to them if she will let you.