How long do tapeworm eggs last and can my pet get reinfected?

Hi there. Tapeworms have an indirect life cycle, so the only way to become infected is by swallowing an infected flea or eating a dead animal that was infected (rodents, etc.) So don't worry overly much about any segments or eggs in the environment you may have missed. Keep Rhiley on a good quality monthly flea preventative like Advantage Multi or Revolution. If she hunts and eats things, then I would recommend deworming her routinely every 3-6 months to prevent any problems.

A very good scrub of the house will suffice. Steam mop the hardworking surfaces, and you can steam clean the carpets as well. It's important to remove any fecal material from the home, as that's how tapeworm infection is passed.

Oh no. Well he good news is that Tapeworms are only infective if they are alive and wiggling around. Once that are dead they are no longer infective. Good hygiene practices (washing hands) is generally enough to avoid being infected with them because they have to be digested for transmission.

What you're seeing is most likely tapeworms. Tapeworms are intestinal parasites of the cat and dog. They belong to a different family than hookworms and roundworms, which are the other common intestinal parasites of dogs and cats. Fleas are the intermediate host for tapeworms. In other words, the tapeworm is unable to complete its life cycle without the presence of fleas in the environment. Regardless of whether the owner may have seen fleas, the cat must have ingested a flea in order to have tapeworms. Consequently, tapeworms are more common in environments that are heavily infested with fleas. Most commonly, owners recognize that the cat has tapeworms and bring this to the attention of the veterinarian. When segments of the tapeworm break off and pass into the cat's stool, they can be seen crawling on the surface of the feces. These proglottid segments look like grains of cooked white rice or cucumber seeds. Less commonly, segments are seen moving around the cat's anus. A variety of products are available to treat tapeworms in cats but they are not all equally effective. For the best advice on the type of de-worming preparation most suitable for your cat, you should seek the help of your veterinarian. The most effective worming products are only available by prescription from a licensed veterinarian. Flea control, both environmental and on the cat is necessary to help prevent this from recurring.

Hello. Whipworms can remain in the ground for 5 years. There is no practical solution once the ground is contaminated. The recommendation is to worm your pet(s) with a product that gets whipworms several times a year, or use a heartworm preventative monthly that is labeled to control whipworms ( I like Interceptor Plus ). Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Yes, it is true that the pet stops shedding worms after about 7-10 days of getting rid of the worms themself, which can take up to 2 treatments (done 2 weeks apart). So you cannot expect a pet to immediately be non-infective, but you can safely say that after 3 weeks of the first treatment, followed by a second treatment done 2 weeks later, that the pet is no longer shedding eggs. Also keep in mind that heartworm prevention (i.e. Heargard, Trifexis, etc) has natural dewormer in it, so your pet can get monthly intestinal worm treatment as well, further reducing any inadvertent spread of worm eggs.

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.