Okay, so, I’ve got a cat. A lovely, fluffy indoor cat named Whiskers. She’s the queen of the house, never sets a paw outside. But the other day, a friend asked me if I worm her regularly. Worm her? It honestly hadn’t crossed my mind. I mean, she’s indoors, so how would she even get worms?
This got me thinking, though. I started doing a bit of digging online. I went through some forums and some vet websites. What I found was a bit of a mixed bag, really. Some people were saying it’s absolutely essential to worm indoor cats, while others were saying it’s not a big deal.
My Research Journey
- First step: I asked my vet. She said that while the risk is lower for indoor cats, it’s not zero. Apparently, we can bring in worm eggs on our shoes, or even fleas can carry tapeworm eggs. And Whiskers, bless her heart, loves to hunt the occasional housefly that sneaks in.
- Next up: I tried to figure out what kind of worms we’re even talking about. Turns out, there are a few: roundworms, hookworms, tapeworms…yuck. Each one has its own way of getting into a cat’s system. Roundworms and hookworms can be from infected soil or even rodents (though Whiskers hasn’t seen a mouse since she was a kitten). Tapeworms usually come from fleas.
- Then I looked into prevention: There are these things called dewormers, which are basically medications that kill the worms. They come in pills, liquids, and even spot-on treatments that you put on the back of their neck. Seemed easy enough.
After all this, I decided to play it safe. I figured it’s better to be safe than sorry. I picked up a broad-spectrum dewormer from the pet store – one that covers all the main types of worms.
Giving Whiskers the pill was a whole other adventure. Let me tell you, she’s not a fan of pills. I had to wrap it in a bit of cheese, and even then, she gave me the stink eye for a good hour afterward. But, it’s done. Now I just have to keep an eye on her, you know, check her poop for anything…unusual. And maybe do this again in a few months, just to be sure.
So, yeah, that’s my worming story. It wasn’t the most glamorous thing I’ve done, but I feel better knowing that Whiskers is protected. If you’ve got an indoor cat, it’s probably worth looking into. Better to deal with it now than to have a wormy surprise later on!
