PET CARE Worming your pet

The hidden danger of worms


Ask the vet
Esther Van Luipen

WHEN I give advice to my clients on worming their dog or cat, people often tell me that they don’t think their pet needs worming because they haven’t seen worms in their pet’s stool. The reality is that you might never see worms in the stool because they don’t get into the stool unless the dog or cat is so severely infected that there is just no room for more worms in the intestines. Worm eggs are very likely to be in the stool, but cannot be seen with the naked eye.
To fully understand the whole process you need to go into the psychology of the worm. If you were a worm where would you rather be? That’s right: I’d like to be in warm intestines that are full of digested food, so I didn’t have to work anymore.
All the worm needs to do is latch on to the wall of the intestine to make sure that it won’t be expelled with the next bowel movement of your host. When it gets sick or dies it won’t be able to latch on to the wall anymore so the worm will be thrown out of the host with the next stool.
This is exactly why you never see worms in your pet’s stool. Even if your pet had worms when you wormed it you won’t see worms in the stool because they will often be digested before they are expelled. Only in severe infections you see worms in the stool.
The only way that you can find out if your pet has worms is to bring your pet to the vet. She or he will take a stool sample and with a few special techniques the vet will be able to extract the worm eggs from the stool. By examining this extract under the microscope the vet will be able to see worm eggs.
But of course there is a much easier, faster and cheaper way to make sure your pet doesn’t have worms and this is by simply worming them regularly. Veterinary Ireland advices to worm your pet at least every three months.
Puppies and kittens need to be wormed more often. They need to be wormed every two weeks before the age of three months. Between three and six months old they need to be wormed every month and after the age of six months you need to worm them every three months for the rest of their life.
If you need a reminder to worm your pet log on to www.wormpatrol.co.uk. You can register there for free. They will send you a reminder to worm your pet every three months to your email address or to your mobile phone.
Most of my clients get a year supply of wormers every time they get their yearly booster and with the help of a text message on their phone they will be reminded to pop a wormer in their pets mouth every three months. This way you, your children and your pet will be safe from worry.

Esther van Luipen is a veterinary surgeon in Claremorris Small Animal Practice. Feel free to contact her with any of your small-animal concerns on 094 9373955 or at living@mayonews.ie.