When do cat tapeworm symptoms appear & can it cause colitis?

Yes, it is quite possible that she could have fleas without tapeworms! Not every flea is infected with tapeworm larvae. Tapeworms are a "see it, treat it" parasite, meaning we only treat for tapeworms when we see them in stool or see proglottids (the little segments that look like rice granules) around the anus or stuck in the hair on the backside, or if there is suspicion that tapeworms are causing chronic weight loss.

Poor girl. It sounds like she may have a bout of colitis (inflamed colon) which is common following a tapeworm infection. You can try treating her with probiotics, Culturelle over the counter, to see if this clears things up. You can also try adding in 1-2 tsp of canned pumpkin (not the pie filling) in her food daily to add fiber and help bulk up her stools. I would also recommend feeding her a bland diet of boiled plain chicken or tuna and white rice for about 7 days, and then slowly transitioning her back to her normal diet. If her diarrhea and straining does not improve within 3-4 days, then its best to take her to your vet who can test her stool and make sure there isn't something else going on. If it is just a bad case of colitis, then a short course of antibiotics will likely resolve things. Best wishes with Stockings and I hope she feels better soon. Take care.

The Praziquantel should kill the tapeworm within a few hours. The tapeworm will be eliminated with all its segments (proglottids) with the feces. I would think this happens within 2 days at the longest.

Hi there! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! His diarrhea will most likely resolve once the worms are gone. Just like your veterinarian suggested, this may take a few to even several days. For that reason, if it has not resolved, I would not be too concerned yet. If the worms are the only thing causing his diarrhea, this should resolve shortly. That will really be the best indicator of when the worms have resolved. Good luck!

Thank your contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Titan. Yes, he should be ok to wait until Tuesday. Be sure to get him some flea medication while at the vet, as it's fleas that carry and transmit tapeworms to cats. I hope this helps!

Here is some additional information on tapeworms. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=562 The medication for tapeworms works very quickly (within 24 hours), but you generally will not see the tapeworms passed in the stool, so you may not know that he is expelling them. I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

This is a tapeworm. They get tapeworms by eating infected fleas. So, not only do you have to treat her for the tapeworms you also need to get the fleas under control. ( https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/tapeworm-infection-in-cats )