Chances are you won’t…many gut worms lurk inside your pet, sucking their blood or stealing their food, without you even knowing! That’s why, along with the reasons below, it’s best to regularly worm your pet with one of our worming tablets…

A few reasons to treat your pet for worms!

• They are REALLY easy for your pet to pick up… worm eggs and larvae are pretty much everywhere in the great outdoors. A pet that scavenges, hunts or has fleas is also more at risk of worms.
• If your fur baby is young or has a particularly high number of worms they can cause big problems – anaemia (not enough red blood cells) and gut blockages can occur.
• Weight loss, increased appetite, diarrhoea and general ill-thriftiness can also be signs of worms.
• Some worms can threaten your or your family’s health. Toxocara is a particularly nasty one which can cause severe disease or blindness, especially in young children.
• They are really gross – tapeworms are made up of little segments (proglottids), which they shed …these can be seen ‘crawling’ around your pet’s back end or on their bed (we know, it’s vomit inducing!) and contain egg

Do we need to go on… surely that’s enough reasons to regularly worm your pet?

What worms can my pet get?

We’ve made some handy fact files on the most common gut worms found in dogs and cats, are you ready… it’s not a pretty read!

Roundworms

• Toxocara are the most common roundworm, potentially affecting nearly 2 million cats and almost half a million dogs in the UK.^1,2
• 1 adult female roundworm can produce a whopping 200,000 eggs a day! (And we thought fleas were prolific egg layers!).³
• A lot of puppies and kittens will become infected from their mother, which is why treating young animals is super important.
• I know we’ve mentioned it before but it’s a biggie! Toxocara can affect people, potentially causing problems such as blindness, epilepsy and asthma – children, the elderly and immunosuppressed are most at risk.

Tapeworms

• Can grow to be a real beast inside your fur baby…the most common species found in pets, Dipylidium caninum, can reach up to 70cm in length.⁴
• Fleas (eugh, not those pesky little blighters again!?) can carry tapeworms and pass them to your pet – another reason flea control is so important.
• caninum are made up of little segments (proglottids), which they shed …these can be seen ‘crawling’ around your pet’s back end or on their bed (we know, it’s vomit inducing!) and contain egg packets – GROSS.
• Tapeworms can also infect people and some can cause serious disease

Hookworms

• Can burrow through the skin of your pet’s feet to infect them! (We know, another horror movie-esque moment…).
• Can lurk in your pet’s intestine for up to 2 years!⁵

Whipworms

• Whipworms bury themselves into the lining of your pet’s gut, causing inflammation – ouch!

How often should I worm my pet?

Well this one is a bit tricky to answer as it’s not a ‘one size fits all’ kind of situation! Most pets need treating for gut worms every 3 months, but sometimes more frequent worming is needed, below are some of the reasons your pet might need worming more often.⁶

If you are unsure, or if your pet fits one of the above criteria, you can speak to your vet or pet store registered animal medicine advisor (RAMA) to determine how frequently your pet needs treating.

References:

1. Wright I, Stafford K et al. The prevalence of intestinal nematodes in cats and dogs from Lancashire, North-west England. Journal of Small Animal Practice (2016) 57, 393–395

2. PFMA data, 9 million dogs in the UK, 7.5 million cats – https://www.pfma.org.uk/pet-population-2020

3. Khoshsima-Shahraki M, Dabirzadeh M, Azizi H, Khedri J, Djahed B, Neshat AA. Seroepidemiology of Toxocara canis in Children under 14 Years Referring to Laboratories of Sistan and Baluchestan Province in Southeast of Iran. Iran J Parasitol. 2019;14(1):89-94.

4. https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/dipylidium/faqs.html

5. https://www.capcvet.org/guidelines/hookworms/

6. Worm control in dogs and cats ESCCAP guideline 01 sixth edition-Feb 2020 – https://www.esccap.org/page/GL1+Worm+Control+in+Dogs+and+Cats/25/