Instead, the young worms migrate through a cat’s muscles, liver, and lungs. When eggs or larval (young) worms are ingested, they don’t stay in the digestive tract. Since humans aren’t a natural host for this species of worm, the misguided worms can migrate to various organs in the body, including the eyes (ocular larval migrans) and liver (visceral larval migrans), which can lead to liver problems or blindness. And, unfortunately, roundworms tend to affect children more severely than adults. Not surprisingly, children are especially at risk because they’re more likely to put dirty fingers in their mouths. Human infections mostly come from soil or sandboxes contaminated with feces from infected animals, but you could also acquire them from an infected cat in your home.

Plus, the worms can affect humans.īOOK AN EXAM FOR YOUR KITTEN Roundworm Infestations in Humans Left untreated, severe roundworm infestations can have serious, life-threatening health consequences for kittens. Young kittens, older seniors, or immune-compromised cats are more at risk, though. These worms, which can grow to 3-6 inches in length, don’t tend to harm healthy adult cats. In fact, most cats are infected at some point during their life, usually as young kittens. Roundworms are one of the most common intestinal parasites in cats (others include tapeworm and hookworm). The scientific names for the types of roundworm that infect cats is toxocara cati or toxascaris leonina. What Are Roundworms - And Why Should Pet Parents Care? But, it isn’t something you want to delay. The good news is treating roundworms is normally easy. Roundworms, also known as ascarids, are parasites that live in the intestines and are very common in kittens. Adorable kittens and cats can sometimes carry something much less adorable - roundworms!

Long flat worms in cats