animals are nasty

How appropriate that I just finished Parasitology.

Yesterday I happened to notice something stuck to Pumpkin's tail that looked like a grain of rice. A big red flag went up and the name Diphyllobothrium immediately came to mind. Ugh. Tapeworm.

I picked it off her tail with the tip of my pen, and looked at it closely. Sure enough, it was moving and having a great old time. I gave her the Revolution that keeps away fleas and roundworm and such, then didn't think much of it.

Then, this morning I thought to check the label and make sure it gets rid of tapeworm. Of course it wasn't listed. So, I called the vet and made an appointment. They asked if I could get a sample... Hm. She rarely poops in the litter box; she goes outside most of the time. How was I going to get a fecal/ worm sample?

So I've been following her around with a flashlight trying to lift her tail and find another stray piece, and of course there's nothing there. She hasn't been very happy with me and I'm sure she's wondering when I turned into a pervert, lifting her tail and checking out her asshole. After parasitology lab poop doesn't really bother me anymore. Good thing.

One other thing: and this is really gross. The way the life cycle works is the cat eats an infected flea, and the tapeworm grows in their intestine. It's segmented, and the segments break off and make their way to the poop or the booty hole. That's what I picked off her tail yesterday. When the segments break off and dry, they look like hard yellow seeds.
This past summer, I noticed hard yellow seeds on the windowsill where she hangs out and assumed that they were just seeds from rolling around in the dirt or something. I now know that Miss "Typhoid Pumpkin" over here has been shedding tapeworm segments all over the freaking place, at least since summer. GROSS!! The good thing is, if you eat them they won't hurt you- you have to eat the infected flea to become infected. Still. That's pretty freaking disgusting.

I'm so glad I don't let her on the tables or counters. My bedsheets and blankets are all going through a very soapy, hot wash right now, and her windowsill & amazon box has been thoroughly cleaned.

Another good thing is that tapeworms aren't the worst worm a cat can get. The symptoms are pretty mild compared to others. I wonder how much this little tapeworm episode is going to cost me at the vet.