Can cats pass worms to humans? Yes, is the answer but unusually.
Roundworms
The name for roundworms is ‘ascarids’. Ascarids can cause a disease in humans. It is called visceral larva migrans. It is one of the top zoonotic diseases. Zoonotic diseases are those that can pass from animal to human and vice versa. The dog is most likely to pass this diseases to people through the ascarid called Toxocara canis. However, Toxocara cati can also cause the disease (the feline version). It seems it is more likely to occur in areas where the climate is mild and in respect of kids. Some kids eat dirt and ingest the parasite. Outdoor sandboxes are a potential source of transmission. They should be covered when not being used by kids. When gardening, gloves should be worn.
When a person eats a roundworm the larva does not develop into an adult but migrates in the tissue causing fever and other illnesses. The larva can make its way to the child’s eye causing the loss of the eye. The disease in people lasts about one year.
Tapeworm
Unusually, a child could eat a flea from a housecat. Cat fleas eat tapeworm segments and egg packets in the cat’s stool. The tapeworm is then passed to the child. The cat will eat the fleas too and ingest the immature tapeworms. The chances of a child getting a tapeworm from the family cat is very small.
Hookworm
Hookworm larvae in soil penetrate the skin of a person and then travel throughout the body. The symptoms are lumps, streaks beneath the skin with itching. The condition is called ‘ground itch’ – cutaneous larval migrans.
Whipworms
Whipworms are apparently quite rare in cats. The cat can ingest eggs in water or food contaminated with these worms. The worm’s eggs can be passed in cat feces but care needs to be exercised to diagnose the correct parasite. Most often people are infected with the human version of this worm.
There are many articles on worms on this website. Please use the custom search. Please click this link to read about deworming treatments.
Note: I have never even given a thought to the possibility of getting worms from my cats. I am sure most people are like me. Cat deworming treatments are common and it is standard practice to deworm a cat. Rescue centers do it routinely, for instance.
There is a good argument for “vet assistants” in Pakistan. What I mean is people who are not trained to be a vet but trained to do certain essential treatments such as vaccinations and treating the mainstream feline illnesses. The training would be shorter and cheaper so there would be more people to treat cats in rural areas etc.
Barb, thanks for that info about whipworm. I’ll add some info about that to the page soon. By the way I have sent your information about TNR for Ahsan to him by email so that I can delete some home page comments to ensure the page loads as fast possible. All your information has been sent to him so don’t worry.
I am grateful for your concern about helping Ahsan in Pakistan. It seems very tough in Pakistan to look after feral cats.
While I’ve never caught Ringworm from the cats I’ve rescued, I have caught both Roundworm and Whipworm. Hand washing is critical when dealing with feral or free-roaming cats.
There are various ways to deworm a cat or kittens. If you are able to give a cat a pill, that is one method. The brand name I use is Milbemax in pill form used for cats and kittens. If you can’t give a cat a pill because they aren’t friendly, there is a liquid medication called Strongid-t. This liquid can be measured and mixed into wet food and given to the cat easily. The last method is a herbal/organic/mechanical method using Diatomaceous Earth. Diatomaceous Earth is a very fine sand made up of fossilized remains of hard shelled algae called diatoms. Food grade DE is not a chemical therefore not toxic so it can safely be given to kittens or pregnant cats. To treat your cats for internal parasites such as round worms or tape worms, give 1 tsp per adult cat daily (kittens 1/2 tsp).
Thank you Michael and Ruth for replying
Yes sister! I really need an online vet, I do 🙁
As with every medication for cats you have to be sure it’s the right treatment and the right dose, most medication is given by a cat’s weight. Stuff bought at other places is a waste of money and can even be dangerous. You really need an on line vet to consult and to prescribe for you, I wish we could find one for you.