Can cats pass worms to humans?

Can cats pass worms to humans? Yes, is the answer but unusually.

 life cycle of tapeworm

Two useful tags. Click either to see the articles: Toxic to cats | Dangers to cats

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.

Please search using the search box at the top of the site. You are bound to find what you are looking for.

27 thoughts on “Can cats pass worms to humans?”

  1. Woody just stop insulting Michael, your language is disgusting. I didn’t think you could sink any lower but you have right here!
    You are not fit to lick his boots.
    You keep on coming back, so you must love to be HATED!

    Reply
  2. Very good and short article, thank you Michael.

    Can you please tell how a vet de-worm a cat or specially kittens?

    thank you, if not possible here, please mail me <3

    Reply
    • 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.

      Reply
        • 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.

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          • Villagers here are ignorant people about cats.
            They only know COWS, Sheep, Goats, and those animals by which they can generate MONEY and/or eat them (ZOMBIES). Because they are _ _ _ _ _ _ (please put any suitable word for them in blank spaces).

            I want HELP for my FERAL cats/ Kittens because no one cares for them. Michael! If I was not in danger here to explore the truth by making videos, I should. Because I have a whole collection of CRUELTY videos of PAKIS. And not only cats, the feral dogs suffer much than cats.

            I want online help by discussion from all of you my friends. MONEY is not any matter. Only the right truth path. I need to enlighten my self within my resources and accessibility.

            One day insha Allah you will se a sanctuary of cats and kittens enough BIG and BROAD here and I will send you the video. This is my MISSION, now. 🙂

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            • When I read about Pakistan veterinary services I realised they work with farmers and not companion animal owners. That is the impression I got. We would love to see a sanctuary for cats in Pakistan. Are there any already? You must let me help financially for that. Put away your pride.

              I wonder if someone from America who runs a cat sanctuary would come out to meet you to help you build one?

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              • It’s not a matter of PRIDE MICHAEL my friend

                I am ashamed of the so called moslem states that they have become beggars while they have full state resources. All the MOSLEM countries demand for MONEY from the WEST and I hate this attitude.
                Even PAKIS GOVT>/ people demand for MONEY.
                sorry MICHAEL! I am not leting you do this to me. I promise that I will make it for my self and give a proof to the whole WORLD that a single man alongwith his daughters can achieve this GOAL within his state and country and for this purpose we don’t need to beg any one.

                MICHAEL you are a great man, A loving Cat owner but I am dealing with those FERAL cats who have forced to be Feral by actual FERAL MINDED people. So, let me fight this war of GOOD and BAD attitudes by my own. I can only report to your website what the updates are.

                I am not a proud person. I am a servant of humanity and animals. But I need help only from my PAKISTANI brothers and sisters. The young generation who can better understand that we have to CHANGE our attitudes now and become number ONE by our own efforts and not by accepting HELP which makes us handicapped.

                I have a good example of MOTHER TERESA.
                And I hope that I can become FATHER AHSAN.

                Love your feelings and care for you a lot <3

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            • It’s very similar in India where my vet here is from. They learned first about farm animals then had to specialize in domestic species.

              I’m sad to say that there is a lot of cat abuse here as well. It might not be as out front as it is in Pakistan but it exists here as well. I rescue cats all the time from neglect situations. Only last week I got a kitten who was almost starved to death by someone mentally unstable. Sadly despite my efforts I was unable to save her but her two siblings are doing well!

              We need cat advocates all over the world. Those that not only speak on behalf of cats but who also spread correct information about them. I see far too much information online about cats that is simply wrong. This I find the most frustrating.

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              • Well said Barb. There is cat abuse everywhere. As you say in Europe and N. America it is often behind closed doors or out of sight. In Pakistan they can abuse cats and be immune from criminal prosecution because there are no animal welfare laws the last time I checked. There is no protection under the law for cats.

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    • 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).

      Reply
      • This is it, Thousand thanks Barb
        This is what I needed to save my kittens and cat if any I have now 😀

        I have found a LIGHT now

        My question
        What are the symptoms of WORMS in CAT/Kittens? <3

        Reply
          • It’s safe to say that 99% or all of the cats who live outdoors have some sort of intestinal parasite. So, when I rescue a cat, they automatically get flea medication and are dewormed within the first hour. The most obvious signs that a cat has worms is that they have chronic diarrhea or bloody diarrhea. There are so many possible reasons for an outside cat to have diarrhea it’s hard to pin point it unless you can get up close to them or they are in a kennel so you can control what they are eating. Cats have sensitive digestive systems and if they are having to survive on the streets they could be eating any garbage which will cause all kinds of digestive issues.

            I don’t know how much you know about a cat’s diet but did you know that most cats are lactose intolerant? This means that they can’t have cows milk or any product which contains cows milk. If you are feeding kittens milk, definitely stop. Cats are true carnivores which means most of their diet must be meat protein.

            Getting back to the worms…if fleas are a common problem that you see with the cats, you need to consider that about 25% or more of those cats will have Tape worm. Tape Worms are transmitted via fleas and can really mess up the digestive system of any mammal.

            The medication that works for one type of worm will not necessarily work for the other type. So, as gross as this may sound, if you know or suspect that a cat has worms, you need to try and see which type they have. I am unfamiliar with which worms are most often seen in your part of the world, but it’s likely not that different from here. Round worms, Hook worms, Whip worms and Tape worms are the most common. All of these worms look physically very different and are quite easy to differentiate.

            Reply
  3. I’ve never caught anything from a cat in all my life.
    We are much more likely to catch diseases from other humans who share their germs around willy nilly.

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    • Me too. When we hear cat haters ranting about feral cats spreading disease they conveniently ignore the diseases spread by people. Cat haters are myopic when it comes to observing themselves honestly.

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        • 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.

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          • Thanks so much Michael! I’m new to this type of forum so I didn’t realize that I shouldn’t add links.

            The cat over-population is at a crisis level in all parts of the world and what I find most frustrating is that most people don’t give a rats behind. So, when I come across someone who does care, I’d be happy to help them any way that I can. 🙂

            Reply
            • Thanks Barb. There is so much spamming on the internet I have to have software to pick up spam comments. It is OK for you to add a link to a comment – it is just that the comment won’t be published immediately. I’ll see it first and OK it.

              Reply
  4. I’ve never gotten a worm of any kind except pin worms that seemed common in kids when I was young. But, they have no association to any animal, especially cats.

    The only thing I have ever gotten from cats is ringworm (which, ofcourse, is not a worm)on a few occasions; but, that is incredibly easy to treat or not, since it eventually resolves itself.

    Reply

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