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My cat threw up worms and has fleas. Are my other cats at risk?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Male | neutered | 3 years and 11 months old | 8 lbs

Binx had diarrhea and vomited a substance that appears to contain some type of worms...and another substance. This happened last night. He seemed to return to his normal habits and he even played a little. This morning, still no more vomiting but not sure about litterbox. He was acting normal..eating and drinking water. I have two other cats and I have had a horrible flea problem for some reason. None of my cats are outdoor cats...and never have been.

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2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Jessica Desrosiers

Veterinary Technician

Published on November 29th, 2018

Fleas can carry tapeworms, and the picture you showed does look like the segments of a tapeworm. It would be best to bring it in for confirmation from your vet and to receive the appropriate dewormer. Since it is such a heavy load of worms, you will likely need to do dewormings multiple times for all three cats to ensure they do not continue to infect each other. Taking care of the flea issue with a topical treatment monthly as well as cleaning all bedding, floorboards, baseboards, etc can help manage the flea issue and also prevent worms.

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    Answered By Andrea M. Brodie, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on March 8th, 2018

    Tapeworms are a problem and if your cat actually threw up tapeworms, he is very seriously infected. You will need to worm all your cats with a wormer containing praziquantel, and you will need to stay close to the correct dosage. Best weigh each cat and then give the wormer according to weight. You can also take your cats to the vet to be dewormed for tape worm or get the correct wormer from the vet. Tape worm infection happens when cats groom and ingest an infected flea. SO by taking care of the flea problem as well as the worms, problem solved. Make sure you vacuum your house and furniture (and even non carpeted surfaces) often with flea powder in the vacuum cleaner bag, as there are at least ten times more fleas in the environment than on the cats, not counting flea larvae and eggs. The larvae feed on house dust, Dispose of the vacuum cleaner bag in the outside trash

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