Why is my stray kitten sick, lethargic, and passing tapeworms?

Question

I took in a stray older kitten "heavily pregnant" for a transient member of where I work on Friday. The kitty baby started on a decline with eating less and less until nothing, a normal stool to green-yellow diarrhea and intense lethargy. At the ER vet, they found out kitty is a boy and its belly is due to food lingering in the upper intestine, great gas, and a weird internal finding in its gut. Now passing huge dead(?) tapeworms though no dewormer given. No major improvement or fleeting.

Jenna Beyer, DVM, MBA, cVMA · Accepted Answer

Extremely large intestinal parasite burdens can cause the symptoms you have described. Passing dead worms means there are a whole bunch more where they came from! I would recommend discussing deworming and blood testing with your vet. Some of the parasites can cause anemia and low protein levels, which will allow fluid to leak out of the blood vessels and into the abdomen. Deworming should be done carefully, as sudden death of large numbers of worms in sick patients can cause obstruction or other life-threatening issues.

Why is my stray kitten sick, lethargic, and passing tapeworms?

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