There are lots of kinds of worms. The worms that make cats sick are parasites. Parasites benefit by taking something from their hosts. Cats can get worms in different ways. One way is by eating meat that is not cooked enough. Worm eggs or baby worms can be in the meat. If a cat is hunting, it may eat a mouse that has worms. Some fleas can also carry worms. When a cat grooms itself, they can eat infected fleas and get worms. Some worms are even passed from mother cats to kittens.

You may have heard of a parasite called "ringworm," but it's not actually a worm, it's a fungus.

Vets can treat cats to get rid of the worms. You can also help keep your cat safe and healthy by keeping it indoors, away from fleas, infected meat, and other dangers. Some mice that are infected with parasites don't seem to be afraid of predators anymore. Can you think of how a worm that make a mouse less afraid would be more likely to infect a cat?

Cats can get several kinds of worms. The most common ones are:

- Tapeworms
- Hookworms
- Roundworms

They can get them from accidentally eating worm eggs or larvae (a young stage of worm) by walking over ground that might have some eggs and then grooming and licking their feet. Coming into contact with slugs or snails can cause cats to get worms too. They can also get them from eating critters that have been infected by larvae, like the mice or birds or lizards they might hunt. Most commonly, cats get worms by accidentally eating infected fleas while grooming themselves, so remember to treat your cats for fleas regularly! In some unfortunate cases, cats get worms inside of its body because worm larvae can crawl through skin and get further into the body.

Most of the time, cats will not show symptoms of worm infection, but serious cases can happen where a cat can get very hungry, lose weight, and become very weak. This is because worms can either absorb nutrients from the cat or burrow their way into a cat's tissues and organs, causing pain and discomfort, or both.

Regular de-worming is recommended, but always ask your vet for advice, especially if you think your cat may have worms!

Hi Kai, great question. I always wondered that too! Worms are a type of parasite that have several stages in their life cycle. So a worm starts as an egg, grows into a larva, and eventually into an adult worm.

A comparison is sort of like this: the larva worm is like a caterpillar, and the adult worm is like the butterfly. The thing about these parasitic worms is that each stage needs a different animal host to live and grow. In worms that typically infect cats, the larva stage lives in a flea, the flea is eaten by the cat when the cat is grooming, and the larva then grows into an adult worm in the cat's intestines. The worms live in the intestines and might steal food/nutrients, which can cause the sack to feel sick. The good thing is, there are medicines out there that can kill the worms and the cat can usually recover pretty easily!

Cats can get worms from many things. I’ll tell you about some common ways. When a cat grooms or licks itself, it may be cleaning off the fleas stuck in its fur. Those fleas can have worm larvae (or eggs) on them. If a cat eats fleas with worm eggs on it, he/she can get a worm infection (ew!).

Cats can also get worms from hunting. Mice, lizards, and birds can be infected with worm larvae, so if your cat eats a small infected animal, he can get it that way too. Worm larvae from the ground can also just crawl onto the cats fur and deeper into their skin. If you think you know a cat with worms, tell someone right away so they can get the cat some medicine and treatment!

The cat ate eggs of the worms. The worms hatched inside of the cat, and are making the cat sick.