Where there’s tapeworms, there’s fleas | Pet Peeves

You may have heard the phrase “where there's smoke, there’s fire.” Smoke is a sign that you need to be looking for a fire to put out. Well, I will steal from that phrase and tell you, “Where there are tapeworms, there are fleas.”

While some parts of our community are definitely overrun with fleas, others have just a minimal number of fleas. So few, in fact, that it may be hard to see evidence of the fleas in your environment. This is especially true with cats. Cats are so good at grooming themselves that they often eat the flea before it can be seen.

Enter the lowly tapeworm. Tapeworms are a parasite that requires an intermediate host. While that host could be a rabbit, pig or fish for some species of tapeworms, in the suburbs, the most common intermediate host for our pets is the flea. Tapeworms live in the small intestine of the dog or cat. They are called tapeworms because their body is segmented and flat like pieces of tape. As the worm matures, the segments, which are filled with eggs, break off and are passed in the feces. The segmented packets of eggs come to rest on the fur around the tail or they fall off into the environment.

A flea larva, scooting along in the environment or on the pet, happens upon the egg packet and eats it. It carries the little tapeworm embryo with it into flea adulthood. When the infected flea bites the dog or cat, it causes the pet to itch. The pet, in the process of biting and chewing at its skin, might ingest the flea. The little tapeworm in the flea responds to the environment of the pet’s small intestine and matures into a new tapeworm, releasing more eggs into the environment.

Tapeworms can cause intermittent diarrhea. They can cause inappetence. In very heavy infestations, they can actually cause blockages, malnutrition or an unthrifty appearance. They may cause the pet to scoot its back end on the ground.

Tapeworms are flat and are about the length of a grain of rice. They are yellow or cream colored. They are often not picked up in a fecal exam; they are diagnosed by visual observation of the pet’s rear end or environment. Be sure to get your worm medicine from a veterinarian. Over-the-counter worm treatments do not contain anything that will kill tapeworms. Most people think tapeworm medicine has to be repeated in three weeks to end the life cycle and kill all of the worms. This is not the entire truth. Actually, the reason the worms often come back so soon after the first dosing is that the fleas have not been completely dealt with and the pet has become reinfected.

So, as you can see, where there is a tapeworm, there is a flea. If you discover your pet has unsightly tapeworms on its bottom or its bedding, then your pet has fleas. While you can get worm medicine for tapeworms from your veterinarian, you also must treat all of your pets for fleas or you will soon be revisited by the “little, white grains of rice” again.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Where there’s tapeworms, there’s fleas | Pet Peeves