A while back I blogged about Twinkie having tapeworms of a mysterious origin which we treated him for. Well I should have just checked a fecal sample under the microscope to figure out whether it was due to mousing or due to fleas in the first place (animals get tapeworms either from ingesting an infected rodent, infected raw meat, or infected fleas). As far as we know, we don't have mice at all, and we were convinced that Twinkie didn't have fleas because I've never seen flea dirt on him, I never retrieved anything with a flea comb, and I'm so careful about "bringing things home from the hospital". Well, I've learned my lesson. Earlier today I saw something suspect (in his feces) which prompted me to think that he maybe had yet another tapeworm infection!!! AUGH! So I went ballistic and ran a flea comb through his fur and brought a fecal sample to school. Under the microscope I didn't see any fleas on his fur, but I DID see tapeworm eggs from his fecal sample...the kind that are carried by fleas. I most likely am to blame for this, even though I try so hard not to bring any nasties home from the hospital. Ask Marcus, it's like the CDC in here when it comes to infectious disease prevention! So from now on our indoor only, solitary cat will have to be on flea preventative. And yes, cats and dogs can get fleas even from sitting by a screen door, and since cats are such great groomers, you're not necessarily going to see fleas jumping or flea dirt. I should take my own advice and maybe I would have realized that my own cat has fleas. Special thanks goes out to poor Stacy who had to hear about this all and help advise me on my crisis!
No comments:
Post a Comment