Internal Parasites: Cats with Small White Worms

Hello...

I have been rescuing neighborhood cats now for about 4 yrs. And, NOW, by rescuing I mean feeding them, spay/neuter them and just let them live out their lives in the neighborhood. Recently I have noticed little white worms in their feces. EeeeeK! Is there a natural way to end this problem? I am sure I need to treat ALL cats in the area... so inexpensive would be good too.

Thanks for any and all input,
Bodhi

From my knowledge, most natural worming remedies are plants/plant parts. It is difficult to get a carnivore to eat enough vegetable material to do any good.

With that said, what are you feeding them? Dogs and cats who are fed cooked foods are much more likely to get worms than animals fed raw foods. The cooked foods can cause atrophy in the stomach and intestine muscles, which leads to a greater tendency to harbor worms.

I doubt you will have much luck feeding them garlic, pumpkin seeds or, cayenne.
Hopefully, somebody here will have a natural remedy for cats.

I would guess that cooking food reduces the number of parasites in it. Feeding raw is an interesting idea but the above statement isn't obvious and needs some references. Otherwise it just sounds like a sales pitch for raw. (Maybe that's OK on this forum?) Anyhoo, I wonder if you might be better off getting a vet's recommendation on a medication. Even permies need medical help sometimes. I took an abandoned cat to the vet yesterday and they wormed it with a single pill. Done. (They also cut a 1-$-coin-sized patch of dead hide off an abcess, administered shots, and figured out it was a boy, not a girl.)

On the topic of non-standard worming techniques, my brother-in-law is a vet and reasonably open-minded about non-standard treatments. However, he reports that DE was ineffective in several cases. My point is that natural remedies don't always work or sometimes only work in the right conditions. DE works find in stored grain (I know this from personal experience of moths growing in my wheat supply) but doesn't seem to work in the gut of a horse. Another example: honey is effective in preventing infections and biofilms on open wounds. However, there is little evidence that putting a little honey in your tea cures anything.

Ginger beer, syringed into the mouth~a weekly dose for 2 wks. Try it and report back...should be interesting. If you can't do that, grind some ginger root up and mix it in with a can of tuna or sardines and see if they will ingest it voluntarily.

I would guess that cooking food reduces the number of parasites in it. Feeding raw is an interesting idea but the above statement isn't obvious and needs some references. Otherwise it just sounds like a sales pitch for raw.

Most decent quality food stuffs do not have worms in them to begin with. If one is feeding foods believed/known to be worm infested, then cooking (long/hot enough to kill the worms and their eggs) would be appropriate. However, animal's stomachs are not evolved to eating processed foods. Cooking breaks down the structure of food, thereby giving the animal an easy way to digest it. The 'easy way' also leads to the degradation of the internal muscles to the point that they are no longer processing out the worms, as nature intended.

This information is based on the 40+ years of veterinary practice of Juliett de Bairacli Levy. She practiced for over 40 years, on 5 continents, and studied at 2 universities. She was a pioneer in the uses of herbal & natural practices in animal treatment/prevention. She never owned a syringe. When a 1,000+ heritage sheep flock had been declared incurable by 'modern medicine', she went in and cured the entire flock with herbs. Sir Albert Howard was so impressed that he published her paper on it in his journal "Soil and Health".

Dogs and cats were not designed to eat the rice, corn, carrots & peas that are included in so many pet foods as fillers. I truly believe that if we are interested in their health, we should be working with Mother Nature, not fighting Her. Feed them their natural diets.

Most animal illnesses are caused by our maintaining them in unnatural conditions - confinement and diet.

OK, well maybe you're right. But maybe not. If you're right, why is there only one reference? And why isn't it peer reviewed? Lots of people have devoted their life to a foolish idea and even had a following. So let's not get too hung up on this one person's claims.

Instead, let's examine your claim in detail. You say that cooking makes your stomach muscles lazy. Maybe, but I doubt it. It does make large teeth and strong necks unnecessary, I suppose. Most of the mechanical breakdown of food is done in the mouth. The stomach also has a significant mechanical role, but I don't think it gets lazy if you eat cooked food.

You also imply that the stomach muscles are adequate to rid an animal of intestinal parasites. This is almost certainly not true. If it is true, you must substantiate this unbelievable claim with evidence. You mentioned living naturally and evolution. OK, well, the natural state of most complex organisms (including many insects) is to support a variety of parasites. And in nature, animals have much shorter life spans than in zoos. The muscles of the GI tract do not rid you of worms.

BTW, I have a PhD in medical science from the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, mainly focused on biochemistry. Graduate school made me skeptical of everything. I don't believe your claim but I don't think badly of you. If you post any evidence of your claim, I will gladly read it with an open mind.

Just some quick quotes from "The Complete Herbal Handbook For Farm And Stable", Juliette de Bairacli Levy (Faber & Faber). The book has been in continuous print since 1952. She is also author of "The Complete Herbal Handbook For The Dog And Cat", which probably goes into far more detail specific to those species.

"The paramount rule in canine diet is raw food...cooking of food...responsible for at least 70% of the disease found in the canine race. ...the entire composition of the food is altered...muscular stomach and intestines...soon weaken and become unhealthy.

...dog's internal anatomy...able to destroy all disease bacteria, worm ova...in the normal process of digestion.
The dog in the wild state... scavenger...preying upon the sick and unhealthy and rotting carcasses...fall victim to the dog packs."

John Polk wrote:Just some quick quotes from "The Complete Herbal Handbook For Farm And Stable", Juliette de Bairacli Levy (Faber & Faber). The book has been in continuous print since 1952. She is also author of "The Complete Herbal Handbook For The Dog And Cat", which probably goes into far more detail specific to those species.

"The paramount rule in canine diet is raw food...cooking of food...responsible for at least 70% of the disease found in the canine race. ...the entire composition of the food is altered...muscular stomach and intestines...soon weaken and become unhealthy.

...dog's internal anatomy...able to destroy all disease bacteria, worm ova...in the normal process of digestion.
The dog in the wild state... scavenger...preying upon the sick and unhealthy and rotting carcasses...fall victim to the dog packs."

Thanks for the reference. You're ahead of almost everyone on the internet just by providing a source. I try to do the same and you're welcome to bust my chops if I make unsubstantiated claims.

However, the passage you quoted is more hypothesis than proof. If the smooth muscles of the GI tract deteriorate, it should be measurable. The issue of intestinal bacterial is complex in any animal and the idea that the healthy GI tract destroys bacterial is naive. Diet certainly changes the relative population of the thousands of bacteria in the gut, but you can get an E coli infection regardless of diet.

And just FYI, I have never taken a measurement that came out to an even number. I've never had an average work out to an even number. Even numbers are for back-of-the-envelope calculations and politicians. The 70% is probably made up, rather than being a data-based conclusion. If it isn't made up, there should be detailed information about how it was come to.

BTW, we're mostly in the same camp. I often feed my dog raw. It's clearly a better diet---he poops less and obviously prefers it. But I don't think it's because the muscles in the GI tract are destroyed by cooked food. And I worm him regularly because lots of those parasites can cross over into other species---including homo sapiens.

Well, I think I've said enough on this topic. I don't want to be one of those annoying forum people who camp out on a thread that someone else started. I'm going to go read other threads and think permie thoughts. Thanks for the discussion.

Deworming is usually done with black walnut tincture, think it needs to be made in the fall, and allowed to cook thru winter.

did find some on the web, but fairly tough to come across. Try the Penn Dutch area. Think animals would accept it, i did !

You need to figure out a way to get them to accept cayenne. if it works for fowl, it should work for all. but fowl dont have the HOT taste buds.

My veterinarian mentioned at a recent visit that she's seen a big increase in numbers of pets having worms. I'm guessing mild winters here contribute to that. Maybe people short on money not treating their pets medically as well as they have in the past too?

Anyway, most of the remedies mentioned can be ground and mixed with food. You might want to identify the worms and see if there are specific remedies. If they are small and look like grains of rice, then it's probably tape worms.

i have not tried this, but my friend from Jamaica said that the poor people there use tobacco to kill parasites in animals. only a very very very small amount, or soaked in water and then poured/mixed into food.

i know it can be used as a natural pest/insect repellant too.

perhaps the meds from the vet are the best, but minus the price tag....

black walnut would be good. for humans too...

wish i knew where there was a black walnut tree, its not that difficult to make a tincture from it. they use the green not quite ripe ones.... you can buy it at an herbal store, natural market...its a bit expensive but a little goes a long way...so with one bottle you could probably be able to treat a number of animals....including yourself while you are at it

http://www.littlecitydogs.com/


They sell for large and small cats and dogs.

Left hand column shows pills for tapeworms for cats.

I recommend them for purchasing quality meds to treat internally. We rarely use meds for cats, yet needed to kill fleas quickly.

These folks started their business for helping treat rescue and feral animals in NYC. They could REDUCE the cost of treating cats and dogs for fleas and some worms. I successfully used the two tyoes of flea killing pills last summer, our first ever in eight years to have fleas on cats.

In order to sell these generic labeled meds, they change the dose to a tiny amount more. Then they are legally able to
sell the meds for a fraction of the cost of the same 'brand name' med.

Hope this helps.
Gail

I seem to remember something about diatomaceous earth being helpful when mixed into the food, but I can't give a source for it, other than my memory. If anyone can confirm, let me know.

Diatomaceous Earth is one way to do it. Paul has an article about it. And there are numerous sources on the Internet.

I do not have personal experience with treating internal parasites with DE. I know it kills fleas on the floor and in carpet.

Bodhi, if you contact Little City Dogs, they have some 'bulk' price on their products to help folks like you who do rescue and
rehabilitation.
THank you for doing what you do to help the four legged buddies on the planet.

Ahhh, this is what I forgot to add yesterday: Dr. Pitcairn's book on natural dog and cat care and treatment - http://www.amazon.com/Pitcairns-Complete-Guide-Natural-Health/dp/157954973X. I've used their raw food recipes and my pets were always healthy. I hope it helps.

My recommendation to the OP is to contact other animal welfare or rescue groups and ask if they can send you to a vet they work with, who will sell you the medicine at cost. A vet who will spay or neuter a feral or adoption cat is doing so as his pro bono work, as he does it at cost, and may be willing to extend it to the OP's need. I believe the OP mentioned feral cats, which takes the whole operation to a greater level of difficulty.

Some people in these welfare groups also have access to and experience with veterinary medicine and may be able to assist you. Or, if you can take a fecal sample to a vet so the vet is assured you know what you are talking about, then the vet may be willing to continue to supply you with medicine upon request, without having to examine individual animals. Same goes for the animal welfare volunteer who has vet meds in his possession.

Many vet meds are available online. Once the OP is certain of the nature of the worms, then OP could simply order the treatment on line. Costly? Perhaps. It is also possible the animal welfare groups may be willing to assist with payment. I have a friend in the cat spay and neuter field. Her little (and I do mean little) foundation is happy to assist private individuals not only with spay/neuter but also other services if they seem urgent and the private individual is unable to provide them. Sometimes money is not the preventing object for obtaining help from these groups. Usually, their greatest problem is having to place to keep the unwanted pets that people try to give them. If the individual will keep or be responsible for the animal, the group will give the needed help.