My Indoor Cat had a white 1/4 worm come out his anus

Question
I have had a cat that I adopted from the shelter about 3 months ago (he had a clean bill of health at that time)  he's 11 months old now, and has never been outdoors in that 3 months.  Tonight I noticed a 1/4" white worm come out his butt.  It was moving.  He does like to lick his butt a lot, but I thought that was because he was neutered a week before I got him and he was licking where it was healing.  He has always had breath that smells like poo too.  Should I get him to a vet or can this be taken care of with something OTC.

Answer
Jasmine -

I do not recommend giving any medication over the counter medication for internal parasites. It sounds as if your cat needs to be dewormed; contact a veterinary office and request that your can be seen for a physical exam and deworming.  He may have tapeworms or roundworms and both can affect humans if ingested.  Get into the habit of washing your hands when handling your cat.  Yearly or biannual vet visits can also help you keep your cat healthy.

It is important to control fleas as ingestion of the flea larvae is often the way in which cats are infected with tapeworms. Even an indoor cat can be exposed to fleas in some manner; Frontline and Advantage are flea control products that are both safe and effective for flea control. I do not recpmmend over the counter flea control meds for any pets, especially cats; the results can be devastating as the cats often have severe tremors and even death.

Best Regards,

Charlotte Sherrell, DVM