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my baby kittens

15:43:53

Question
QUESTION: My cat miley gave birth to a litter of 3.
I have changed her bedding since she gave birth, but when i changed it today, i noticed hundreds and hundred of tiny lil worms crawling around. What does that mean and what can I do to help make sure they dont get worms?

ANSWER: Jessica,

Unfortunately you are seeing intestinal parasites. Judging by your description Miley and her babies have worms. At this point the focus is on correcting the issue. You will need to take the mother and her little ones to the vet as soon as possible in order to get the appropriate treatment. Nursing mothers and newborn kittens shouldn't be given over the counter dewormers or flea treatments as they are not specially formulated to be safe for use around a nursing mom and her babies. In my experience most vets will treat mom with a product that is safe for use on a nursing mom and the babies will get the treatment through nursing on their mom. The best that you can do (at least till morning) is to change the bedding again and I would suggest that you use gloves, you are probably going to be better off using a clean cardboard box and ditching the one with the worms outside in the garbage. I also must caution you to wash your hands thoroughly and not to put them anywhere near your mouth before you wash them with an antibacterial soap as worms can take up residence in human hosts as well as animals. This visit to the vet also provides an opportunity for the vet to have a first look at the kittens and assess their condition. It is important that you know that you should pack mom and all of her kittens in the cat carrier for the trip to the vet clinic so that the kittens don't have to be separated from mom which will minimize the stress on mom and babies. I love cats of all shapes and sizes, it is important to me that folks realize that millions of cats and kittens lose their lives each year simply because their parents weren't spayed or neutered. Spaying and neutering has medical and behavioral benefits as well as saving countless lives each year. Medical benefits for cats who are spayed and neutered include a significant decrease in the incidence of cancers and infections of the reproductive organs and mammary tissue. Behaviorally cats who are spayed or neutered tend to wander less, fight less and there is the added bonus that nobody has to endure the howling and caterwauling that cats do to advertise their availability to mate. Please take part in saving lives, please consider spaying and neutering your pets. I hope that you have found this information helpful. If you have any further questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me again.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: oh i also for got to say,, that i give her bits of food when shes feeding her babys because she dont eat much,
she eats the food but theirs still lil crums and stuff on the blanket. Around my house its hot, so could it possibly be larva? or maggots?
they are clearish looking?



and thank you for responding to my question so quick =]

Answer
Jessica,

From your description I would strongly suspect that you have a cat and kittens with intestinal parasites. Regardless of my opinion it is best to have mom and the kittens to see the vet because whether the bugs you are seeing are intestinal parasites (worms, there are several varieties and treatments vary) or maggots both are dangerous to the health of your mother cat and her kittens and should be treated by a vet immediately. I hope that this information helps. If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me again.