How to Tell If Your Cat Has Worms

Whether your feline friend spends their days lounging safely indoors or exploring the garden, internal parasites can still find their way in. Common culprits like roundworms, tapeworms, and hookworms are remarkably opportunistic. Kittens frequently contract them through their mother’s milk, while adult cats often pick them up by swallowing flea larvae during grooming, catching infected rodents, or ingesting microscopic eggs from contaminated soil.

Left untreated, intestinal parasites can rob your cat of vital nutrients, leading to digestive distress, anemia, and poor general condition. Fortunately, deworming is straightforward and highly effective once diagnosed. Knowing the subtle early warnings will help you catch an infection before it takes a toll on your cat’s health.

7 Signs Your Cat Might Have Worms

1. Look for changes in their coat texture and shine. A healthy cat naturally maintains a soft, glossy coat. When parasites take up residence in the gut, they steal essential vitamins, fats, and proteins. This nutritional deficit—combined with subtle dehydration—often turns a cat’s fur dry, brittle, dull, or strangely flattened rather than fluffy and smooth.

2. Check the color of their gums. A healthy cat’s gums should be a vibrant, bubblegum pink. If your cat’s gums appear washed out, pale, or completely white, this is a red flag for anemia. Certain parasites, especially hookworms, latch onto the intestinal lining and feed on blood, which rapidly drains your cat’s red blood cell count.

• How to check: Sit quietly with your cat in your lap. Gently cup their head with one hand, supporting the chin, and use your thumb and forefinger to lift the upper lip. If the tissue above their canine teeth looks pale, contact your veterinarian right away.

3. Inspect the litter box closely. Your cat’s stool offers immediate clues about their gastrointestinal health. Keep an eye out for these abnormalities:

• Dark, tarry stool: Deep black or tar-colored waste often points to digested blood originating high in the digestive tract, a common indicator of hookworm feeding.
• Persistent diarrhea: Worms irritate the intestinal lining and disrupt healthy digestion, triggering loose or watery stools.
• Visible worms or eggs: You may occasionally spot tiny, rice-grain-sized segments (tapeworms) near your cat’s hindquarters or moving roundworms resembling cooked spaghetti in fresh stool.

Note: If diarrhea lasts longer than 24 hours, or if you spot fresh red blood or dark tarry discharge, schedule a vet appointment immediately.

4. Monitor frequent or unusual vomiting. While occasional hairballs are a normal part of feline life, repeated vomiting is not. Parasites cause nausea either by irritating the stomach lining or by physically crowding the digestive tract and obstructing the passage of food. In heavy infections, cats may even vomit up adult worms.

5. Track noticeable shifts in appetite. A heavy parasite load can dramatically alter how much your cat eats. Severe intestinal inflammation, cramping, and the physical mass of parasites inside the gut can make eating uncomfortable, causing your cat to turn away from their food bowl. Conversely, some cats develop an insatiable hunger because the worms are consuming their calories, yet they fail to gain weight.

6. Look for a classic “potbelly” appearance. A bloated, rounded abdomen is one of the clearest physical signs of a heavy worm burden, especially in young kittens. If your cat’s belly looks swollen, tight, or disproportionately round while their spine and hips feel thin and boney, parasites are very likely at play.

7. Notice sudden drops in energy and playfulness. When internal parasites siphon off your cat’s calories and nutrients, chronic fatigue follows. If your usually playful companion suddenly seems exhausted, sleeps more than usual, or lacks the stamina to chase their favorite toys, don’t dismiss it as simple moodiness. Lethargy is a broad symptom of distress that always warrants a closer check.

What to Do Next

If you notice any combination of these signs, avoid reaching for generic over-the-counter remedies from the supermarket shelf. Many broad-spectrum treatments sold without a prescription are either ineffective against specific parasite species or, worse, potentially toxic if misdosed.

Instead, collect a fresh stool sample in a clean container and visit your veterinarian. A simple fecal test under a microscope will identify the exact parasite involved, allowing your vet to prescribe the precise, safe dewormer needed to clear the infection quickly.