Yesterday, the kitten Kris brought back from his bike ride didn’t seem to be getting any better. Totally lethargic, couldn’t walk or stand. So, I took him to the vet to get checked out. Before I knew it, I was in the back helping “operate” on the kitten. He had a worm burrowed in the wound on his neck. It was so creepy. The worm would polk it’s head out every once in a while, but was super hard to get a hold of. It was amazing how big the thing was. The kitten has a super high temperature and needed some subcutaneous fluids and antibiotics. It still isn’t moving around too well. I’ve been squirting kitten formula down it’s throat every few hours, but it doesn’t seem to have much energy for anything. It does purr like crazy though when it gets comfortable. It’s amazing how trusting animals can be.
The kitten just kind of plops down where you put it.
I'm pulling the worm out of the opening in the kitten's neck.
The guinea pig was in to get its nails trimmed. He didn't seem to mind at all.
Steve, was it an earthworm in the kittens neck or some other type?
No Aubree-It was a worm that eats flesh, something like a maggot. Pretty creepy.
It’s called a Cuterebra. Cats pick up the larvae around rabbit burrows or other areas like that. They usually enter through the mouth, nose, or open wounds and then usually migrate to subcutaneous sites, but sometimes they end up in the nose (really fun to remove) or in the brain, where they often kill the cat.
Ughh….nasty, it gives me the heebie geebies and goosebumps! Thanks for the info….
Paging Dr. Tilford, Paging Dr. Tilford.
Too bad you can’t extract all the worms from Pro bike racing. You obviously care for racing as much as you do the cats.
I adopted a 3 year old last week. You can’t ever replace the buddies you lose but providing a home to one that isn’t loved is very rewarding.
Cat update? How’s he doing?
You’re a great guy, Steve, regardless of what the police think.
Kitten update, please! (and thank you for fostering and mending our soft little friends!)