Anything For Animals

posted by admin on Jul 15

Feline and Canine Whipworms.

Whipworm (Trichuris vulpis) is found in domestic dogs and cats throughout the US and Australia, but is not found in the UK, other than from untreated recently imported animals.

This worm is whip-shaped - hence the name and has one thick and one thin end and usually grow up to 7cm long and live in the large intestine or cecum as adults, where they bury their slimmer heads into the intestinal tissues leaving the thicker end sticking out into the intestines themselves.

A low burden (i.e. not many worms) is tolerated well by healthy adult cats and dogs, and most individual animals will not normally become ill with these worms living in their intestines. However, a large amount of worms - i.e a heavy burden - can lead to unpleasant bloody, mucus filled diarrhoea, which will need treatment from a vet.

How they reproduce:
The female adult whip-worms produce eggs which are passed through their thicker end into the intestines and subsequently are passed out in the stools of the dog or cat.

These eggs are characteristically oval in shape, and under the microscope can be seen to have a ‘plug’ at both ends. They are covered with a thick shell to help protect the larvae inside, and so are very resistant to damage from the environment. Once they leave the host and are dropped into bedding or onto the ground they are on their own, but are more than prepared for it.

In good conditions, eggs containing infective larvae can survive for several years outside a host before being ingested - either licked up or eaten - by an animal. So that is a pretty hardy little creature. They are host specific though, so will only survive and grow to be an adult whip worm in either a dog or a cat - even if swallowed by a bird or other animal.

.