worms

Our cat had roundworms and it was very easy to tell. We saw the worms in her stool and then looked it up online. Roundworms look like spaghetti noodles. Tapeworms are segmented, with each segment about the size of a grain of rice. This site had some pictures: http://www.thepetcenter.com/exa/worms.html Be aware that there are other types of internal parasites that a cat can have, though; roundworms and tapeworms are only the most common ones. The vet can also take a stool sample to determine what your cat has. I'm not so sure about over the counter medicines that will work since we just went to the vet, but when dealing with parasites, I wouldn't recommend it, you don't want to take any chances. We called a few vets and found the medicine at a very low price. They didn't make pay for a visit or for the stool sample test since we had already figured out which our cat had.

The only way of knowing for sure is to get a stool sample and take it to the veterinarian to be tested. The way I've done it is watching my cats go potty in the litter box and then before they could cover it up I used a zip loc bag and turned it inside out and put my hand inside. Then I reached in and grabbed the stool and pulled it inside the bag and zipped it shut and took it to the vet. It's much easier doing it that way than to have to put your hands in the litter. UGH! LOL