How Do You Know If Your Pet Has Parasites?

How Do You Know If Your Pet Has Parasites? Pets are vulnerable to parasites, especially if they have a lot of contact with other animals such as those in the household or neighborhood. Parasites are tiny organisms that live on the outside or inside of your pet and can do a variety of different things like make them itch and scratch, give them diarrhea, cause vomiting, etc.

How Do You Know If Your Pet Has Parasites?

1) Look at their fur

You can see if a pet has parasites by looking at their fur. For example, there are tiny white worms that may come out of the animal’s skin or their fur may have fleas, ticks, or mites in it. The animal might have tiny black dots that look like pepper sprinkled in their fur which is flea droppings.

2) They are being itchy

If your pet is scratching itself a lot and seems to be in pain, you should take it to the veterinarian to find out what is wrong. This could be as simple as a flea bite or as dangerous as “the cat scratch disease,” which is caused by pet parasites in the blood.

3) They are vomiting

If your pet is vomiting and it seems like they have not eaten anything, it could be because of a parasite infestation. Vomiting can also be caused by an intestinal worm, which is a parasite that gets into the stomach of your pet. It makes them feel nauseous, so they throw up.

4) They are losing weight

If your pet is losing weight and not eating a lot at one time but wants to eat very often, this could mean they have worms in their stomach or parasites feeding on their blood. Your pet might have a tapeworm in their stomach, which makes them feel like they are hungry all of the time. To know if your pet has parasites, look at their fur and at the strange symptoms they may have.

5) They produce noxious odors

If your pet’s breath smells bad or they don’t want to go outside because their coat has a bad odor, there could be worms in their intestines that are releasing smelly gases into the bloodstream. This kind of parasite can only be seen by a veterinarian and not the pet owner.

6) They are having trouble breathing

If your pet is breathing hard and it seems like there is a foreign object in their throat, you should take them to a veterinarian as soon as possible. This could be a fly or flea that got lodged there. If you don’t notice an object in their throat, make sure to take them to the veterinarian every few weeks for checkups so they don’t have internal parasites that can cause bad breath or trouble breathing.

7) They are having diarrhea

This is a common symptom in pets that are infested with intestinal parasites. If you notice your pet is having diarrhea every day, this could mean there are worms in their intestines that are making them produce more feces than usual. If the parasite gets bad enough, it can be fatal to your pet and cause them to die from dehydration.

8) They have red streaks on their belly

If you notice your pet has a pink line or blood trickle that is drying up and crusting over, this could be caused by a parasite infestation in the bloodstream. If this happens, you should get your veterinarian to treat your pet as soon as possible. The best way to treat them is to take them to the vet right away and get treatments done there.

Such kinds of parasites usually come from their environment and not their body. For example, dogs tend to get parasites from eating manure from a farm or coming into contact with other sick animals during walks.

9) They have bald patches

When a pet has very small round pink dots on them and they seem like they itch a lot, it could be due to external parasites. For example, if your cat has countless small round pink dots all over its skin and is losing fur, take it to the vet for treatment as soon as possible. Dingoes and kangaroos tend to get this kind of parasite from the environment in which they live.

10) Loss in appetite

If your pet is not eating or drinking a lot, there is a good chance it could have a parasite. For example, if your dog eats grass and tries to throw it up but nothing comes out, this could mean worms are in its stomach. They are getting food from the grass but they cannot digest it very well and that is why they throw up.

11) They have blood in their stool

If you notice red blood in your dog’s stool, it could be due to a parasite that attaches itself to the walls of the intestines. This means a tapeworm is getting into your pet’s body and making them throw up daily because they cannot digest anything. It is a very serious problem and if it is left untreated, it can kill your pet.

12) They have a cough

If your pet has a cough and is throwing up, it could have a parasite in its chest. There are tiny stomach worms that get into the lungs and make them cough up blood. This is extremely serious and you should take your pet to the vet right away to make sure they do not get worse.

13) They have a rash

Rashes can also be caused by parasites in the skin. If you notice blue or pink spots on your pet’s skin that look like bruises and it looks like they are getting worse, this is a parasite infestation in the body of the pet. Carefully inspect the skin of your pet from head to tail. If you see any spots that are getting bigger and look like they itch, this could be a sign of there being an infection in the skin.

14) They are lethargic

If there are no other symptoms that seem plausible, lethargy could be a symptom of a parasite infection. Similar to humans, if your pet is not sleeping well and is walking around lazily, they might have the flu. Although there are not many disease-causing agents in the environment that can make pets sick, there are some parasites like the schistosome (which causes blood flukes in humans) that can make dogs and cats sick as well.

How Do You Know If Your Pet Has Parasites? – Conclusion

Just like human beings, it is very common for our pets to have parasites. Some are visible to the naked eye and others are not. The best way to know if your pet has a parasite or not is to ask your veterinarian. If you notice any of the symptoms listed in this article, you should take your pet in for an examination as soon as possible and not wait until it is too late.