Conference misery::feline_v1

    First off, never pull out anything like that.  If it actually is a
    string, and is tangled, you could cut open the intestines.
    
    I would  call and ask your vet if you actually need to
    wait for a "fresh" sample, or if an old one or any one,
    for that matter, is necessary for the diagnosis.
    
    If it actually is a string or something like that, i would
    take her in pretty promptly in case it causes a problem.
    

    I have found that if you put the suspect cat in a room with a litter
    pan overnight, you will usually find a stool specimen in the morning.
    Stick it in a plastic bag and refridgerate it and it should be fine
    for testing for tapes.  
    
    Another thing, this almost never fails for me...clean the box that
    you are going to confine her with and fill it with fresh litter.
    My cats will almost immediately provide me with a sample.  They
    just seem to love to "christen" new litter.  :^)
    
    Jo  

>>    Another thing, this almost never fails for me...clean the box that
>>    you are going to confine her with and fill it with fresh litter.
>>    My cats will almost immediately provide me with a sample.  They
>>    just seem to love to "christen" new litter.  :^)
    
you betcha!  The "ME FIRST!!!!" syndrome even works for this....8^}

    RE .2 and .3
    
    That's exactly how I found out my kitten Hoover had tapeworms.  I had
    just finished cleaning the box and adding new litter, when he jumped in
    and did his thing.  I waited until he was done because I figured since
    I was standing there I'd just scoop it out and flush it.  That's when I
    saw the tapeworm segments.  UGH!  The vet asked for a description of
    what I had seen (I called him immediately), prescribed one pill and
    that took care of the problem.  Hoov didn't have to go in for a visit. 
    
    The funny thing is, Hoover got his name because he sucked everything up
    just like a vacuum cleaner.  He ate voraciously and anything that could
    fit in his mouth he would chew, if not swallow it.  He even ate a
    couple of those round felt pads that were on the inside of my kitchen
    cabinet doors to keep them from banging shut.  I really had to
    watch him like a hawk.  I had no idea he had tapeworms.  No wonder he
    was a little piglet!!!! The vet and I figure he got the worms from
    a flea problem he had while at the shelter, so when I got him the worms
    were just starting to develop.
    
    The vet also told me, for the benefit of the author, that cats get
    tapeworms by ingesting fleas which carry the tapeworm during part of the
    worm's lifecycle or by killing mice.  So if your kitty has done one or
    the other, there's a good chance he/she does indeed have tapeworms.
    
    Best of luck.  The cure for tapeworms is relatively simple, so don't
    fret.  
    
    Terry
    
    

    Mine don't even wait for me to get the cover back on.....  Usually I
    find thunder or deja sitting in the spot that the cat box usually
    resides in (waiting for me).
    
    Sounds like tapeworms to me, too.....
    
    Sandi, mom to Thunder, LIghtning, DejaVu, Storm & Patches
    
    

    My four follow me downstairs, follow me back upstairs,
    sit at the door and watch me dump it outside in the
    barrel, and then it's everyone back downstairs to fight
    for "first dibs" on the clean litterbox.
    
    Tapeworms - inside cats get them usually from fleas.
    inside/outside cats from the critters (mice, bugs etc.)
    they eat outdoors.  If one cat has them, they all probably
    do.  Anyway, my vet tells me to treat all four.  A little
    white $2 pill each......
    
    L-

    re: fleas - yup, that's how they get them so its important that
    you treat the cats and house for fleas as well as for tapeworms.
    BTW - tapeworm segments look like grains of rice and that description
    should be sufficient for your vet to diagnose the problem without
    the stool sample.  Tho, the stool sample wouldn't hurt :-)