Please help, cat has roundworm and I'm frightened my baby could be at risk too

[MrsMortimer]

Hello, I'm a new cat owner, I've had a rescue cat for 6 weeks. She was spayed and wormed etc before she came and I was planning to worm her this week. However over the weekend I spotted a worm sticking out of her bum, it was moving, white and pointed. I think this is roundworm. I also have an 11mo who crawls everywhere (not into the litter tray thank god) and loves stroking the cat, also the cat leaps about all over the house, up on the kitchen worktops etc. We clean and wash hands but in honesty I don't know that this has happened every single time. I called the vet and she has absolutely terrified me about toxocariasis and said there's a risk of blindness to my lo. What the hell can I do? The GP talked like I was crazy and said he didn't know anything about cats and that if I own a cat obviously there's a risk of infections spread by the cat but that's my choice. I am devastated because I wanted a pet as a positive experience for my kids growing up and I have no idea how to ever get my house clean enough again... I've never heard of this problem with cats and I'm so worn out worrying! How real is the risk, does anyone know?

Did you get a wormer from the vet?

Just get your cat wormed with a worming treatment from the vet as a prority.

Did the worm look a bit like a grain of rice? If so it's more likely to be tapeworm?

Are you certain the cat was wormed? What with? The cat shouldn’t need worming after 6 weeks.
Why call the GP? Just keep the child away from cat poo and wash hands after cuddling it.

OP first of all try not to worry. Your baby will be fine! As you've said the majority of times you've washed worktops and hands. Presumably the vet wormed the cat? I would just make sure your dd washes her hands after stroking the cat and before eating. When one of my dc started crawling he actually ate some cat sick and suffered no ill effects. Of course I was horrified, but there was nothing I could do about it except try to keep one step ahead as much as possible. Just make sure your dd can't get into the litter tray.
Btw your GP doesn't sound particularly sympathetic about your concerns. Didn't they reassure you?

Thanks everyone. She came from cats protection and I use the same vet so I've had record of her previous treatment from both places so it definitely happened. 6 weeks does seem quick but I have no experience with this. I picked up some Milpro(?) from the vet today and according to the directions it needs to be applied in the evening, so I'll do that tonight. @savagebaggagemaster thank you- the GP said I needed to speak to my vet as he couldn't tell me what the risk was. He said in his experience it's not common but having a cat will have some risk and that is my choice. I was pretty upset after speaking with him since I'd rather not get rid of the cat! She's wonderful! I think I'm probably blowing it way out of proportion but the vet seemed pretty annoyed I'd not wormed her already. She said the eggs are sticky so we need to scrub!
We do try to be as clean and tidy as possible but with 2 kids and both working full time the house is quite upside down. I had no idea having a cat would be so risky

Ah OP I sympathise. The risk is really very minimal indeed and I'm sorry the vet scared you a bit. She is quite right to point out the dangers, but if you are sensible with hand washing and keep food prep surfaces clean, which you sound like you definitely are, there's no reason at all why you can't all share a happy home with your dc and dcat.

Is the Milpro a tablet or Spot-on treatment?

Good grief cat ownership wasn’t this hard in the 80’s.

Your gp sounds like he’s not an animal person at all.

Lots of cats get worms and don’t pass it on to humans, it’s not compulsory. Try not to worry, I had worms at 16 and the dr prescribed human wormer 😃.

Thank you for your advice. I'm sure I'll look back in a few weeks and wonder why I was so upset but it's been a bit of a horrible surprise and I just keep thinking of all the times my lo has been cuddling the cat and stressing over whether I washed her hands afterwards!

@dementedpixie spot on

@Fluffycloudland77 the vet told me she can't catch roundworm itself but the eggs can cause organ damage and blindness if ingested!!!! Which I why I am freaking out

I give a monthly flea treatment but it also covers some worms (stronghold plus) and then use a wormer every 6 months to cover against lungworm (profender)

I'm not sure it's Milpro then as it seems to be a tablet

@dementedpixie you're right it's actually moxiclear

Moxicleat treats fleas as well as worms. You're supposed to treat for fleas monthly

Moxiclear *

Do you mean milbemax?

Moxiclear treats fleas and worms
Milbemax is a tablet for worms
OP says its a spot on treatment

Human worms and cat worms are completely different species, you can't catch works from the cat, don't worry, but yes, get the cat wormed again!