This intestinal parasite has earned its “flea tapeworm” moniker because it uses a flea as an intermediate host to get into your pet.
Here’s the Dipylidium tapeworm life cycle:
1The cat ingests an adult flea that is carrying tapeworm larvae.
The cycle of infection starts when segmented tapeworm egg packets, called proglottids, are eaten by flea larvae (pre-adult fleas). These tiny flea larvae chew into the tapeworm egg case and consume the eggs inside (microscopic ova).
These eggs then hatch inside the flea larva’s body and wait there through the larva’s development into a bloodsucking adult flea. When the infected adult flea jumps on your cat, the flea is often eaten by your kitty during grooming.
2Tapeworms develop in the cat’s small intestine.
Once swallowed by your cat, the flea is digested, and the tapeworm larva is released unharmed into the cat’s small intestine, where it can then attach to the intestine wall. At this point, it takes about four weeks to grow into a reproducing adult tapeworm, which can measure anywhere from 6–23 inches and produce the segmented egg packets.
3Segments of the tapeworm’s egg-carrying tail are expelled in the cat’s poop.
These segmented egg packets contain up to 20 microscopic eggs and exit the cat’s body through their feces. Once released into the environment, they become ingested by flea larvae, and the cycle starts all over again.
