Ringworm - You Can't Eat It.

I got a call from a client one day that went something like this:

Caller: "My cat threw up a ringworm and I need to know which dewormer to get to treat it."

Me: "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"

Caller, sounding irritated already: "My CAT threw up a RINGWORM, and I need to know which dewormer to get to treat it."

Me: "Okay, I doubt it was ringworm. Did it look like spaghetti or rice?" This question was my way of clarifying between two of the most common types of intestinal parasites in cats, roundworms and tapeworms.

Caller: "Neither. It was a ringworm."

Me: "Okay, but ringworm is a fungus, not actually a worm, so I really don't think your cat could have thrown up a ringworm. So, did it look more like a spaghetti noodle or a grain of rice?"

Caller: "Well, it looked like a ringworm. If I had to guess, I'd say a noodle."

Me: "Okay, that sounds like it might be a roundworm. Could you bring us a stool sample to check and we can tell you for sure and give you the right dewormer?"

Caller: "I saved the worm. After she threw it up she sat in the corner looking down at it and put her paw on it, but I was able to get it away from her and put it in a bag. I'll just bring that to you and you can see for yourself." At this point, she was still convinced I'd realize how wrong I was.

Me: "Oh wow, that would be great! We wouldn't even have to charge you to check it in that case, we can just dispense the dewormer once we see which type it is."

The client brought in her worm. It was a long dead millipede, curled into a ring and somewhat flattened by the cat having stepped on it. There is no dewormer for millipedes. Or for ringworm, for that matter, because to this day it's still classified as a fungus.