What are these things my cat is departing where on earth she sleeps?
my cat is two and a tabby.for the last few months shes been leaving little yellowy ginger grain type bits where ever shes been sleeping. they look dried out and don't seem to be to appear only if shes be scratching but all the time.its not very nice to see them adjectives over my bed when shes sneaked in. i thought prehaps some kind of skin disorder, and she doesn't really spend a lot of time external so don't think its something she is picking up. her white fur also appears to have a yellow tinge so is it she isn't cleaning herself resourcefully enough. shes only small so not over weight although rather lazy!! i can't afford the vets and can't find anything on line. serious knowlegable answers would be appriciated.
It sounds like tapeworm segments. When they dry, they look close to what you've described. Put some of the "grain" things that you're finding in a ziploc bag and take them by your vet's organization. They'll be able to tell for certain and will probably bequeath you the appropriate wormer without seeing her. The cost will likely be ~$5-$10. Also, pick up some Advantage or Frontline flea preventative while you're there whether it's tapeworm. Tapeworm is caused when they ingest fleas, so it's good to get rid of the fleas to prevent reinfestation next to the tapeworm.
ETA: The link below has information on tapeworm, as well as a picture of the segment I'm talking about. It's toward the bottom of the page.
http://maxshouse.com/Parasites_Internal.
I would take her to the vet immediately, whether you can't afford it, try applying for care credit (http://www.carecredit.com/), they can make a payment plan so your cat can see a veterinarian. Or whether you can't do that or don't get approved, call your local shelter and see if they can refer you to a low cost veterinary clinic within the area.
Answers: These little "grains" are dried segment of a tapeworm that's inside your cat's body. A tapeworm embeds it's head in the pool liner of an animal's stomach / intestines, and robs them of essential nutrients. Sometimes little pieces (segments) of the tapeworm "break off" and are eliminated from the anus. When they first come out, they're white, and moist, and move. After being exposed to the atmosphere, they dry up and look like grains of "dirty" rice.
Tapeworms come from an animal eating a FLEA. If your cat have, or has ever had fleas, this is where she get the tapeworm. You need to get some Droncit from the vet, to treat / kill the tapeworm. Unless the tapeworm (head) is kill, this won't go away!
You need to be certain that she doesn't have any fleas, and that your house doesn't either. If the house / yard aren't treated, she can pick up more fleas and this will start adjectives over again.
Hope this helps.Good luck.
