The cat roundworm has a variety of ways to reach the gut of its final host, the cat.
It can be acquired by swallowing eggs found in the environment, or by eating mice and birds infected with roundworm larvae.
But kittens can also be infected via their mother’s milk. If a cat swallows the worm eggs, they hatch in the gut, and some of the tiny larvae penetrate the gut wall, enter the bloodstream and reach the muscles, where they remain dormant until the cat starts producing milk. At this point, they become active again, and are transmitted to the kittens in the milk.
