Fecal

Fecal test does check for tapeworms, whipworms, hookworms, coccidia, giardia, and roundworms. You can carry some of these parasite into the on your shoes, while other times some parasites can lay dormant for years with no symptoms; however some can be caused by eating fleas or mice. All intestinal parasites can negatively affect an animal’s health. Some intestinal parasites can be transmitted to humans. Puppies & kittens should have two negative fecal tests, and these are generally performed on their first and last visits. If this is not performed at these visits fecal test should be done 6 weeks apart for most accurate results. It is important to note that we can only see parasite eggs, not adult parasites. This means sometimes we will get a negative fecal on the first test (because all the parasites were adults so we didn’t know they were there) and a positive fecal on the second test. It is like going fishing, just because we don’t catch any fish doesn’t mean the pond is empty.