Research overview: helminth parasites of wild felids

Wild cats host a diverse array of helminths, including roundworms such as Toxocara and Toxascaris, tapeworms like Spirometra and Taenia, hookworms and lungworms, acquired largely through their prey. This overview surveys the helminth fauna of felids, the life cycles that link cats to intermediate hosts, and the conditions under which normally tolerated worm burdens cause clinical disease. It examines how diet, habitat and host condition shape parasite loads, the zoonotic significance of some felid helminths, and methods for surveying them through fecal analysis and necropsy. The synthesis frames helminths as a near-universal feature of wild cat biology that occasionally tips into disease. It aims to give readers a broad picture of the worms that share felid bodies and their ecological and health significance.