Rocky and the Wolf Worm

A wolf worm: A large maggot, light tan, and a brown spot on the end. Size is about half of a dime. This fat parasite is the larvae of the bot fly and will eventually hatch into an adult bot fly…

Primarily in South America, Africa—and southern United States. Once the wolf worm has infected its host, it will form a hole inside the host’s skin. The larva can breathe through this hole.

The Rocky cat was out for less than an hour.

I was hoping when we moved to the country he would enjoy playing in the grass, chasing birds, etc. The first couple of days, he didn’t hit it off so well with the neighbor cats that are used to, and have been raised in, the wild. So, I kept him close and in his yard. Two day ago, playing and training Mello the dog, I lost track of Rocky for less than an hour.

The next day I noticed him licking his shoulder and I found a tiny, tiny pin-sized hole. The first thought was that he obviously got into it with one of the cats and a claw got him. I cleaned it with peroxide and went on my way. The next day he continued to lick, I cleaned with peroxide and he licked some more—until there was no hair around the hole. It wasn’t discolored but it emitted a terrible odor. The next thought was that maybe he chased one of the chickens and it pecked him. I cleaned with peroxide and he licked.

Now, the third day, the licking is serious and the area around this tiny pin-hole is hardened. Talking to a few friends about and one says, “Oh, that’s a wolf.” A wolf,” I thought, “A wolf wouldn’t bite a cat. A wolf would eat a cat.”

“A wolf?” I asked.

It was hard to get a 'clear' pic, as you might imagine

“Yeah,” she said, “A wolf worm. Cats get them around here.”

So I went home and of course, looked it up on line. A wolf worm or screw worm is a fly larvae, normally around and in livestock. We have cattle about a mile over but I doubted Rocky got there and backin less than an hour. They’re also found in rabbit holes. That made more sense. He probably chased a rabbit and stuck his nose where it shouldn’t be. 

The treatment? A warm compress and squeeze, gently so as not to mash the worm in two, and then pull it out with tweezers when it pops its little brown head out. Rocky took off when I just started running the water. Off to the vet.

Upon examination, the vet and his assistant determine that it is not a wolf worm, rather a wound that has abscessed. One anti-biotic shot and rabies shot later I’m packing Rocky back into the carrier when the head vet walks in.

“What do we have here?” he inquires. 

“She thought he had a wolf worm but it’s just an abscessed wound. Want to take a look?”

“Yeah.”

So, Rocky comes back out of the carrier and proceeds to be tortured by a very southern vet.

“Yep, she’s right. It’s a wolf worm. Did you get it out?”

“Nooo,” I whine, “he said it wasn’t,” as I pointed accusingly at the offending vet.

Out come the over-size tweezers that plummet, not gently, into Rocky’s shoulder, once, twice, thrice without successful removal of anything.

“Did you put something in there to kill it?” he asks.

“Just peroxide,” I answer

“Yep, it’s dead.”

“Well, I did good then.”

“Nope, not really.”

Out comes the over-sized q-tip with anti-biotic cream on the end which then also plummets 2 inches into Rocky’s shoulder.

Equipped with instructions to continue cleaning and administering liquid anti-biotics, I head out to pay.

“We thought he was working on you,” laughed the clerk.

Ha-ha!! Yeah, I was oohing and ahhing quite loudly in support of the Rocky cat. So?

I can say though that Copper Basin Vet will be our vet from here on out. He knew exactly what was up and handled it quite efficiently. All the medications, visit, and shots cost were $45, which would have been easily $300 in Chicago. Needless to say, Rocky is back to being a fat, lazy housecat who only dreams of chasing rabbits.


And, if you look closely, you can see the healing wound on his shoulder. Yuck and Yikes!!