Tapeworm eggs are also microscopic in size but they are released in an egg case that is muscular and has a pore that expels the eggs as it moves and uses up energy. These can be seen on the stool or in the hair around the rectum. After the segments dry up most people think they look like a rice granule but a sesame seed might be an OK description, too. These can be found on the hair around the rectum or around the house where the cat has been. Seeing these segments is sufficient evidence to deworm a cat or dog to kill tapeworms.
Ringworm is tough to rule out when there is patchy hairloss in cats without doing a culture for it.
This is not usually too expensive to do. Ringworm can mimic a lot of other skin problems but most of the time when we see it there is some scaling or scabbiness, too. Hello, My daughter recently got ringworm on her arm. I have had the cat for 3 weeks now and nothing like this has ever happened before. Some cats can carry the ringworm fungus without any apparent sign of illness at all.