Weird small parasites/blood....

[renee]

I've been noticing blood smears on my bathroom floor for a couple weeks now. I have narrowed it down to coming from one of my cats because it only shows up everytime he has been sleeping in the bathroom. It's a male cat, not sure how old because it was a stray. Well, for the past couple days I started to notice what I thought were tiny bits of dried blood on my bathroom vanity where he has been sleeping lately. Tonight, however, I looked closely at the paper towel I used to clean this up with and what I thought was dried blood were actually very tiny worms or parasites that look to be dead. Some of them were black, skinny and curved almost like a question mark and some were reddish and a little fatter. I am unable to locate where the blood and these worms are coming from as I see no evidence on him, I'm assuming that it's coming from his rear end but I could be wrong. He acts normal and healthy, eats well, normal bowel movements. Does anyone have any idea about what this could be? Thanks!

[Traci]

This sounds like fleas to me. If they are black, then make contact with water and they turn blood-red, this can indicate fleas or flea dander.

Regardless, get kitty checked by your vet immediately. He can determine if worms vs fleas, and if the latter, can recommend SAFE flea products such as Advantage or Frontline (never use over-the-counter products, ever)