Heartworm Prevention for Cats and Dogs
04/09/2014
After a long cccold winter here in Iowa, we are ready for some warm weather and sunshine! Our insect brethren are also enjoying the warm-up, and the beneficial, as well as the ones of questionable benefit, are starting to show themselves. The big question at our house is always: What good are mosquitoes? What purpose do they serve, but to annoy and infect? Well, they do provide lots of good meals for the bats! That’s been our best answer.
For our pets, especially dogs, heartworm disease is a big concern. Spread by mosquito bites, the larvae take about 6 months to grow into adult worms in the heart, causing significant problems for heart and lung function as you can imagine! Cats are more resistant to heartworm infection (and people are very resistant, in case you were wondering!), but also show different signs than dogs, because the worms are more likely to travel to their lungs, and well, cats just like to be different. In dogs, though the worms can affect many body systems, the general signs are similar to heart failure--decreased energy, exercise intolerance, coughing, among other signs. For cats, the cough is a prominent sign, mimicking feline asthma, which is a more commonly seen condition. Unfortunately, for cats the most common sign of heartworm disease is sudden death of unknown cause. For both species, there are often no signs until the infection is causing serious disease. This is why prevention is such a big deal (also because treatment is difficult and very expensive…)
People often feel that their indoor cats are safe from mosquito bites, but some do spend some time on decks and porches, often at dawn or dusk - prime mosquito time! So repair those screens, and consider monthly heartworm prevention for your indoor cats as well. Here is more information from the AAFP (Association of Feline Practitioners): Feline Heartworm Disease and HARD
And more from the great website www.petsandparasites.org :
Canine Heartworm Disease
If you need refills or want to get started on Heartworm prevention for your dog or cat, please contact me.
For our pets, especially dogs, heartworm disease is a big concern. Spread by mosquito bites, the larvae take about 6 months to grow into adult worms in the heart, causing significant problems for heart and lung function as you can imagine! Cats are more resistant to heartworm infection (and people are very resistant, in case you were wondering!), but also show different signs than dogs, because the worms are more likely to travel to their lungs, and well, cats just like to be different. In dogs, though the worms can affect many body systems, the general signs are similar to heart failure--decreased energy, exercise intolerance, coughing, among other signs. For cats, the cough is a prominent sign, mimicking feline asthma, which is a more commonly seen condition. Unfortunately, for cats the most common sign of heartworm disease is sudden death of unknown cause. For both species, there are often no signs until the infection is causing serious disease. This is why prevention is such a big deal (also because treatment is difficult and very expensive…)
People often feel that their indoor cats are safe from mosquito bites, but some do spend some time on decks and porches, often at dawn or dusk - prime mosquito time! So repair those screens, and consider monthly heartworm prevention for your indoor cats as well. Here is more information from the AAFP (Association of Feline Practitioners): Feline Heartworm Disease and HARD
And more from the great website www.petsandparasites.org :
Canine Heartworm Disease
If you need refills or want to get started on Heartworm prevention for your dog or cat, please contact me.