As pet parents, protecting your pets from disease and sickness is a big concern. Keeping up with annual vaccines and check-ups helps to keep our fluffy friends’ tails wagging, but there’s one important practice that you especially won’t want to miss: heartworm prevention.
What is heartworm disease?
Heartworm disease is a serious disease caused by foot-long worms that live in the heart. These worms can affect dogs, cats, and ferrets, although dogs are their most natural host. If left untreated in dogs, heartworms can reproduce and increase in numbers, causing lasting damage to the heart, lungs, arteries, and quality of life even after the worms are gone. In cats, most heartworms do not survive to the adult stage but if they do, they can also cause respiratory disease.
How does heartworm disease spread?
Mosquito bites are the most common way for this to spread. A mosquito bites an infected animal and takes its blood, picking up microscopic baby worms. When the mosquito finds another animal to bite, the baby worms enter that animal’s bloodstream through the bite. Once inside a host, heartworms can take up to six months to fully mature and can live in a host for up to seven years.
What are the signs of heartworm disease?
Symptoms in dogs usually show once the dog has been infected for a significant amount of time. These symptoms can include weight loss, decreased appetite, fatigue, and a mild, persistent cough. Cat symptoms can vary dramatically, so it’s best to visit your vet if you notice anything “off” about your cat.
How can I protect my pet?
Routine Testing: Testing for heartworms should be included in your annual check-up so that they can be identified sooner rather than later.
Preventative Medicine: The FDA mandates that heartworm preventatives must be prescribed by a veterinarian. Ensure you give your pet their monthly prevention medication.
Visit the American Heartworm Society’s website for more information, and if your pet is exhibiting symptoms or is not on a regular heartworm preventative, contact your veterinarian.