April 2004 |
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Is YOUR Pet Heartworm Free?
The mere idea of heartworm disease is distressing to most of us. The idea of our loving
pet's heart filled with worms, leading to heart problems and eventually death, is
not something that we wish to dwell on. However, it is a problem that we can face
and control.
Heartworm disease is caused by the parasite Dirofilaria immitis. This parasite in its adult form lives in the heart and produces microfilaria that are released into the circulating bloodstream of the dog. These microfilaria are sucked up by mosquitoes and are transmitted to another dog or cat. The microfilaria mature and settle in the heart, and reproduce to create more microfilaria that start the cycle again. We have had dogs test positive for heartworm disease in the past 6 months! This is a problem in our area! Cats can be infected with heartworm as well, although they usually have only a few adult worms living in their heart. Due to this, very few cats have circulating microfilaria in their bloodstream and are considered "dead-end" hosts for heartworms. However, these few heartworms can cause severe heart problems and even death in some cats. Any pet can be exposed to heartworms if they go outside for any length of time. Even those that are indoors all the time have some risk that a mosquito might fly in through an opened window or door. If the mosquito is trapped in a house, the chances that it would bite your pet are actually magnified, thus putting indoor pets at risk. So how can we protect against this menace? The first step is regular testing to make sure that your pet is free of adult heartworms before starting heartworm preventative. This testing is also strongly recommended every two years if your pet has been consistently on heartworm preventative without any skipping of any monthly medications. If you have skipped a month of heartworm preventative, you need to have your pet tested on a yearly basis. The reason we strongly advise heartworm testing is that your pet might vomit up the heartworm medication, spit it out when you weren't looking, or simply not absorbed it properly. The test only requires a small amount of blood and takes a day for results to come back. The best way to prevent against this disease is by giving a monthly heartworm preventative. With dogs we advise Heartgard Plus. This is a beefy treat that almost every dog likes and also prevents against roundworms and hookworms as well as heartworms. Cats, however, are more finicky, so we be getting Revolution in for cats which is a liquid topical spot-on that protects against fleas, heartworms, roundworms, ear mites and hookworms. Revolution is also available for dogs, but only protects against heartworms, fleas, ticks, ear mites and sarcoptic mange. For more information, check out these websites: American Heartworm Society -- Canine Information American Heartworm Society -- Feline Information Heartworm Hotline Please call us at (408) 779-4010 if you have any questions. |