You can easily protect your cat from heartworms with a monthly applications of heartworm preventative.
- Can cats really get heartworms? Yes. Heartworm disease is no longer considered just a dog problem. If you live in an area where veterinarians recommend heartworm prevention for dogs, your cat should be on prevention too. Even ferrets can suffer heartworm infections. Those pesky mosquitoes will bite any animal—regardless of whether its tail wags or flicks.
- How do mosquitoes transmit heartworms to cats? Mosquitoes transmit heartworm larvae to cats (and other animals) after enjoying a bloodmeal from an infected host. It only takes one one bite can infect your cat. When a mosquito bites a cat, the larvae enter the cat’s system through the bite wound. Some of these larvae develop into adult heartworms and eventually die, causing severe inflammation or damage to blood vessels in the lungs that can be fatal. The larvae that don’t make it to maturity die in the cat’s lungs, leading to earthworm-associated respiratory disease. Heartworms can even be found in the body cavities, arteries and central nervous system of cats. What’s worse, vets can only treat the cat’s symptoms because there’s no approved or recommended treatment for heartworm disease in cats.
- Mosquitoes aren’t near my home. Does my cat still need prevention? Yes. Cases of feline heartworm disease have been reported in all 50 states. The occurrence of heartworm disease is markedly lower in some states, but mosquitoes are resilient and can even survive through the winter. 90% of the dogs transferred across the country after Hurricane Katrina were heartworm positive. These dogs likely infected animals in near their new homes.
- My cat doesn’t go outside, so isn’t he safe? Indoor cats may be at lower risk for heartworm disease than outdoor cats, but mosquitoes can sneak in through damaged window screens and open doors. Studies have shown that approximately 28 percent of cats diagnosed with heartworm disease were inside cats.
- How do I know whether my cat has heartworm disease? Unlike dogs, who can be diagnosed with heartworms with a simple in-office blood test, there is no definitive heartworm test for cats. Your vet consider the symptoms (which are similar to symptom of numerous diseases) and he will likely want to perform bloodwork, an x-ray, and/or sonogram. Symptoms include coughing, panting, open-mouthed breathing or wheezing,
- What happens if my cat becomes infected with heartworm disease? Unfortunately, there’s no treatment for feline heartworm disease. Kitties can be made more comfortable with supportive care for the symptoms.
- What kind of heartworm prevention are available for cats? Topical and oral monthly prevention is available only from your vet. Blood tests are not necessary for cats. Always make sure you are putting cat-safe treatments on your cat. Some canine heartworm preventatives are highly toxic to cats.
For more information about feline heartworm disease check out Nixie’s HEARTworm Beat and KNOW Heartworms.
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