A Guide To Heartworms in Dogs and Cats
Each year, more than 100,000 pets across the United States are diagnosed with heartworms. Heartworms are a serious condition that can lead to illness or even death if left untreated. For this reason, it is important to understand what they are, what signs to look for, and how to prevent or treat heartworms in your dogs and cats.
What Are Heartworms?
Heartworm is a serious illness that can affect both dogs and cats. The worm, which is known by the scientific name of Dirofilaria immitis, is spread when a mosquito bites your pet. The pet then acts as a host where the worms mature, mate, and create offspring. They are known as heartworms because they live in a pet's heart, lungs, and blood vessels that connect them. Although heartworms have been found in pets in all 50 states, they are most common along the Atlantic, the Gulf Coast, and the Mississippi River. Luckily, they can be prevented with medication such as Heartgard PLUS Chewables.
The Life Cycle of a Heartworm
When you don't use a preventative such as Senergy Feline Topical Solution on your pets, heartworms can live inside of them for years. First, a mosquito needs to bite an infected animal, which then infects the mosquito with microfilariae. Then, over the course of two weeks, the microfilariae become infected larvae. When that mosquito bites another pet, it transfers the infective larvae through the bite wound. It then takes up to seven months for the larvae to become adult heartworms. The worms continue releasing their offspring into the pet's bloodstream.
Adult heartworms look like cooked spaghetti and can live in your pet for as long as seven years. Males are up to six inches long while females can reach a foot long. Infections can range anywhere from 1-250 worms, though the average is 15. Luckily, heartworms are only transmitted via mosquitos and cannot be transferred from pet to pet.
When Should a Pet Be Tested For Heartworms?
Even if you use a product like Iverhart Plus, it's important to have your pet tested for heartworms by the veterinarian from time to time just to be on the safe side. Your pet's veterinarian will use antigen blood tests to determine if there are adult female heartworms present in the bloodstream. Keep in mind that heartworms typically can't be detected until about five months after your pet was bitten by an infected mosquito. There is also another kind of test that can detect microfilariae in the pet's bloodstream, although that one can take about six months to work correctly.
Many people wonder how often their pets need to be tested for heartworms. That depends on several factors, including the pet's age, whether it had heartworm prevention medication on a regular schedule, whether the pet has recently traveled to somewhere where heartworms are more common, and how long heartworm season is in the area where you live. Pets that are seven months old or older should be tested before starting prevention medication. This is because preventatives won't kill heartworms that are already in the system, so it could leave your pet very sick if it isn't tested first.
What Are the Symptoms of Heartworm Disease in Pets?
The symptoms of heartworm disease vary a bit between dogs and cats. In dogs, heartworms are classified into four stages. In class one, there are usually no symptoms, although your dog may have a mild cough. By stage two, it may have an occasional cough and seem winded or tired after moderate physical activity. During stage three, your dog may have a more persistent cough. It may also look sickly, be tired after mild activity, and have trouble breathing. By now, changes in the heart and lungs may be noticeable on X-rays. Finally, there is stage four, which is known as caval syndrome. This means a large mass of worms is physically blocking the blood that is supposed to flow back to the heart. This is life-threatening and often requires surgery, which may not be enough by the time a dog reaches this stage.
Without something like a Bravecto PLUS Topical for Cats, your cat may also develop heartworms. Symptoms in cats are a bit different. They may show almost no symptoms at all or may show dramatic ones. Common signs of heartworm disease in cats include coughing, attacks that seem like asthma, lack of appetite, vomiting, and weight loss. Some cats also experience trouble walking, faint, have seizures, or accumulate fluid in the abdomen area. Unfortunately, some cats never show signs until the disease is too serious about treating, which is why preventative medication and regular testing are so important.
What Is the Treatment for Heartworm Disease in Pets?
Treatment is essential if your dog or cat has heartworm disease. Dogs receive drugs that kill microfilariae or adult heartworms, depending on the diagnosis. This commonly includes antibiotics such as doxycycline, melarsomine, or prednisone. Dogs also need to rest often when they have heartworms. Of course, using a preventative such as Trifexis for Dogs can help to prevent the problem from ever occurring.
Unfortunately, there is no guaranteed treatment for cats. Some veterinarians use melarsomine for cats as well. However, they also make it known that this treatment causes significant side effects in cats and may not fix the problem. Another option is to treat the symptoms and hopes the cat outlives the heartworms themselves. Finally, some treatments involve the surgical removal of heartworms.
Dog heartworm disease and cat heartworm disease are serious problems that can wreak havoc on your pets' health. By understanding the signs, knowing how to prevent the problem, and taking your pet to the vet regularly, you are more likely to ensure your furry family members remain healthy.