Heartworms are a parasite that is carried by mosquitoes. They develop in the blood and settle in the heart and main pulmonary arteries that leave the heart and lead to the lungs. The treatment for this disease can be risky because pets are injected with medications that kill the worms, but the worms are still circulating in the blood stream and can cause secondary problems. This treatment however, cannot be used in cats because the treatment can be worse than the disease. The main symptom of this disease in dogs is coughing. In the cat coughing and/or vomiting. Sometimes we see no symptoms in cats until it is too late. Heartworms are one of the causes of sudden death in cats.

We carry two heartworm preventatives, Heartgard Plus and Iverhart. Both are a once a month treatment, Heartgard is a chewable treat and Iverhart is in tablet form. Heartworm Plus treats not only heartworms it is also effective in helping control roundworms and hookworms. Iverhart also is effective in the treatment of tapeworms.

Your pet should be initially tested to insure it does not have the disease and then treated with a preventative once a month especially during mosquito season. Animals should then be tested every two years after that. Those animals with a greater risk of exposure, are only on a preventative six months a year or may have missed a dose, should be tested every year.

People who travel with their pets during the winter months should treat their animals year round. Some people elect to do this even if they are not expecting to travel because of the protection against other internal parasites.

'Rumor' and 'Easy'