Cats & Heartworm Disease
The Little Known Risk

Did you know that Heartworms affects both dogs and cats? Did you know it also effects as many as 30 different animals including foxes, wolves, bears, raccoons, sea lions, ferrets and even humans! I was equally amazed when I read this information. As the title suggests, the focus of this article is Feline Heartworm Disease and the little known dangers associated with it.

First off here in Mendocino County Heartworms are a year round problem. Cats are not the ideal host for these creatures, but when tested anywhere from 0%-25% of cats were infected as compared to dogs at 40%-90%.. The worms are smaller than those found in dogs, but are still quite large. The normal infestation consists of less than 6 adult worms, but there have been cases with as many as 65 in one male cat! Another curve ball these heartworms can throw at cats is to develop as “single sex” and develop in other areas of the body besides the heart, lungs and arteries. The lifespan for heartworms in cats is generally 2-3 years as compared to 5-7 years in dogs.

Heartworm larvae enter the cat’s blood stream after being bit by a mosquito. The larvae may travel threw the cat’s body for 8 months before settling into the heart, lungs, arteries and blood vessels where they will then mate. The female worm releases her offspring, known as microfilariae, back into the blood stream. At this point another mosquito can take blood from the infected cat. The microfilariae grow into larvae in the mosquito before being re-ejected into another animal, thus beginning the cycle all over again.

Clinical Signs Associated with

Feline Heartworm Disease

Acute	Cronic
Collapse	Coughing
Dyspnea	Lethargy
Convulsions	Anorexia
Diarrhea/vomiting	Weight loss
Blindness	Chylothorax
Tachysardia	Vomiting
syncope	Dyspnea
Sudden death

Diagnosis of Heartworms in cats is very difficult and there are no approved products for treating this disease. Most cats that are showing no clinical signs are left alone just in case the worms spontaneously disappeared, but this is very unlikely. There are methods of easing the cat’s condition which include such things as small injections of a cortisone like drug called prednisone when the cat has clinical evidence of lung disease. Vets will also offer nursing care, cage confinement, intravenous fluids, antibiotics, bronchodilators which expand air passages in the lungs and cardiovascular drugs for severely sick cats. In rare instances the worms have been removed, but the success rate in this is extremely low and will only work if the worms can be viewed with ultrasound in the right side of the heart. All these treatments have a high risk of complications.

The best way to avoid this horrible disease from affecting your beloved cat is to prevent it. There are 3 US approved products on the market that you can buy from your local vet; all you have to do is ask. The products include Revolution and Heartgard.

In conclusion Heartworm Disease is a very serious condition in cats and should be prevent at all costs, all it takes is one pill every month. Don’t let this deadly disease get a hold of your feline friends. It’s not that you love your dog more than your cat, it’s just they kind of get forgotten about. So lets make a change, and call your vet now.

Here’s a couple of really good sites for more information:

www.knowheartworms.org

www.heartwormsociety.org/FelineHeartwormInfo.htm

Back to Rainbow Wags Pet News