Thats right folks. We recently diagnosed a cat with heartworm. This was the first heartworm positive cat that Lone Mountain Veterinary Hospital has seen. The cat was a stray that had been hanging out in a neighborhood. Someone brought him in to be checked out and neutered. We recommended testing first for Feline Leukemia, Feline Immunodeficiency Virus and Heartworm prior to performing the surgery. He tested postive for both FIV and Heartworm. This cat was humanely euthanized due to the nature of his illness.
Cats typically have fewer and smaller worms than dogs, and the life span of worms is shorter, approximately two to three years, compared to five to seven in dogs. Heartworms do not have to develop into adults to cause significant pulmonary damage in cats, and consequences can still be very serious when cats are infected by mosquitoes carrying heartworm larvae. Newly arriving worms and the subsequent death of most of these same worms can result in acute pulmonary inflammation response and lung injury. The initial phases is often misdiagnosed as asthma or allergic bronchitis but can actually be part of a syndrome now known as Heartworm Associated Respiratory Disease.
Heartworm in cats is not treatable as it is in dogs. It is however, preventable for both cats and dogs by a once monthly dose of a tasty chewable tablet called Heartgard.
Contact us today to schedule your cat for a quick and easy in house heartworm test. 883-3136
