Protect Your Dog or Cat from Heartworm Disease


Protect Your Pets from Heartworm Disease

There are many parasites that can infest dogs and cats, but perhaps one of the deadliest are heartworms. As their name suggests, they live in and around your pet’s heart. They cause death by blocking blood vessels around the heart. With help from your vet, you can easily prevent heartworms from harming your pet. Veterinary Outpatient Treatment Center in Medford, NY, lists the facts about heartworm treatment.

How Pets Get Heartworms

Juvenile heartworms, called microfilaria, use mosquitoes as taxis to get from one animal to another. They are transmitted through mosquito bites. At least 30 different mosquito species can transmit heartworms.

Heartworm Prevention Medication

Heartworm microfilaria can be killed with chewable tablets from your veterinarian or animal hospital. These are administered to pets monthly. Most kinds also kill other types of worms. Some kinds of heartworm prevention medication also act as flea and tick prevention.

Protection Should Be Every Month

It’s important to give heartworm prevention medication every month, even when all of the mosquitoes are gone. Microfilaria can live for weeks, even throughout the winter.

Blood Tests for Heartworms

Pets don’t show symptoms of heartworm disease until there are many adult heartworms present inside them. This is why it’s important to get an annual blood test from your vet. Blood tests check for many health conditions, but they also check for the presence of adult and juvenile heartworms. If the test comes back positive for adult heartworms, your pet can start getting treatment before the heartworms cause major damage.

Treating Adult Heartworms

Adult heartworm treatment is more difficult than treating microfilaria. This is because your pet will need complete rest after treatment or he or she could die.

Still Have Questions?

If you have further questions about preventing heartworm disease in your pets and live in the Medford, NY, area, contact Veterinary Outpatient Treatment Center at (631) 730-6929 to make an appointment today.

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Christmas Eve-9:30-12:00 / Christmas Day-CLOSED December 26-CLOSED / July 5, 2021-CLOSED

Medford Office

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