Does your vet recommend heartworm prevention?

My vet strongly suggests it, so my cats are all on Revolution. If you live in an area where dogs are commonly given a heartworm preventative then your cats should get one too. There are no real treatment options in cats like there are in dogs, so prevention is your best bet. And it is a total myth that indoor cats cannot get heartworm. Mosquitoes can get in the house - and all it takes is one bite. I have an indoor-only heartworm positive cat - and so do friends of mine. I've seen more than one mosquito in my house, and obviously some of them are carrying the heartworm larvae. My vet sees at least 15 or more heartworm positive cats at their practice (4 vets) each year, but suspects the number is higher as so few people opt to have any bloodwork done on cats, let alone a heart worm test.

If you're concerned, and don't feel your vet is taking it seriously (many vets are great with dogs and not so great with cats) then just treat them monthly with Revolution - no fleas, no mites, no ticks - and no heartworm.

Heartworms do not seem interior the canine's gadget for 6 months. A clean heartworm try right this moment, would not advise there are not any heartworms; it merely ability they have not ggrown to the factor the place they seem interior the blood checks. sorting out usually makes advantageous the canine is loose from the parasites. additionally, if your canine has been on prevenative for greater desirable than a million 12 months and is then chanced directly to be heartworm advantageous, the business company that made the preventative could pay for any heartworm remedies the canine needs. So shop music of once you provide the preventative and who the producer is.

Overall, alot of it depends on where you live if the vets think it is that important. I live near the Gulf Coast where about 75% of the rescue dogs have to be treated for Heartworms because their "caring" owners didn't put them on preventative. So, yeah, I believe in heartworm preventative for indoor only cats.

Until a little over a year ago, there wasn't even a test for heartworms in cats but now, you can get it done. Here it is usually done in combination with testing for FIV/FeLV - one simple test, 3 drops of blood needed, 10 minutes in the office. Without the test, you never really know a cat has heartworms until it just drops dead. (And everyone I know who has been fostering adult cats for at least five year has lost at least one cat to heartworms.)

As a cat adoption counslor, we make sure we talk to adopters about the necessity of heartworm preventative and the fact that at this point, there is no known treatment for heartworms in cats. And that yes, these may be indoor cats, but no one's house is 100% mosquito proof. I'm of the school of "does it improve my cats quality of life without increasing risks in another area?" (Kind of like balancing the use of steriods.)

I'm not sure what the vets are talking to regular patients about since I haven't had a "regular" patient visit in years. I'm the person that walks in with a sick cat, have researched the symptoms on the internet, talked to at least 3 other people who might have had something similar, have a list of what symptoms the cat is or isn't exhibiting, and have potential diagnosis

Not for our cat, but she only stays inside. We have both of our dogs on heartworm preventative and figured if they were the only ones going out and were protected the cat would be fine. If your cat is an only pet and indoors I'm sure its nothing to worry about.

On another note, if she's an indoor/outdoor cat it might be something to consider if mosquitoes are bad in your area (since they can carry heartworm disease). If you are still worried you can always call and ask the vet. They will let you know their professional opinion and will help to set your mind at ease.

I have worked in the Veterinary field for 10 years. We try to get cat owners to put their cats on preventative but its challenging. Cats a difficult to pill and the topic preventatives like revolution or advantage multi are about $20 a month. Until recently it was not easy to test a cat for heartworms, and unfortunately there is no treatment for cats. It is uncommon for cats to contract heartworms for some reason, but if you are able to financially swing heartworm preventative for your cat I would recommend it.

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if the cat is only an indoor cat or goes out sometimes then No real need, if he lives outside most of the time and is a pet then yes if you really want to protect the cat.