All 12 months of the year in North Texas is mosquito season.  With mosquitoes comes the risk of heartworms for your dog and cat.  A single mosquito bite can be lethal to your dog or cat if heartworms are transmitted.  Since it can take months before the symptoms become apparent, heartworm disease is often referred to as the “silent killer.”

Heartworms are a parasitic disease that can affect any dog or cat regardless of age, sex or habitat.  Spread by mosquitoes, it is found in almost all parts of the United States.  Heartworms live in the blood of a dog’s or cat’s heart and nearby blood vessels, grow from four to twelve inches in length, mature one year after infection and live for five to seven years.  The adult heartworms living in the heart produce offspring called microfilaria that circulate in the pet’s blood.  When a female mosquito bites an infected animal, it removes some of the infected blood that is then transmitted to a subsequent animal when bitten.

Symptoms include difficulty breathing, coughing, fatigue, lethargy, weight loss and rough hair coat.  A simple blood test can be performed by your veterinarian to determine if your pet is infected.  This test should be administered annually, even if your pet is on heartworm prevention. No preventative is 100% effective, and if the preventative is not given at the correct intervals, the pet will not be protected.

For dogs there are many monthly chewable tablets available from your veterinarian.  These include Tri-Heart Plus, Interceptor, Heartgard and Iverhart.  There are even dual products available that combine flea, and sometimes tick prevention, with the heartworm preventative.  Examples are Revolution and Sentinel.  Cat owners have a choice of Heartgard for Cats, Revolution for Cats (a combination flea, tick and heartworm prophylactic), Interceptor or Advantage Multi for Cats (another combination product to prevent heartworms and fleas).

As you know, it can be difficult to remember to give your dog or cat its heartworm medication at the same time each month and occasionally you may accidentally skip a month completely.  To avoid the delay or omission we offer several reminder aids.  You can sign up for our monthly e-mail reminders, and each product package contains stickers to affix to your calendar to help remind you.