The American Heartworm Society has information ever pet guardian should be aware of.
When I found Mommy I was already showing clinical signs, I had a mild persistent cough and I seemed very tired (Mommy thought I was a really OLD dog).What Are the Signs of Heartworm Disease?
For both dogs and cats, clinical signs of heartworm disease may not be recognized in the early stages, as the number of heartworms in an animal tends to accumulate gradually over a period of months and sometimes years and after repeated mosquito bites.
Recently infected dogs may exhibit no signs of the disease, while heavily infected dogs may eventually show clinical signs, including a mild, persistent cough, reluctance to move or exercise, fatigue after only moderate exercise, reduced appetite and weight loss.
Cats may exhibit clinical signs that are very non-specific, mimicking many other feline diseases. Chronic clinical signs include vomiting, gagging, difficulty or rapid breathing, lethargy and weight loss. Signs associated with the first stage of heartworm disease, when the heartworms enter a blood vessel and are carried to the pulmonary arteries, are often mistaken for feline asthma or allergic bronchitis, when in fact they are actually due to a syndrome newly defined as Heartworm Associated Respiratory Disease (HARD).I was lucky in that they have a treatment for doggies, currently there is no treatment for cats.
Currently, there are no products in the United States approved for the treatment of heartworm infection in cats. Cats have proven to be more resistant hosts to heartworm than dogs, and often appear to be able to rid themselves of infection spontaneously. Unfortunately, many cats tend to react severely to the dead worms as they are being cleared by the body, and this can result in a shock reaction, a life-threatening situation. Veterinarians will often attempt to treat an infected cat with supportive therapy measures to minimize this reaction; however it is always best to prevent the disease.
There are heartworm preventives for both doggies and cats and I sincerely hope that you give your dog or cat one every month.
If you want to read about my fight with Heartworm Disease you can read
Scylla Sunday (My first Heartworm Treatment)
Tuiren Day (My Second Heartworm Treatment)
Tuiren Tuesday - Heartworm Treatment (The Final Treatment)
~Tuiren reporting for ATCAD
8 comments:
fantastic post!! You know, you could always repeat it for the next one ;)
FANGtastic post Tui. It should NOT have waited until OCTOBER.... Fur Many places the mosquito season is OVER by then...
We get our ♥worm med. the Furst Saturday of EVERY MONTH of the YEAR... And we are DARNED glad that our mom and dad keep us Pawtected from those evil thingys.
What a great post Tui. We are so glad you are a survivor. It's a message that everyone should hear.
We're glad you're a survivor ! Thanks for sharing your terrible experience, it's a very important information for pet parents ! Purrs
We also always miss Blog for the Change, and we think this post is very appropriate for summer. We are glad you didn't wait until October to write it. XO, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo
So glad there was medicine to help you beat the odds, T. You were very brave and so was your family. I get my blood test every year and my medicine every month. Great reminder for the humans who need it.
Love and licks,
Cupcake
Paws up, Tuiren! The head peep's coworker's mother just adopted a dog with heartworm and is about to start treatment, and she told her about you and what a great job you did beating it!
We did not know that there wasn't a treatment for cats with heartworms. That's scary!
Great post! Thank you so very much for sharing Tuiren, I learned a lot about kitties and heartworm.
Marty's Mom
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