Feline challenges with heartworm disease

Feline challenges with heartworm disease


With mosquito season here, it’s time to remind cat parents that their feline kids are not immune to heartworm disease.

Cats are more resistant than dogs to infections with adult heartworms. But even a couple of heartworms can cause big problems for a cat’s relatively small body.

Cats have a unique response to heartworms. When young worms arrive in the lungs, the reaction can mimic feline asthma or allergic bronchitis. As a result, this heartworm-related respiratory disease, or HARD, can be overlooked.

Heartworms that grow in the lungs suppress the cat’s immune system, allowing the infection to persist with few signs—that is, until the worms die, causing often fatal inflammation.

So, considering keeping your cat on monthly heartworm preventative. Check out feline-friendly options that are safe for cats as young as 8 weeks old.

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