Cats are NOT small dogs

Like dogs, cats can become infected with heartworm disease. However, unlike dogs, cats are not the ideal host for heartworms, therefore some infections can clear on their own, although leaving behind permanent lung damage. Heartworms can also lead to significant lifelong problems in cats such as wheezing, coughing and difficulty breathing -  some even speculate that cats affected with asthma were originally infected with heartworms thereby leading to the chronic airway inflammation characteristic of feline asthma.

While dogs become infected with >30-50 heartworms, most cats have 6 or fewer adult heartworms causing disease. Sometimes, even 1 single heartworm can infect a cat and cause disease. Unfortunately, unlike their canine counterparts, there is NO effect heartworm treatment for cats.  Most times, cats will clear the infection on their own however our job as veterinarians is to help treat them for the secondary respiratory damage created by the parasites. Often this means low doses of anti-inflammatories such as prednisolone and frequent monitoring via chest x-rays and lab-work.

Since there is no effective treatment for heartworm disease in cats, it is of utmost important that cat owners consider starting their feline friends on heartworm prevention - even if they are indoor only kitties. As mentioned in yesterday's post - even 1 single mosquito entering your home can be enough to expose and infect your kitty.