These pet meds are in tiny pill form you shouldn't have any trouble getting your pet to swallow. These chewy treats, which are flavored with liver for dogs and beef for cats, are doped with ivermectin, a drug that but interferes with the lifecycle of the heartworm but won't affect your pet at all. If you'd like to nix roundworms and hookworms at the same time, try Heartgard Plus. It adds a dash of pyrantel to get rid of those other annoying, if not fatal, parasitic worms.

Evil at heart

While heartworms are an excellent illustration of the diversity of life, they're not one you want your dog to experience firsthand. These parasitic worms are common to most areas of the United States, just like their unwitting partners, mosquitoes. Tiny heartworm larvae enter an animal's body when an infected mosquito stops for a quick drink; when they sense they're in the right place, the larvae swim through the bloodstream to the heart, where they mature. There may be as many as 300 in an infected animal's heart, and each may be as much as a foot long. They're about as big around as a thin strand of spaghetti, and once they get a foothold, they can snarl together in an animal's heart and strangle it, affecting its ability to pump blood effectively. The result is heart and lung damage, and sometimes death.

Symptoms of Heartworm Infection

It only takes 2-3 months for a heartworm to mature, but it may take 2-4 years before an infected dog or cat feels the full effects of its existence. It's only then that the symptoms appear: tiredness, lack of energy, coughing, difficulty breathing, a dull coat, enlarged abdomen, even fainting spells. Even at that point, the disease can still be fought effectively. An X-ray exam or blood test must be performed, in order to confirm the diagnosis; then the animal is dosed with a drug, either Immiticide or Caparsolate, that kills the heartworms. Immiticide is preferred, since it doesn't affect the liver or kidneys. The dead worms eventually break down and the pieces are swept out of the heart into the bloodstream, where they are removed from the body. If the pieces are too large, they can block blood flow and cause an embolism, crippling or killing the affected animal. It's critical that the animal be forced to rest for at least five weeks, until the remains of the adult worms are gone, since vigorous activity can force the fragments into small vessels, causing problems. Further treatments are necessary to rid the animal's body of the larvae, and thus the heartworm cycle is broken.

There's an easy way to avoid this costly and time intensive process, and that's to be sure to feed your pup or kitty their monthly dose of Heartgard preventative. And don't forget the Frontline flea control products! After all, your pet is a member of your family, and a tasty treat once a month can save you a lot of excess heartache.

Published with permission (FCDMInc)