Did you use your heartworm preventative this month?

In an April 2007 post, I talked about a Dr. Nelson from Beaumont Texas who found adult heartworms in 10% of the cat's that he necropsied at a local shelter back in 1997. While that finding, amoung others from veterinarians, did much to help us realize that cats are not immune to the parasite, we now believe that the problem may be even worse than originally thought, as was presented at this years American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Forum. Out of Auburn University, Dr. A.Ray Dillon and Dr. Byron Blagburn have shown that the parasite doesn't even need to mature into adults to cause problems. Once the larvae leave the mosquito and enter the cat's body, they may cause significant lung issues, now defined as "heartworm-associated respiratory disease." Arterial disease is also at play from the actions of the larvae both when growing and after dying. To quote Dr. Julie Levy from the University of Florida, "It appears that even transient exposure to immature parasites can leave cats with substantial lung pathology that may persist long after any trace of the parasite has been eliminated."

Still have questions? Visit www.knowheartworms.org or feel free to call me at the clinic.

In related news, my study on the frequency of mosquitos sneaking in the house while I take out the trash is nearing completion. OK, well, maybe there is no such study, but all you folks who feel that your indoor cats have never seen mosquitos need to reconsider, as we still do not have a cure for the problem once it happens. We may be able to manage some of the cases, but it is often only after a lengthy diagnostic workup and usually relies on luck and steroids.