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Heartworm in Cats
Heartworm (Dirofilaria immitus) which is spread by
mosquitoes has always been an important disease in dogs. It is known now that
while cats don't contract heartworm as often as dogs, they do get it and it is a
very dangerous disease. Every cat exposed to mosquitoes (even long coated cats
and those that stay inside) are at risk.
 Heartworms are long (up to 24cm) and live in the right side of
the heart and the pulmonary vessels which lead from here to the lungs. In the
cat it only takes a few worms to block the blood flow in these vessels. This can
lead to sudden death. Disruption of blood flow to lungs, liver and brain are
other serious consequences. This pattern of disease is different to that of dogs
which tend to have a longer more chronic condition where the heartworm slowly
damage the heart, blood vessels and lungs.
The cycle on infection starts when mosquito bites an animal with
heartworm and sucks up the immature heartworm (microfilaria) from the
bloodstream of this animal. These heartworm then undergo a short maturing phase
in the mosquito before being passed onto the next animal this mosquito feeds on
as heartworm larvae. These larvae migrate around the body until maturity when
they find their way to the heart. They can however end up in other organs (eg
the brain) causing serious problems. These heartworm while damaging the heart
and possibly other organs feed on the nutrients in the blood stream and begin to
produce microfilaria which are then taken up by the next mosquito to bite them
and the lifecycle is complete
Unfortunately there is often much damage done before the
clinical signs of heartworm become obvious in the cat. As mentioned before sudden
death can be the first symptom. There are other signs though:
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Persistent cough
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Vomiting
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General listlessness
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Breathing problems
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Fatigue
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Collapse
Of course there other reason why these clinical signs occur but
all are significant enough to warrant a visit to your Vet. There are available now tests which can detect heartworm using a
small amount of blood. As there is no approved treatment for heartworm in cats
at this stage, prevention is obviously important:
Revolution
- a monthly spot-on simply applied to the skin on the back of the neck will kill
the heartworm larvae soon after the mosquito transmits it to your pet. This
single application will also control fleas, intestinal worms and ear mites in
cats. Unlike other heartworm preventatives, it is not necessary to test your cat
before commencing Revolution. It is a simple, complete, safe method of parasite
control in cats. More on Revolution
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