Heartworm In Cats Causes

The disease in ferrets is an odd mix of the disease that we see in dogs and cats.

Heartworm in cats causes. Heartworms are spread through mosquito bites. It turns out that while cats are more resistant to heartworm infection than dogs they are not immune to it. Recent studies of cats with heart and respiratory diseases have found an incidence of heartworms that is far greater than previously thought. Causes of heartworm in cats.

It s a specific parasite that only affects dogs and cats and ferrets and other mammals. Like dogs ferrets are extremely susceptible to infection and can have larger numbers of worms than cats but like cats a low number of worms perhaps. Heartworm infections are caused by the parasite dirofilaria immitis which is carried by mosquitos and transferred into the cat s circulation with a mosquito bite. Instead your veterinarian can perform a variety of tests to rule out other conditions and determine if heartworm disease is the cause of your cat s symptoms.

Heartworms dirofilaria immitis are a blood borne parasite that reside in the heart or adjacent large blood vessels of infected animals. There is no specific test for the disease in cats. Heartworm in cats begins when a mosquito bites an animal that already is infected with heartworms dr. Cats with adult heartworms typically have just one to three worms and many cats affected by heartworms have no adult worms.

The heartworm will migrate to the lung and cause a round lesion that looks like a tumor. Heartworm disease is an infectious disease caused by the parasite dirofilaria immitis that can occur in dogs and cats but is less common in cats an infected mosquito that bites your cat can transmit dirofilaria immitis below we will give you information about heartworm symptoms as well as information about the diagnosis treatment and prevention of heartworm disease. While this means heartworm disease often goes undiagnosed in cats it s important to understand that even immature worms cause real damage in the form of a condition known as heartworm associated respiratory disease hard. As mentioned before heartworm disease is different in cats than it is in dogs.

Until recently it was thought that heartworm disease was very rare in cats. It can only be passed on by mosquitoes. Heartworm disease in ferrets is caused by the same parasite that causes heartworm infection in dogs and cats. The mosquito picks up baby worms in the blood called microfilariae the youngest larvae and these microfilariae live inside the insect for 10 days to two weeks as they mature into their infective larvae stage she says.

Heartworm disease is a serious disease that results in severe lung disease heart failure other organ damage and death in pets mainly dogs cats and ferrets. But these are very rare cases. The larvae migrate from the bite wound through the body and mature until they reach the heart and blood vessels of the lungs as adults.