Heartworm lives in the lungs and hearts of kittens and spread by mosquitoes. Diagnosis is sometimes difficult and your Vet may recommend a number of different tests to identify this disease.
Cat Heartworm Symptoms May Include:
- Coughing
- Wheezing
- Lethargy
- Weight loss
- Difficulty breathing
- Loss of appetite
Kittens and cats are more resistant to heartworm than dogs, meaning the general consensus is that it’s less vital to protect against it in cats.
However, although the risk of heartworm in kittens may be very low, heartworm disease has been associated with sudden death in cats, so prevention is available and advised.
Kitten heartworm prevention comes in the form of monthly tablets, chewables and spot-ons.
We recommend that a heartworm detection test is carried out prior to treatment if your cat is over six months of age. Chat with your local PETstock VET team for more info about this.
Hot Tip
Most ‘all wormers’ do not prevent heartworm.