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I'm a graduate student living in southern Texas, and I just adopted my first cat Sebastian in January. He is perfectly healthy, but last time he was at the vet they recommended he be put on a heart worm preventative. The vet explained that although pretty uncommon in cats, one worm can be fatal. I have anxiety, and this was enough for me to buy him a 6 month supply of Advantage Multi. However, when I got home I researched a little and have found a little information on heartworm preventative toxins.
Sebi is an inside cat, but he does enjoy walking around with me outside/on our patio for ~10 minutes daily. Also I have spotted a mosquito or two flying around our apartment before.
Am I wasting my money and subjecting my cat to unnecessary toxins by applying this topical preventative monthly? Should I stop using it? Or just limit the application to the warmer months of summer?
Quick opinion, I'm just leaving the house. Most likely the Possible benefits don't outweigh the risks. There are ways to find the actual cases (on-line) for heart worm in your area. I'll see if I can find it now, before I go out. Even your vet says it is rare.
Vets make a lot of their profit on medications, RX food and flea & pests preventative products. AND DENTAL procedures.
It tends to be more of sales pitch, than a case by case consideration of Your animals needs.
Don't feel bad, we've all been there ... that's why we're here.
There are many PO at CD that work in the veterinary field, they may feel differently, we'll see.
I know in my area heartworm is very common. I'm the type of person who would much rather be safe than sorry.
in a cat?
i've had 10 cats at a time for decades and never heard of heartworm in a cat until a vet a few years ago. and she was a typical sell you everything under the sun vet. i don't vaccinate my cats either after the first year when they get fixed. i have no reason to expect they would get rabies when i haven't been anywhere near a rabies epidemic ever. but whatever you do...never use HARTZ!
i've had 10 cats at a time for decades and never heard of heartworm in a cat until a vet a few years ago. and she was a typical sell you everything under the sun vet. i don't vaccinate my cats either after the first year when they get fixed. i have no reason to expect they would get rabies when i haven't been anywhere near a rabies epidemic ever. but whatever you do...never use HARTZ!
Rather than Just rep you, your post is worth repeating.
This website has MANY other articles on vaccinations. It also has many articles containing detailed information on a wide variety of animal health care issues.
"An increasing number of veterinarians are starting to recommend heartworm preventives for cats right along with dogs – even though dogs are the natural hosts for heartworms, and therefore, heartworm infections in cats are relatively rare.
Heartworm infection is a very different disease in cats than in dogs. <edit> it poses little threat for the cat population.
Much of the sudden interest in feline heartworm disease could be prompted by a new 'syndrome' coined by a major manufacturer of veterinary drugs: Heartworm Associated Respiratory Disease, or HARD. Coincidentally … or not … the same drug company sells a heartworm preventive for cats.
<edit>
Keeping your cat indoors and helping her immune system stay strong and resilient are the safest, most effective heartworm preventives you can give your pet.
I wouldn't bother after the first year unless your cat is an outdoors cat (I wouldn't consider 10 minutes on the patio each day outdoors).
mine are indoor/outdoor but i go to extremes when finding housing where i know it's safe outside. my neighborhood at the moment is crazy pet friendly with all the cats running around in each other's yards! not in a busy city, not too rural. just right in the middle. and mostly my cats live to be 18 or 19.
i've had 10 cats at a time for decades and never heard of heartworm in a cat until a vet a few years ago. and she was a typical sell you everything under the sun vet. i don't vaccinate my cats either after the first year when they get fixed. i have no reason to expect they would get rabies when i haven't been anywhere near a rabies epidemic ever. but whatever you do...never use HARTZ!
I should have clarified, common in dogs, sorry my fingers get ahead of my brain lol.
Since I have been working for a vet (about 2 years) I have only seen one case in a cat. I use advantage multi,which has preventative in it just to be on the safe side.
Last edited by haleybug528; 08-01-2012 at 06:38 PM..
This is a bit of a controversial topic. The veterinary cardiologist I used to work for considers heartworm in cats to be so rare as to be not worth spending the money on preventative. His cats are also indoor/outdoor. He loves his cats but I'd characterize his tolerance of risk to them as pretty high. Most of the other vets at the university where I work recommend preventative and use it on their own pets. Your mostly indoor cat is not likely to be exposed to heartworm. If he's exposed the worms aren't likely to survive. Here's the rub though, cats are extremely sensitive to heartworm. When the worms die off it sets off a crazy immune reaction that is almost always fatal. Or, since cats are so small they can easily block important vessels causing something called caval syndrome. The only cure for caval syndrome is to surgically remove the worm. And if the worm should break while you're removing it, you get the aforementioned immune reaction. Not good. So, in the end it's a matter of your risk tolerance I think.
I would caution the OP about researching online. There is an amazing amount of disinformation out there.
I do agree that Hartz is horrible though. Stay far away from that stuff.
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