Heartworm disease is a serious illness that causes heart failure and lung damage in animals. It also damages other organs and, eventually, leads to death. While most common in dogs, this disease can also affect cats, so protecting your feline friend is crucial.

April is Heartworm Awareness Month and, as veterinarians, we are happy to have an opportunity to spread awareness about this devastating yet completely preventable disease. And while heartworm disease is often associated with dogs, cats can be affected with heartworms, too. The thing is, cats are considered atypical hosts for heartworms because most worms in cats do not survive to the adult stage.

It’s a silent killer that has no cure, but it’s easily preventable. We may think of heartworm disease as more of a dog problem and, while more dogs than cats contract heartworms, mosquitoes find cats just as tempting of a meal as they do dogs. One shelter found during a year-long study that 26% of cats had been infected with heartworm larvae at some point in their lives, with 10% of heartworms making it to adulthood.

We are so proud of pet owners who take such loving care of their family members. They buy good quality food, keep their dogs and cats clean and sheltered, and protect them from infectious diseases.

Heartworm infection is a serious and potentially fatal disease in both dogs and cats. Fortunately, however, this disease is 100 percent preventable!

April is National Heartworm Awareness Month! Are your pets protected? Here’s what you need to know.

Heartworms are transmitted by mosquitos.

Heartworms are long, spaghetti-like parasites that live in the heart or pulmonary arteries. These worms cause disease by clogging the heart and major blood vessels, resulting in reduced blood supply to other organs, such as the liver, kidney and lungs.