Heartworm Prevention

Keep it simple – There are lots of products out there now but we have found only a few that live up to the hype. 

Heartworm is a disease of dogs and cats.  It is a worm that is carried by mosquitoes and migrates to the heart.  It can get to be 14 inches long and will eventually cause heart failure and death if untreated.  It is very prevalent in this area.  To prevent infection we blood test the dogs to make sure they are free of disease and then put them on a preventative given monthly.  Cats can also get infected but the test is not as good so it is not routinely performed.

Most dogs and cats should go on Heartgard chewable pills given once monthly to prevent heartworm.  This comes in a non-chewable form but this is harder to give and does not include an intestinal de-wormer that the chewable form contains.  Since they are the same price, go with the chewable.

Revolution is the other choice of monthly heartworm preventative.  This is a liquid that is placed on the back of the neck and prevents heartworm, treats ear mites, gets fleas, and some ticks.  It is very useful in cats that do not like the Heartgard pills and some dogs that do not get a lot of tick exposure.         

Fleas and Ticks – What to use??

CAUTION – We DO NOT recommend products that contain permethrin or pyrethins.  These are often fatal in cats and we treat many dogs that develop neurological problems and seizures from these products. 

The best product by far is Frontline Topspot.  It is a liquid that goes on the back and kills ticks for a month, and fleas for up to three months.  Ticks and fleas are killed on contact and do not have to bite.  The product will not wash off by 48 hrs after application so we do not recommend bathing for 2 days before or after application (Frontline travels in the oils on top of the skin and so do not bathe prior to application.)

Revolution is effective for fleas and a few types of ticks and can be used if ticks are not a major problem.  This also gets their monthly heartworm prevention and ear mites.

We use a few other products in certain cases but most animals get either a combination of Heartgard and Frontline or Revolution.

Lots of other products say they work but these are the only ones that truly live up to the billing.