Dogs and Cats and Heartworms & Heartbreaks, Etc., Etc.

So, you call yourself "dog's best friend", huh? Well, you don't call yourself that way for nothing.

By spending time with your hairy buddy, walking with them, throwing stick to make them pick it up and bring it back to you, loving them and caring for them, you directly are making a stronger and lasting relationship with them and these dogs and cats, too, are actually contributing a better quality of life for human beings. With this in mind, shouldn't you also be doing the same thing? t is the primary responsibility of the dog owner to make sure that their canine companion is as well taken care of, healthy and happy as they can be and ensuring that their pets are disease and heartworm-free is one of the most wonderful ways of doing so. If you want to talk about dogs and cats and heartworms, then, just sit down and relax.

So, what is this heartworm that every pet owner is talking about? How does it come to be and how does it affect the health of your dog or cat?  Heartworm is actually parasitic worm that can cause lots of damage to a dog or cat's system and they get it through direct contact with mosquitoes. Although heartworms are found in humans, it is a very rare case. These parasites live in a pet's heart, arteries and lungs and could live a life span of about 6 to 7 months and they have plenty of time to render your pet lifeless and cold.

And how does your pet get heartworms from mosquitoes?  Mosquitoes that are infected bites the dog and in the process, they plant heartworm larvae into the system and from there the larvae digs into the dog's skin and grows into the worm-like parasite that they appear to be and they can get rather large and some of them can be a foot long. Then, they start reproducing until they dominate almost all major body organs of the poor animal and they can sure create life-treating problems including blood circulation.

What is worse about heartworm is the owner of that pet is not yet fully aware of their existence and sometimes, it would be too late after finding out that there is a bad case of heartworms. So, what do owners need to do to detect heartworms? Nothing, practically nothing. You can't detect a heartworm in its early stage. However, you can do a lot by getting a heartworm prevention remedy from your veterinarian.

That's right, you can't get rid of heartworms but you can try to prevent it. The vet should have heartworm preventative tablets for your pet and they can test your dog and find out whether or not he is infected with the parasites. Most heartworm tests are included in a normal veterinarian visit. If your pet sees a veterinarian on a regular basis, request for heartworm tablets and your dog should be fine. As with pets, it's also true to what they say that "an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure".

Now, the signs of heartworms that you should be aware of are loss of appetite or energy, sever weight loss, heavy and short breathing, fainting, coughing, wheezing sounds when breathing and nervousness.

In cats, it's pretty much the same but as a smaller animal compared to dogs, they might be more defenseless from heartworm attacks.

But whether you have a dog or a cat, it's wise for owners like you to give them the best in terms of healthy living and they do deserve that special kind of love, care and attention.  And as always, if you want to know more about dogs and cats and heartworms, the best place to get some reliable information is through the Internet and you have to put in mind that it's much faster and convenient to do this.  Remember, too, that your vet is not always available. So, give yourself a chance by proving to your dog or your cat that you are truly their best friend.