Is Heartworm prevention in cats necessary?

[Moonlight_wolf]

I just looked it up and found out that if a cat gets heart worms there is no way to cure it. Which is both sad and scary.

So it made me wonder if I should be giving my cat Heartworm prevention. I am not huge on putting chemicals on or in my cat. But is there something that’s safe and mild enough to not cause a bad reaction on cats. And how many people treat their cat with Heartworm prevention?

I live in upstate New York and she’s in indoor cat. I know that the risk that she’ll get heart worms is low, but it’s still possible. What are people’s thoughts?

 

[molly92]

I do. Yes, chances are low, but all it takes is one mosquito to come through the door behind you.

Revolution protects against heartworm and flea prevention, and it has a great reputation for being safe. They've used incredibly high dosages on kittens with no ill effects. I believe a small amount of cats will have a contact reaction at the site of application (rash), so if you try it the first time and notice this, then obviously don't use it again. I've only ever seen reports of that online, though, not in person.

It is expensive, but with flea meds, you get what you pay for. The cheap meds are the dangerous ones.

It's also nice to be on flea medication just in case, because they're much easier to prevent than get rid of.

You can only get revolution through a vet, and I do recommend talking to your vet because every animal is different.

 

[kittyluv387]

Some of us get Revolution without a prescription from this Australian website.

Revolution Cat (Blue)

As for how often you want it that's up to you. Yes we know it only takes one bad mosquito but for us applying revolution here and there has worked fine. We apply it to the 3 cats for a couple of summer months and another couple months during the year.

 

[Moonlight_wolf]

Yeah she was on revolution for a while, but once I ran out, I stopped just because putting chemicals on Mia makes me nervous. So I was hoping there was something less potent that just did Heartworm? I don’t know I mean it would probably have the same potential side effects and stuff anyways. I think I was just hoping for something a little less poisonous or something. Lol

 

[stephanietx]

I no longer give my kitties heartworm preventative, even my outdoor kitty. I have one kitty who does not tolerate Revolution at all. The other kitties are indoor only. For indoor only kitties, my vet recommends every 3 months if you're going to dose with a topical preventative.

 

[banana queen]

The thing is, everything is a chemical. The whole "scary chemical" thing is manipulative marketing designed to make people doubt science and trust dodgy questionably tested "natural" things. Plenty of natural things can kill cats. Lilies, onions and garlic are all natural, but all highly toxic to cats.

Chemical does not mean unsafe (or unnatural, as everything is a chemical). Medicine is regulated and tested for safety, as long as you buy the safe stuff that vets recommend and not cheap crap stuff, your cat will be fine.

Lots of the "natural" remedies for parasite protection that you find online actually are toxic, like some recommend garlic capsules or essential oils for fleas, as they are natural and spot on flea treatment is not, but actually both of these natural options are cat poison.

 

[molly92]

Yes, everything is chemicals. Rat poison occurs naturally in some clovers, for example.

The active ingredient in Revolution is a chemical that cannot enter the cells of cats because they do not have the right receptors for it, but some parasites do, which is why the parasite dies but the cat is unaffected. The safety studies for Revolution used 10 times the recommended dosage in 6 week old kittens and they had no ill effects.

Anything that kills a parasite is a toxin, otherwise it wouldn't be effective. So you're not going to find something that's less of a "chemical" than Revolution. The pro of Revolution is that it is targeted depending on the species and what kind of barriers the cells of that species have. Another treatment might not be as specific.

 

[Siamic]

I had a cat die from heartworm yesterday at the rescue, so while there is a very slim chance of a cat catching heartworm, Revolution is a very effective product for many things. That being said, I think it is worth treating with Revolution on a monthly basis.

 

[jen]

The best thing about Revolution (not Revolution Plus but plain Revolution) is that you can use the dog one, dosed down for cats. So you can buy the largest size dog one and treat like 8 cats. Such a money saver and totally safe. If you want to know the dosages you can google it or PM me if you want.

 

[MissClouseau]

I will only add to what's been already said, your best guide on questions about parasites are local vets. They know the best what is common/uncommon in that area, what flea medicine has been more or less effective that year, etc

 

[Talien]

The best thing about Revolution (not Revolution Plus but plain Revolution) is that you can use the dog one, dosed down for cats. So you can buy the largest size dog one and treat like 8 cats. Such a money saver and totally safe. If you want to know the dosages you can google it or PM me if you want.

The thing to remember about doing this is Revolution uses an alcohol solution so it will evaporate if you try to save time and dose it out into syringes before you're ready to administer it, if it's not an airtight seal it'll just be wasted. Had this happen at the rescue I volunteer at, it sucked.

 

[jen]

The thing to remember about doing this is Revolution uses an alcohol solution so it will evaporate if you try to save time and dose it out into syringes before you're ready to administer it, if it's not an airtight seal it'll just be wasted. Had this happen at the rescue I volunteer at, it sucked.

Good point. I use a clean medicine bottle with saran wrap and the lid on it.

 

[Siamic]

My favorite thing to use at the rescue is a 4 ounce amber glass bottle or a 4 ounce boston round bottle for revolution, works really well for storage and preventing damage by light.

 

[Moonlight_wolf]

Thanks guys you have eased my mind for using revolution. I think I’ll use it in the summer months when the mosquitoes and such are out.

 

[mentat]

Heartworm in Cats - American Heartworm Society
"For a variety of reasons, even in regions of the country where winters are cold, the American Heartworm Society is now recommending a year-round prevention program. Cats have been diagnosed with heartworms in almost every county in Minnesota, and there are differences in the duration of the mosquito season from the north of the state and the south of the state. Mosquito species are constantly changing and adapting to cold climates and some species successfully overwinter indoors as well. Year-round prevention is the safest, and is recommended. Remember too that many of these products are de-worming your pet for intestinal parasites that can pose serious health risks for humans."
Oral options include Heartgard and Interceptor. The HG chew is beef flavored, which is 'meh' for some cats. Interceptor is a tablet for varying weights, "flavored," but not palatable for cats. Sectioning either into quarters or eighths and hiding in tiny, fishy pate meatballs or minced up sardine is an option once a month, if you or your cat are averse to pilling oral meds by hand.

 

[mario41051]

hi, one of my 3 cats just died a few days ago. he was a few days far away from his 1st birthday. His death has been very sudden. We heard a very bad meow from him and then he looked like he couldn’t breath, we flew to the vet emergency and as soon arrived in a few minutes the vet saw the cat and she said that there were nothing we could do and few secs after the cat died.
We don’t know why Nuvola died (Nuvola means Cloud in Italian). He was healthy, we could notice a dry cough sometime in the day but when the vet visited him, she said that was nothing. He was very active and hungry right before the bad meow he was running around the house.
We cannot believe that really happened.
There is anyone that has experienced a sudden death like this one? Might be heartworm?

We adopted Nuvola along with his 2 brothers when they were 3 months old. We were looking to adopt one cat but when we saw those three in the same cage we couldn’t leave without adopting all 3. His 2 brothers Cupido (God of the love) and Sprinkle are grieving him and Nuvola was so active that the house really looks like empty now.

When we had Nuvola ready dead in the house, Sprinkle was blowing everytime he was near the dead brother. Sprinkle has never blown in that way, like attacking. Is that a normal reaction? A recognition that something has changed?

Thank you

I had a cat die from heartworm yesterday at the rescue, so while there is a very slim chance of a cat catching heartworm, Revolution is a very effective product for many things. That being said, I think it is worth treating with Revolution on a monthly basis.