Cats and heartworms

Many people do not treat their cats for heartworms because they believe that indoor cats can not get heartworms.

All it takes for your indoor cat to get heartworms is one mosquito bite, which can easily happen to an indoor cat. Heartworm infection takes place when a mosquito carrying microscope – size heartworm larvae bites a cat. The larvae enter through the bite wound where they develop in the tissues. The immature worms then enter a blood vessel and are carried to the arteries in the lung where they cause an inflammatory reaction. Most worms die at this stage, causing even more inflammation. The worms that progress to the adult stage may live undetected for a couple of years. But, when the adult worms die, the inflammation can be severe enough to cause death. The respiratory signs associated with these reactions are called Heartworm Associated Respiratory Disease (HARD).

How can you tell if your cat has HARD (Heartworm Associated Respiratory Diseases)? Below are the signs associated with HARD.

Anorexia
Blindness
Collapse
Convulsions
Coughing
Diarrhea
Difficulty breathing
Fainting
Lethargy
Rapid heart rate
Sudden death
Vomiting
Weight loss

Source: KnowHeartworms.org