Keeping Pesky Pests Away
Parasite control is as important to your cat's preventive veterinary care as wellness exams, routine diagnostic tests, and vaccinations. Creating a parasite control protocol with a Cat Clinic of Cary veterinarian is an easy and cost-effective way to keep your cat, and human family, free from pesky pests such as fleas, ticks, and heartworms.
Fleas
Year-round flea control is important for both the health and comfort of your family cat. These troublesome vexations can cause rashes, transit tapeworms, and lead to allergic reactions for your kitty if not treated promptly. While bothersome to your cat, fleas can carry various strains of bacteria, including Bartonella, which can lead to cat scratch fever in humans.
Ticks
Troublesome to both your cat and you, ticks are known carriers of many diseases, including Lyme disease, which can bring about many problems for infected individuals. Frequent visual examination of your cat, especially ones that frequent the outdoors, can assist in keeping your cat free of ticks.
Heartworms
Transmitted through a bite from an infected mosquito, these parasites can travel to the heart and lungs, leading to potentially serious medical conditions for cats. There is currently no treatment for heartworm disease in cats. Therefore, it is highly recommended for all of our feline patients to be on monthly heartworm prevention.
Cytauxzoonosis
Cytauxzoonosis is a tick-borne disease only found in cats. It cannot be spread to people, other species of animals, or even from cat to cat. Infected cats become very sick and often display one or more of the following symptoms:
- Loss of appetite
- Lethargy
- Fever
- Abnormally pale or yellow mucous membranes
- Pain
- Increased respiratory rate and effort
- Enlarged lymph nodes
Many cats die within a week or two of developing symptoms, even with the traditional treatment protocol of supportive care and anti-protozoal medications. Those that do survive can become chronic carriers. They are seemingly healthy, but can serve as a reservoir for the disease.
Because treatment is rarely successful, it is essential to strive to prevent Cytauxzoon felis from infecting your cat. Keeping your cat on Frontline, a topical flea and tick preventive, year-round is one of the best ways to prevent a cytauxzoonosis infection. It is also a good idea to keep your cat indoors, especially when ticks are in season, to prevent cytauxzoonosis and other lethal infections.
Our friendly staff will be happy to talk with you about parasite prevention products. Most are inexpensive and can be administered in the comfort of your own home. Contact us today to learn more.