GREENSBORO, N.C. — “Heartworms are real, they are prevalent, they are everywhere. Heartworms are very different than other worms they live just like it sounds, in the heart. They live in the heart and vessels and cause damage,” said Dr. Mandi Shearhart, Veterinarian, and part of Best Friends Animal Society.
Heartworm disease is a danger for both cats and dogs, although it is much more prevalent in dogs. Both animals get it the same way, from a mosquito bite, both animals can be protected from it by taking heartworm prevention year-round.
“If cost is a big concern, then there are some very low-cost options you can do. For those people, like myself that forget to do it once a month, there's injectable that lasts for six months or 12 months,” said Shearhart.
Even if your pet stays inside most of the time. mosquitos have a way of finding their way into the house. Shearhart says if you don't give them something to prevent heartworms. there is a chance your pet could get infected. If that happens, the treatment is much more time-consuming and expensive than the prevention medicine.
“The treatment is a yearlong process including a month of injections and antibiotics. It's a long tedious process to get rid of these worms and even as we're killing these worms, there's damage, there's lots of damage to the heart and lungs of the pet that could have been prevented,” said Shearhart.
On average, heartworm prevention medication costs dog owners about $86 a year and cat owners about $45.