Cats Heart Worm Disease
Cats heart worm disease is not as common as the same disease in dogs, but it can still be an extremely dangerous disease for your cat.
The symptoms can range to that of being very mild, to being fatal if respiratory and cardiac complications set in.
Male cats are much more susceptible to this potentially threatening condition than are female cats simply because by nature they are more prone to roam.
Cats that live in mosquito infested areas and that spend a lot of time outdoors are especially at risk, as this disease is spread by mosquitoes.
Heart worms are a parasite and are about the size of a very thin piece of spaghetti. They will live and virtually thrive in the right side of your cats heart and nearby blood vessels.
What is important to remember about this particular condition or any disease that deals with parasites and other like infections, is your cats immune system and how prepared it is to ward off these attacks. The immune system in cats is a complex system that when functioning properly fights off bacteria, parasites, fungi, and infections.
Critical nutrients and supplementation of those nutrients to stimulate the immune system are a must to keep it functioning properly. Vitamins A, C, E and essential fatty acids, as well as minerals that include manganese, selenium, zinc, copper and iron, all help the to build and maintain the immune system in your cat and help it to ward off heart worm disease.
With this disease, the mosquito will inject the larvae from the heart worm parasite into your cats skin when it is bitten. Although it is thought to be a disease isolated just too heavily infested mosquito areas, it is actually a serious threat in all 50 states and in most countries other than very frigid environments.
What makes this particular disease especially dangerous to your feline is that it is very difficult to detect and the tests that are given have not proven to be extremely reliable.
One worm alone, if not properly detected, can in some cases, cause sudden death and or sudden respiratory symptoms that will closely resemble asthma without the proper medical tests being ran by your veterinarian. There was some resistance and speculation in the medical community that this disease was so rare in cats that preventive measure were not needed; but recent data has shown that cats heart worm has become as high as 20% per ratio to that of dog heart worm disease.
The symptoms and clinical signs of this condition can be either chronic or acute in nature.
In acute cases, there may be just slight signs of pulmonary or nervous system problems, or the symptoms may be more severe and include sudden and consistent coughing, vomiting and even symptoms similar to anorexia, which will lead to weight loss in your cat.
Acute cases have also had some examples of severe and sudden weakness, severe depression to the point that your cat will actually be trying to tell and show you that they are in distress by sudden mood changes, and than in the worst of cases, sudden death may occur.
The chronic signs of this feline disease may include pulmonary disorders that are episodic in nature, some forms of gastrointestinal problems, and even cases of congestive heart failure.
This disease should be taken very seriously as it can be extremely dangerous to you cat. If your cat shows signs that they are having difficult time breathing, this may not be asthma at all, but cats heart worm disease.
In trying to fully understand this threatening condition, it helps to understand exactly what this parasite that causes this disease is about.
An adult worm is sexually advanced enough to produce young worms, and continues to grow in length and size as it matures. In dogs this adult heart worm can live up to seven years, but it cats it is believed to live only about two years. However, because cats are smaller, the risk is just as large.
The heart worm lives in a free floating form in the blood in the right heart vertical that is part of the function of the pulmonary blood vessels and assists in the breathing process. The major function of the right vertical is to receive blood that is returned to the body and that is low in oxygen. If your pets body is low in oxygen, it will have difficulty breathing properly.
The constant moving of the worms is what causes blockage of this function, and the severity or these signs will be dictated by the number of worms that are present in your cats system.
There are, however, a few other ways this parasite can affect your feline with cats heart worm disease, such as an abnormal migration within their body.
Basically, the parasite can take a wrong turn, and end up in places such as the under the skin, the eyes, or the stomach, and thus present more potential troubles for your cat.
The three most common tests for this disease are the heart worm antigen test, the Knotts test, and a test that looks for the presence of antibodies.
The antigen test will look specifically for the presence of a protein given off by the sexually mature female heart worm, and while considered one of the best, it may miss the parasite if there are just a few female worms infesting your cat.
The Knotts test will treat the blood with a chemical that will break down the blood cells, is put in a centrifuge and spun, with what falls to the bottom is than examined for particles of the parasite. This test, however, can also miss if there are just a few parasites present.
The third and most common test for this threatening condition is to look for the presence of antibodies to the larval stage, or form, of the parasite. The problem with this test is it may show that at some point in time your cat had an exposure to heart worms, but not necessarily infected at this present point.
Treatment of cats heart worm disease is very controversial, and should only be done by your veterinarian.
I am an avid lover of pets and my wife and I have had several pets throughout our years. We are especially fond of dogs, and we have a 12 year old Dalmatian (our 3rd) and a “mutt” that we rescued when someone threw him away to die in a vacant field. He found us, nearly starved to death, and weighed about 2 pounds. After severe bouts of mange and severe dehydration, and over 1,000.00 in veterinarian bills, we saved the little guys life, and he is one of the best, if not the best, dogs we have ever had and today is a muscular, fit, and firm 70 pound best friend.
After finishing my MBA, which at middle age was not easy, I decided to keep the research work ethics that I acquired, and devote about two hours each night in understanding the health benefits of supplementation for both humans and pets and how they might strengthen our, as well as our pets, immune system in a pre-emptive approach to health rather than a reactionary approach.
Both of my daughters are avid cat lovers, and asked me to help them with health concerns and challenges with their cats.
I am not a veterinarian nor claim to be, just a lover of pets that loves to research and pass on some knowledge that might be helpful, or at least stimulating to the thought process.
Several of the articles that I have written can be found on my website; Liquid Vitamins & Minerals for Humans & Pets.
http://www.liquid-vitamins-minerals-humans-pets.com
Author: Frank Will
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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