One of the most important things you can do for your kitten throughout their life is to keep them on regular preventative medications that will protect them against common parasites. Below you’ll find an overview of intestinal parasites, heartworm disease and flea & tick dangers along with our product recommendations that will help keep your pet safe.
Intestinal Parasites
Intestinal parasites are organisms that live in your pets’ intestines and can cause illness. Many parasites are found in the grass, dirt and sand and can be easily transmitted to each other and in some cases, humans. It is also common for kittens to be born with parasites. Signs that your kitten may have intestinal parasites are loose stool, diarrhea, scooting or biting, change in appetite, weight loss and even poor hair coat. If you see worms in the stool, let your veterinarian know immediately. Please bring a fecal sample for evaluation. Most intestinal parasites are diagnosed microscopically by the veterinary team.
Treatment is usually simple and is based on the parasite identified. Your veterinarian may prescribe a pill, powder or liquid to easily administer to your pet at home. It is not recommended to get a de-wormer over the counter without knowing which parasites your pet may be carrying. Following treatment, your team will want to check another stool sample to ensure that there are no parasites seen.
Heartworm Disease
Charleston is home to wetlands and humidity, which means mosquitoes love it here! The great number of mosquitoes in the area correlates with the large amount of heartworm disease that we diagnose.
What are heartworms? Heartworms are exactly what they sound like – worms in the blood vessels near the heart. When a mosquito bites a heartworm positive animal, it can pick up worm larvae which are transmitted to another pet it bites. The larvae then swim through the blood stream to the heart where they develop into adult worms and reproduce. Heartworm disease can cause damage to the heart, lungs and arteries and can be fatal. Preventing heartworm disease is much easier (and cost-effective) than the treatment.
How can you prevent heartworm disease? An oral or topical heartworm prevention must be given every 30 days for your pet’s entire life to ensure that they are protected.
CHV recommends Revolution or Heartgard for cats!
Fleas & Ticks
South Carolina is also host to many many fleas! Our seasons are all relatively warm, which prevents the flea population from dying off completely each year, magnifying their numbers. Fleas are present all year and easily cause home infestations when not prevented. Just like with heartworm prevention, it is recommended that your flea prevention is given every 30 days. There are multiple types and brands of flea prevention available. Some flea prevention also offers tick prevention.
Preventative Recommendations
For our feline friends, the CHV team recommends Revolution Plus which is a topical flea, tick and heartworm prevention that protects your pet for up to 30 days.
For these important preventatives, we match our prices to the regular prices listed at the large national online retailers. Additionally we can offer manufacturer rebates with our in-house pharmacy that can drive the cost even lower. For our online pharmacy there are auto-ship discounts of 5% not to mention promo codes and coupons to look out for along with always free shipping direct to your home!
We hope you will utilize our CHV pharmacies and support our local business when making your preventative purchases while feeling confident you are getting the best products and pricing available. Our clinic makes a small margin on products purchased through our own pharmacies while the national chains require us to submit Rx approvals but do not compensate for our work. We thank you in advance for your support!