Why Is Heartworm and Flea Prevention Important?

Prevention is always better than cure, especially when it comes to heartworms and fleas. The American Humane Society recommends heartworm and flea prevention to avoid myriad consequences for pets and their owners. The last thing you need is to deal with a high level of infestation in your pets, which can be heartbreaking. If you want to know how important heartworm and flea prevention is, here’s what you should know.
 

Heartworm Prevention

Keeping heartworm at bay is important because of the following reasons:
 

• Safer than heartworm treatment. Parasitologists say that heartworms are more complicated than ordinary intestinal parasites. When you deworm your dog or cat, the intestinal parasites die off and exit your pet’s body through defecation. Heartworms, once dead, breakdown into fragments. While waiting for their turn to exit your pet’s body, the heartworm fragments circulate in your pet’s bloodstream. The fragments cause several issues, one of which is the blockage of blood supply to your pet’s lungs. During treatment, you should limit your pet’s physical activities for about six to eight weeks. By the eighth week, you should have your pet checked for the presence of fragments left. Because of the high-risk treatment, it is far better to prevent heartworms instead.
   

• Simple and quick. Preventing heartworms from infesting your pets is quick and simple. It includes reducing vulnerability to mosquitoes, having routine blood testing, and taking heartworm preventives. Heartworm prevention doesn’t take much effort at all.
   

• Less Expensive. Heartworm prevention usually costs below a hundred dollars a month. If your cat or dog already has heartworms, the entire treatment would cost at least a thousand dollars per pet. It is truly budget-friendly to go through the process of prevention.
   

Flea Prevention

Below are the explanations that elaborate on the importance of flea prevention:

• Keeps your pets itch-free and comfortable. The presence of fleas makes cats and dogs itch a lot. They also experience secondary bacterial infection and hair loss. When you prevent fleas from getting to your pets, you will ensure their comfort and health. Without constant scratching, your pets stay happy and stress-free.
   

• Maintains the health of your household. Flea infestation in cats results in cat scratch fever. This disease is deadly to the elderly and immunocompromised people in your home. Preventing fleas from thriving in your premises makes sure that you and your household are safe and healthy as well.
   

• Saves your pets from parasitic infection. Many pet owners are unaware that fleas are carriers of the cystic form of a type of tapeworm. When your pets try to catch the fleas with their mouths, they tend to ingest the fleas. The moment they do, the cyst develops into adulthood in their gastrointestinal tract. Once the adults are mature enough, they try to exit your pet’s body. You will then find tiny white worms on your pet’s rear end.
   

Heartworm and flea prevention are important for the health of your pets and your entire household. Here at Dr. Mike’s Affordable Vet Care, you can be sure to get proper guidance and resources in preventing fleas and heartworms from infesting your pets. Please visit our clinic in Arlington, Texas, for a one-on-one consultation. You can also call us at 817-663-8160 if you want to set an appointment or ask questions about our heartworm and flea prevention methods.