Heartworm Disease

Healthy animals are not as susceptible to heartworm as unhealthy animals. Heartworm comes from a weakness in the host rather than the worm itself. The best way to help your dog or cat avoid illness is to support their well being.

Risk factors for heartworm include:

• Geographic areas that have high-density pockets of infected mosquitoes


• Length of mosquito season


• Taking your pet to areas of high heartworm incidence


• Proximity to water, especially if it’s stagnant or swampy


• Time of day (dusk and dawn are high-risk periods)


• Lifestyle and time spent outside, particularly at night

Keep your pet healthy by:

• Providing regular exercise and an emotionally healthy environment


• Feeding them a high quality, natural diet (learn to be a label reader and know how to analyze ingredients)


• Add fresh garlic to food (organic is best)


• Supplement with a complex of B-vitamins (avoid yeast unless you know your pet is not sensitive to it)


• Spritz repellents on your brush or comb and groom your pet daily


• Spritz collars, T-shirts and bandanas with repellent before going outdoors during mosquito season


• Avoid foods that attract mosquitoes (such as bananas)


• Avoid a lot of exposure outside during dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are most active


• Treat your pets with a Veterinarian prescribed Heartworm medication

For those who prefer more naturalistic/holistic approaches, many natural mosquito repellents are available, or you can prepare your own using this formula:

Boil two cups of water. Pour over thin slices of unpeeled lemon. Add a branch of fresh rosemary and three drops of tea tree oil. Allow mixture to steep overnight and strain off liquid into a spray bottle. When applying, spritz on the neck, face (avoiding contact with eyes and mucous membranes), abdomen, groin, and anal/genital areas.

Holistic veterinarians in the southern U.S. have used Nosodes successfully for a long time to help prevent heartworm in healthy, non-infected dogs in endemic areas. Nosodes are homeopathic preparations made from diseased material and is administered orally. It introduces the imprint of the heartworm to the animal so his body will be able to respond defensively should it encounter the real parasite later. For those of you with Holistic Veterinarians in your area, it is worth a discussion when deciding what plan you wish to adopt for heartworm prevention in your pets.

In dealing with the heartworm issue, assess the risks, make your pet as unattractive to mosquitoes as possible, use common sense when outdoors with your pets and make informed decisions that are in the best interest of your pets health.

cat, cat health, dog, dog health, heartworm

This entry was posted on February 23, 2009, 7:13 PM and is filed under Cat, Dog. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.