{"id":3991,"date":"2022-10-28T09:52:00","date_gmt":"2022-10-28T04:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vetsupply.thepethost.com\/?p=3991"},"modified":"2022-11-07T09:56:01","modified_gmt":"2022-11-07T04:26:01","slug":"is-my-cat-has-heartworm-disease-or-respiratory-issue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/vetsupply.thepethost.com\/is-my-cat-has-heartworm-disease-or-respiratory-issue\/","title":{"rendered":"Is my Cat has Heartworm Disease or Respiratory Issue?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Cats are much more resistant to heartworm than dogs, but that doesn\u2019t mean that they are completely out of danger. They show different symptoms than dogs and might not even show the symptoms for a long time after being infected. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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So, how do you know if your cat has heartworm disease, and when do you know that it is a potential risk? How can you protect your cat, if it\u2019s not Heartworm but another Respiratory issue, how can you differentiate? You might be brewing these questions, which is why we will be discussing the answers to all of these. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can your cat get infected? <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Let\u2019s start by understanding how your feline can get Heartworms<\/a>. Although this is a disease mainly prevailing in dogs, cats are not immune to it. They can get the worms through mosquito bites. When mosquitoes bite an infected animal like a wild coyote, dog, or fox, they pick up immature parasites and carry them in their bodies and when these mosquitoes bite a healthy cat they transmit the immature parasites to the feline\u2019s body. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here they will grow and mature over the next 6-8 months. These worms once fully grown migrate through blood vessels and travel into their heart or lungs, blocking the blood vessels after a period. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Symptoms of Heartworm<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Even\nbefore these worms reach the heart or the lungs of your cat, they can cause\nsevere damage to its body. As these parasites are large enough to block blood\nvessels, the immune system is awakened and this causes an inflammatory\nreaction. The blockage of blood vessels also makes the heart work harder to\npump blood throughout the body. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When these worms reach the lungs, most common symptoms that you can see are, <\/p>\n\n\n\n