Hi all
First off I have to say thank you all for being such wonderful cat enthusiasts. Reading here always helps me figure what to do- especially Jasmine has ceased vomitting since I elevated her foodbowl and swear by it
Recently I had to take her to the vet to get her annual shots (by law in FL she needs rabies vaccination and the vet also recommends a few others we also do) and they have been very strongly stressing heartgard.
In the past I will give heartgard to all 3 of mine in the summer months when the weather is heavy with mosquitoes- I like to cook out often, and despite my kitties being inside kitties- i can really tell when the mosquitoes are out and when they aren't.
That doesn't mean however that there always is that miniscule chance one could get inside and transmit the disease to my cats, but we live in a rural area and our house is barely 2 years old. With newer construction and tighter codes it is well sealed against insects and nasty Florida weather.
I love and trust my vet and at the same time know they also benefit from perscribing Heartgard (and other similar medications like it) and it strikes me as funny because I used to live on the coast in SW Florida (now Orlando) and the mosquitoes wouldbe SO thick if you went outside your exposed skin would be black from them!!! Yet.. the vets back home only perscriped it for dogs (at least, our cat was an outside cat back then and as far as i know we never gave her it.. but then again I was like.. 10)
Soooooooo.. how do you guys feel about this? It'd cost about $200 a year to treat all of my cats for heartworm prevention, but they are indoors ina very well taken care of home so the chances of a mosquito getting in and biting them are slim (yet anything is possible)
Thank you very kindly in advance for your responses!
First off I have to say thank you all for being such wonderful cat enthusiasts. Reading here always helps me figure what to do- especially Jasmine has ceased vomitting since I elevated her foodbowl and swear by it
Recently I had to take her to the vet to get her annual shots (by law in FL she needs rabies vaccination and the vet also recommends a few others we also do) and they have been very strongly stressing heartgard.
In the past I will give heartgard to all 3 of mine in the summer months when the weather is heavy with mosquitoes- I like to cook out often, and despite my kitties being inside kitties- i can really tell when the mosquitoes are out and when they aren't.
That doesn't mean however that there always is that miniscule chance one could get inside and transmit the disease to my cats, but we live in a rural area and our house is barely 2 years old. With newer construction and tighter codes it is well sealed against insects and nasty Florida weather.
I love and trust my vet and at the same time know they also benefit from perscribing Heartgard (and other similar medications like it) and it strikes me as funny because I used to live on the coast in SW Florida (now Orlando) and the mosquitoes wouldbe SO thick if you went outside your exposed skin would be black from them!!! Yet.. the vets back home only perscriped it for dogs (at least, our cat was an outside cat back then and as far as i know we never gave her it.. but then again I was like.. 10)
Soooooooo.. how do you guys feel about this? It'd cost about $200 a year to treat all of my cats for heartworm prevention, but they are indoors ina very well taken care of home so the chances of a mosquito getting in and biting them are slim (yet anything is possible)
Thank you very kindly in advance for your responses!
