Heartworm for an indoor cat

Hi again

My kitten is an indoor cat (I live in a rural area where there are foxes and whatnot) and I was wondering about heartworm and flea/tick preventative.

When I adopted her, she was given Revolution. I don't know much about this, only that it supposedly lasts for three months - have any of you had experience with that?

I'm trying to find something relatively mild. I've heard of people not needing to give indoor cats heartworm meds, but I'm too paranoid not to - every time I open the door in the summer, I just think a mosquito could get in, and if it was the wrong kind of mosquito....

My dog is on Frontline Plus TopSpot and Interceptor, which I have had no problems with (yeah, I wish we didn't have to use this stuff to keep away nasty buggies, but I guess its necessary).

Are the Frontline Plus and Interceptor for cats good products? Or should I stick with Revolution? Revolution only makes me nervous since I don't like these "superpills" with lots of stuff in them that supposedly do everything (and probly some stuff I don't need to worry about) . I 'm trying to use the smallest amount of medication possible.

I would stick with the Revolution personally. Its topical, so easy to administer, and it takes care of heartworms, ticks, fleas, and ear mites if I remember correctly. Otherwise, you would have to go with something for ticks/fleas and then a seperate medication for the heartworms. Revolution should be fine for your furbaby!

I agree, I'm a big fan of revolution. It takes care of heartworm, fleas, ticks, earmites, and worms. I'd rather give one superpill than multiple lesser pills. However, I was told that revolution needs to be reapplied every month, not every three. Might be worth looking into.

Originally Posted by WhtsThFrequency

Hi again

My kitten is an indoor cat (I live in a rural area where there are foxes and whatnot) and I was wondering about heartworm and flea/tick preventative.

When I adopted her, she was given Revolution. I don't know much about this, only that it supposedly lasts for three months - have any of you had experience with that?

I'm trying to find something relatively mild. I've heard of people not needing to give indoor cats heartworm meds, but I'm too paranoid not to - every time I open the door in the summer, I just think a mosquito could get in, and if it was the wrong kind of mosquito....

My dog is on Frontline Plus TopSpot and Interceptor, which I have had no problems with (yeah, I wish we didn't have to use this stuff to keep away nasty buggies, but I guess its necessary).

Are the Frontline Plus and Interceptor for cats good products? Or should I stick with Revolution? Revolution only makes me nervous since I don't like these "superpills" with lots of stuff in them that supposedly do everything (and probly some stuff I don't need to worry about)

. I 'm trying to use the smallest amount of medication possible.

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Talk with your vet ... In my area heartworm is a rare thing and vets advise againt the meds,... I remeber when I moved here asking for heartworm meds and having the receptionist be puzzled..lol

Heartworm is transmissible through mosquito bites. My kitties are 100% indoors as well & we live in NH, so when winter rolls around, we stop the heartworm preventative. But otherwise they all get Revolution. Definently check with your vet & see what's recommended in your area.

Amanda

Both of my indoor cats have been getting Revolution every month since they were old enough to begin taking it. It is very easy to apply.

Good luck!

Originally Posted by MeowsersMom

I agree, I'm a big fan of revolution. It takes care of heartworm, fleas, ticks, earmites, and worms. I'd rather give one superpill than multiple lesser pills. However, I was told that revolution needs to be reapplied every month, not every three. Might be worth looking into.

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Thanks guys

They recommend year-round protection in my area, so I'm sticking with the Revolution.

I use Frontline Plus for flea protection and Heartgard for heartworm protection.

Originally Posted by coaster

I use Frontline Plus for flea protection and Heartgard for heartworm protection.

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May I ask how you get the cats to take heartgaurd??

They think it's a treat and they eat it.

Revolution is definitely a good product overall.

Cats are not very susceptible to heartworm so unless it is very prevalent in your area, I don't see any reason to use a heartworm preventative.

Two of my cats had severe reactions to revolution, and in my years as a vet tech, I've repeatedly seen dogs contract fleas while using revolution. If they can't prevent fleas, how do I know it's preventing heartworms? I just don't trust the stuff. "All in one does everything but your taxes" usually means it only marginally does some of the things it claims to do. If you live in a heavy flea, tick or heartworm area, I would recommend Frontline for fleas/ticks and heartguard or interceptor for cats for heartworm.

It is MUCH MUCH more difficult for a cat to get heartworm disease then a dog. If they do get heartworms, most of the time their body can kill off the heartworms on there own. Cats do not get a large of a worm burden as dogs do because their heart is smaller then that of a dog.(not including toy breeds) so it is much easier for the cats body to kill them off. I have seen several cats who tested positive for the heartworm antibody (meaning they where exposed) but NEVER have I seen a cat test positive on the heartworm antigen test. (meaning they actually have heartworms) So in my several years working at a vets office, I have NEVER come across a cat with heartworms.

I would recommend going with a product like frontline or advantage. Revolution is not as effective against fleas as frontline or advantage. If you think your cat will be exposed to ticks, go with the frontline. Advantage does not protect against ticks. otherwise either of then are fine.

Ohhh.. and revolution MUST be applied monthly. It does not work for 3 months...

Our cats are indoor as well and from April until November they are treated monthly with Revolution since it's very possible for us to bring fleas in on our clothing. In the colder months we give them a break!

I've heard that it's a good idea to switch the flea treatment medications around from year to year for better protection (i.e., no immunities are built up by the flea population in your area).

IMO, it's also important to get your flea meds from a vet. Although some of these meds can be purchased over-the-counter/on-line, they may not be the "real McCoy", i.e., a watered-down version and have little to no effect as the good case scenario or death as a bad case scenario.

Originally Posted by sharky

Talk with your vet ... In my area heartworm is a rare thing and vets advise againt the meds,... I remeber when I moved here asking for heartworm meds and having the receptionist be puzzled..lol

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Same here.. not puzzled but just like 'ah we dont really see much heartworm in cats here so we dont advise medication for it'.

I have a friend on another cat board who's indoor cat has heartworm They're taking it day by day. She lives in North Carolina. So it really depends where you live and how big of a problem it is.

To add to what Shorty said, the reason cats don't get a large worm burden like dogs is that heartworms can't reproduce inside a cat's body. I don't remember why right off the top, but if a cat gets infected with heartworm larvae, if any of those reach adulthood they just eventually die. I suppose that's what Sicycat's friend's cat is going through right now.

I live in Florida, so it's Revolution all the way for me & my 3 indoor cats.

I have a feral cat who we have taken in & neutered, but he's on Heartgard because you'd never get a spot on treatment on him!

Mt feral 'Biscuits' HAD heartworm!!! He was potentially going to die from it. Only a small ( less than 5 ) percentage of cats pass out heartworm and rid themselves of it. There is NO treatment safe for cats.

Revolution & Heartgard are prevention only. They are also monthly. Some areas can stop medication in winter months, but wherever live I give I all year round. After Biscuits having heartworm I am taking no chances!

Cas only Carr one or two worms at most & generally cats can cope with this. Unlucky ones may get breathing problems in the firm of inflammation of the lungs.

Howeve the most dangerous part is when the worms die inside the cat. The cats have a massive immune response to the dead worm and this is something g most cats don't survive - we were lucky!

Biscuits takes his Heartgard in his food - he's feral he eats what he can get with no ind as to what's in it.

My youngest 2 used to eat it like a treat, but refused as soon as we adopted our older ( 4 yrs ) female, so those 3 are all on revolution!