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Heartworms. Just typing the word makes the hair on my arms stand at attention. There is little in nature slimier and creepier than a worm, but when you then think about this creepy-crawly inching its way through your beloved cat’s heart, lungs and blood, the situation grows exponentially more disgusting and worrisome.

Heartworms are 9-11″ long worms that are transmitted to your feline friend through mosquitoes. When Sparky is bitten by an infected blood-sucker, baby heartworms, or larvae, are deposited into her blood stream. Over a period of several months, these juvenile hell-raisers procede to mature and migrate, eventually arriving at their ideal destination, the right side of Sparky’s heart and pulmonary arteries. Pulmonary arteries are the arteries that lead from the heart to the lungs. Within six months of entrance into your cat’s system, the heartworms are adults and begin releasing immature heartworms, or microfilaria, which live in the cat’s blood. Microfilaria are the culprits when it comes to infecting mosquitoes, since the flying vampires ingest these little buggers upon biting a cat.

This is a rough summary of heartworms and their journey of destruction. Just so you know, it is more common for mosquitoes to be infected by dogs carrying heartworms rather than cats; however, recent studies have proven that cats are more frequently affected than veterinarians previously thought, so becoming informed is very important.

The diagnosis process is a tricky one in this case. There are numerous symptoms that occur when heartworms are present, but these are also common symptoms for other diseases. The best thing to do is take Sparky to your vet and let them do their job. If you notice excessive weight-loss, coughing or rapid breathing, you may want to have your vet take a look. Even if heartworms are not present, these issues still need to be addressed.

Treating heartworms in cats is extremely difficult. In most cases, the treatment, itself, kills the cat before it can annhiolate the enemy. So, the key to this battle lies in prevention, not treatment. The best prevention to use is a topical solution. These usually help to ward off fleas, ticks and mosquitoes, thus eliminating the initial culprit. One interesting tid-bit to know is that cats can only be infected through infected mosquitoes. Infected cats cannot pass it along.

If you have made it this far in this article, it is obvious that you are a true fan of the feline. Let me guess, you often talk to your cat, asking elaborate questions and solving life’s toughest matters, right? Your day is made when Sparky hops onto your bed and proceeds to nuzzle up next to your head, dropping clumps of fur with each prance of the paw. If any of this sounds familiar, then do Sparky a favor and protect her. It’s no secret that cats are prissy, finicky animals with an overwhelming sense of entitlement. It’s also no secret that if your sweet and adoring kitty-cat were 150 pounds larger, she’d sooner bite your head off than look at you. So, next time your vet asks if you’re interested in heartworm prevention, just consider the outcome if your 150lb pampered priss discovered you were allowing worms to crawl around inside her.