Parasite Control

Pets can be infected with a variety of parasites that lead to poor health and in some cases serious disease. Please visit the Companion Animal Parasite Council for more information.

Local Parasite Concerns
We are fortunate that the Colorado climate doesn’t encourage pet parasites as much as climates in the south, but it is still important to protect your cat and dog from intestinal and external parasites. Cats and dogs in our area are at risk for heartworm, intestinal parasites, ticks, and fleas—just like pets in other areas of the country.

Common parasites found locally include Giardia, roundworms, hookworms, whipworms, tapeworms, mange, mites, toxoplasma gondii, and coccidia. While heartworm exposure, fleas, and some ticks are more common in the summer, your pet can come in contact with some parasites, such as roundworms, year-round.

Risk of Infection
Pets can spread some of the parasites to each other and to human members of your family. If your pet interacts with other dogs outside your household (dog parks, day care, boarding, hiking, etc.), you will want to factor that additional exposure in. Some of the effects of these parasites in humans can be very severe, such as abdominal inflammation or even blindness.

Heartworm can lead to permanent damage to your pet’s heart and lungs. It can be fatal, particularly to cats, for which there are no products in the United States approved for the treatment of feline heartworm infection.

Prevention of Parasites
At each wellness exam, we will screen for parasites. Please bring a stool sample to each visit for a fecal test.

The staff and veterinarians of Deer Creek Animal Hospital will help you establish a safe and effective parasite prevention plan for your pet. There are a number of excellent products on the market today that if used properly can potentially eradicate concern about parasites.

Preventing parasites from harming your pet is just one of the services we provide. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.