5 diseases that you can prevent in your pet
Our pets give us unconditional love and support. So we can do the same by taking all the precautions necessary to keep them happy and healthy. Work with your veterinarian to help prevent these 5 serious diseases:
- Leptospirosis (Lepto) is a potentially life-threatening disease that occurs in dogs and can affect people. It’s caused by the Leptospira bacterium and can cause severe kidney or liver disease or internal bleeding. Dogs get Lepto from cool damp environments that are contaminated with urine from infected wildlife (e.g., rats, raccoons). Historically, Lepto was thought to only be a disease of concern in rural pets, but can affect pets in urban, suburban, or rural environments equally since rats and raccoons are found everywhere. Fortunately, there’s a vaccine to prevent Lepto. Travelling between states? Look up local state laws for mandatory vaccinations.
- Tapeworm is an intestinal parasite that can infect both cats and dogs. Pets become infected by eating a flea that’s carrying a tapeworm egg—often eaten during grooming. As the flea is digested, the egg is released and anchors to the intestinal lining. Segments of the tapeworm break off and pass in the pet’s feces. The segments look like grains of rice or cucumber seeds and can often be seen in the pet’s bedding. When present in large numbers, tapeworms can cause weight loss. Treatment involves deworming, given as a tablet or an injection, but prevention is easy by using a flea preventive and a gastrointestinal parasite preventive that is effective against tapeworms.
- Heartworm is a blood-borne parasite that’s spread to pets by mosquitoes. When a mosquito bites an infected animal, immature heartworm larvae (microfilariae) are ingested along with the blood meal. Microfilariae develop within the mosquito and when it bites another cat or dog, it injects the larvae as it feeds. As the name suggests, larvae travel to the heart and pulmonary arteries where they mature into adults. Adult heartworms can live up to five years, producing millions of microfilariae. Adults clog the heart and major vessels, interfering with heart function and disrupting the blood supply to the rest of the body. Microfilariae block small blood vessels injuring lung, kidney and liver tissues. Treatment is difficult in dogs and no cat-specific treatment is available; however, prevention is easy with year-round monthly heartworm preventives available for both dogs and cats.
- Rabies can be a fatal disease—in dogs, cats and humans—and is completely preventable through vaccination. While treatment is possible in humans if started early, there’s no treatment for a pet that is suspected of contracting rabies. All dogs and cats between the ages of twelve and sixteen weeks should be vaccinated, and boosters should be given annually or every three years, depending on the recommendation of your veterinarian, throughout your pet’s life. Since bats are a common vector of infection and are masters at entering homes and cottages, even “indoor-only” pets should be vaccinated to prevent this deadly disease. Since Rabies is fatal in people, pet vaccination is a major concern for local and state public health departments. If your pet bites someone for any reason, the bite is a reportable incident and you will be asked to provide proof of an up-to-date rabies vaccination to avoid a mandatory quarantine period.
- Feline Panleukopenia (Feline Distemper, or FPL) is caused by a virus in the family of parvoviruses. These viruses are extremely tough and survive in some environments for more than a year. FPL is present in all excretions of infected cats and is spread through direct contact with an infected cat, via contaminated water and food bowls or from shoes and clothing. In severe infections, white blood cell numbers may drop dramatically, making an infected cat susceptible to other infections. Symptoms may include high fever, dehydration and depression, and this disease is often fatal if contracted. Luckily, there’s a vaccine to prevent FPL and with regular boosters, you can keep your cat protected from this disease.
Ask your veterinarian about the ways you can protect your pet from these diseases.
Learn more about intestinal parasites and the benefits of year-round parasite prevention for your pets! >>
