Get to know pet parasites and how to avoid them
Your pet is still young, with many more wonderful years to look forward to. Don’t let parasites pile on problems at this early age! Get to know these pesky creatures so you can help your pet avoid them and the harmful health issues they create.
Parasites—including worms, fleas, ticks and lice—are all creatures that like to make pets their home and source of food. They come in several broad categories:
Ticks, fleas and lice: These parasites are known as ectoparasites because they live on pets, meaning in their skin and on their coats. Their biggest claim to fame is being undeniably itch-inducing, but even worse, many ectoparasites can pass diseases to our pets. For example, fleas pass tapeworms to cats and dogs, and ticks can pass Lyme disease to dogs and people.
Intestinal parasites: This category of parasites is made up of worms—primarily roundworms, hookworms, tapeworms and whipworms. These worms live in the gut, causing poor appetite, diarrhea, vomiting and sometimes more severe problems, like blood loss. Some of these worms can even pass to people!
Heartworm: These worms are so serious they get their own category. Mosquitoes pass heartworm larvae to our pets through their bites, and these larvae then go on to live in pets’ hearts and lungs. Worms living in such critical organs cause serious disease that can even be fatal.
The good news is that prevention is actually really easy! Preventives are available in several convenient formulations, like oral tablets or topical “spot on” medications, that can protect your pet from these bothersome bugs.
Most preventives are administered monthly, and some even less frequently! Using one of these simple preventive solutions, you can rest assured that your pet will stay parasite free.
