Dogs and cats of all ages and all breeds are susceptible to heartworms. Signs of heartworm include coughing, difficulty breathing, lethargy, and weight loss. The disease is easier to detect in dogs than in cats. With dogs, the disease slowly compromises the circulation and impairs the amount of blood pumped from the heart. In cats, detection is more difficult.
Cats usually have only two or three worms and live only two years after infection.
The infection could mimic other diseases or cause no signs at all. Cats may appear healthy, then suddenly die from heartworm infection. Treatment of the disease is a long, difficult, risky process, and is almost always unsuccessful in cats, so prevention is key to keeping your mosquito-bitten pet healthy and alive. Prevention is also easily administered in a monthly tablet formulation. I give Maxie her preventative the first of every month.