Here at State Road Animal Hospital we are seeing a large increase in in the number of cats that are positive for heartworm disease. In the month of January alone we had 3 positive cats out of the 15 cats that were tested. Even indoor kitties can be exposed to heartworm disease; all it takes is one mosquito bite to transmit the disease.

The large size of the heartworms compared to the small size of a cat's heart and blood vessels can cause severe consequences for infected kitties. The most common symptoms we observe are lethargy, coughing, trouble breathing, vomiting and/or seizures. Some cats with heartworm disease do not show any clinical signs. However, even cats without symptoms are at risk for sudden death from a heartworm infection.

Unfortunately heartworm disease is not treatable in cats like it is in dogs. The small size of feline blood vessels, make it impossible to kill the adult worms without causing an obstruction of the pulmonary blood vessels, which would be fatal. So we have to manage kitties with heartworm disease slowly while we wait for the worms to die. This usually takes about 2-3 years.

Dr. Weber was able to capture heartworms during an echocardiogram (ultrasound study of the heart) of a patient at SRAH named Patches (pictured above). Patches was admitted to the hospital for pneumonia. When she failed to respond to treatment, an echocardiogram was preformed revealing her heartworm disease.

Fortunately we have effective preventatives available for heartworm disease. All cats, even indoor only cats, should receive their heartworm prevention monthly and receive a heartworm test every other year to be fully protected against this dangerous parasite.

If you would like to view the ultrasound image click here to view the photo on our website.

By: ShaShawn, ABCDT

The veterinary scientific community is continually learning about how canines think, feel and learn. I have decided to devote my life to the never-ending task of learning and applying new scientific discoveries in the field of canine behavior. Being of Native American descent, it seems that this desire is in my blood. As a result, gut instinct with a constant learning of new and more effective ways to help clients understand their canine friend, son, daughter, hired hand, or however you view your canine companion.

Over the decades, dog trainers relied on the since-disproved theories of canine behavior. Misunderstandings and mis-applications of the "Alpha Wolf" concepts led to domination and sometimes harsh training methods to control dogs. While wolves are, indeed a family unit, where the oldest male becomes dominant as the head of the family, a dog is not a wolf. Yes, dogs did descend from wolves, but dogs today have been through  generations of domestication and therefore behave differently.  Dogs do not want to be the Alpha. They want someone else to take the leadership position.

And leadership is different than dominance. Good leadership is based on a relationship built on mutual respect, trust, and love-in that order. That type of relationship fosters the ability of the leader to influence others to perform behaviors in a positive way. Dominance, on the other hand, is more of a fear-based response and is not based on a healthy relationship. As a result, harsh dominance driven training methods can lead to much worse behavioral issues and completely ruin the relationship between you and your dog.

That is why I use a reward based system as part of teaching dog owners how to communicate with their beloved family member through mutual respect adn to help them gain an understanding of how to read their dog better. Positive, force-free training methods have been scientifically proven to provide a long lasting and effective outcome on our canine companions. My dedication to understanding dogs will help me to aid those who want to provide their dogs with the best tools to co-excist in our society of humans.