Heartworm Treatment & Cure

Heartworm disease in a dog or cat is spread by mosquitoes and involves a roundworm infestation in the animal's body. In cats, the disease and its treatment are much less complicated than they are in dogs. The available treatments are often successful, leading to complete cure of the disease.

  1. Dogs--Mild Cases

    • The treatment and cure for heartworm disease in dogs involves hospitalization while the animal receives adulticide medication, which kills the adult heartworms in the dog's body. The dog then receives monthly medication at home while having its activity level drastically limited.

    Dogs--Severe Cases

    • If the illness is more severe or if complications have developed, the dog may need to be hospitalized longer. If there are many adult worms in the dog's body, the pet may require surgical removal of the worms from its heart and pulmonary artery.

    Cats

    • One treatment and cure option for a cat that has heartworm disease is surgery to remove the adult worms from the cat's body. In some cases this is not needed, because the disease can heal in cats without treatment. There are also medications that the veterinarian can prescribe to treat and cure the cat's heartworm disease symptoms.

    Prevention

    • A key way to manage heartworm disease in both dogs and cats is by preventing it from occurring. This involves giving the animal preventative heartworm medication according to the schedule that the veterinarian advises.