Link between Felv, FIV, heartworm & other disease
According to a study recently published in the American College of Veterinary Medicine (ACVIM) we could be doing a much better job detecting viral diseases and heartworm and prescribing heartworm medication in the cats in North America.
Feline retroviral diseases (FELV & FIV) and heartworm disease are easy to prevent and hard to treat. Risk of these diseases was increased by outdoor access, adulthood & gender.
The most important risk factor associated with all 3 infections was clinical disease in particular respiratory, oral diseases & bite wounds.
Their summary was that improved use of preventative care and testing to identify and segregate contagious cats particularly those at high risk is required to reduce the morbidity of these preventable infections.
Our protocol is to test all cats yearly when blood is drawn for other wellness testing to detect these diseases. We recommend Revolution for all cats monthly year round to prevent heartworm disease.
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