Parasites

From fleas to hookworms, your pets can harbor a number of nasty parasites.  Mother Nature relies on relationships between hosts and parasites to carry on the species of simple organisms like insects, worms, arachnids, etc.  Hosts, like your pets or even yourself, can provide a warm, safe place for parasites to complete their life cycles and reproduce.
 
At Chisholm Trail Veterinary Clinic, we are not only concerned about animal health but the health of their human companions.  Our goal is to keep both parties safe by providing the proper care and preventative products to keep parasites under control.  Please refer to our Parasites and People section of our website to learn more about zoonotic diseases.

Our veterinarians recommend year-round parasite control for fleas, ticks, heartworms and intestinal parasites. 

 
Heartworms

Heartworm disease is very simple to prevent by using the correct monthly products. Heartworm prevention is cost efficient and most products combine monthly heartworm prevention with intestinal parasite control and some even have environmental flea control.  Heartworm disease is devastating and in this area of Texas, dogs that are not on heartworm protection have over a 90% chance in contracting heartworms.  Heartworms are transmitted by mosquitoes and it only takes one bite from a mosquito carrying heartworms to infect an unprotected dog.  Cats are also vulnerable to heartworm infection.  Their chances of contracting the infection is less than that of dogs, however heartworm disease is usually fatal in cats.  Sadly, we see numerous dogs in the summer and winter months in Caldwell County that die of heartworm disease.  Heartworms can be treated in dogs; however there are risks involved with the treatment and the treatment is costly.  Please refer to the American Heartworm Society’s website for more information and statistics about heartworm disease.

 Intestinal Parasites

Intestinal parasites are a common problem in puppies and kittens and can be devastating if not treated.  Adult dogs and cats can commonly become infected as well. Your veterinarian will check several samples of your pet’s stool while they are young and then yearly at their adult annual visits. Click on the links to view up close and personal images of the parasites that could be present in your pets: hookworms, roundworms, whipworms, coccidia.  Most of these parasites can be easily be controlled by using monthly preventative.

Fleas

Fleas are a nuisance for your pets, not only causing stress but also causing diseases like anemia in smaller pets and allergic reactions that lead to skin infections.  Fleas are very prolific.  A female flea can lay about 1400 eggs in one month into the environment which usually comprises a backyard, carpets and bedding.  Those eggs turn into maggots and eventually turn into biting, blood sucking adult fleas.  The largest numbers of fleas are found in the egg and maggot stages in the environment that is why we recommend products that stop the flea life cycle at the egg stage.  Flea populations are easier to control than to get under control once they have infested your house.  While fleas prefer to feed on your pets if they are hungry enough they will feed on you as well!

Shown below is the flea life cycle.  More information is available on the Bugs in your Rugs section of Novartis' Pet Wellness Website.

Ticks

Ticks are extremely unpleasant to deal with whether they are attached to your pets, livestock, or your own body.  Ticks will attach themselves to a host to feed and reproduce, once then female has finished feeding she will drop off her host and lay thousands of eggs in the environment.  The brown dog tick is notorious for infesting homes and difficult to control.  Ticks are of extreme importance because they are a vector of disease, meaning that other organisms, such as bacteria, use them as a means to infect larger hosts.  For example, certain species of ticks can transmit Lyme Disease & Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever to animals and people, ticks also spread deadly disease amongst livestock such as Texas Cattle Fever.

Mites & Lice

Mites and lice are smaller external parasites that are difficult to see without magnification.  They can cause intense itching and self mutilation if not treated.  Mites cause diseases of the skin called mange and can also inhabit the ears.  Lice are not as common in dogs and cats but are seen on occasion.  Lice are more common on livestock such as cattle.

Prevention is the Key!

Sometimes it’s difficult to remember to give your dog or cat its parasite prevention.  Click on the Remind My Pet link below to have a reminder sent to you via email or text message letting you it’s time to medicate your beloved companion. 

 For more information about pet's and parasites visit the links below:

http://www.petwellness.com/dogs/dogs_cats.htm