Can cats catch heartworms from dogs?

[Zsofia]

I see on Wikipedia that cats can get heartworms, but not as bad as dogs. My dog has been diagnosed with heartworms and gets treated tomorrow. The dog has no face to face contact with the cats, but they get swapped in and out of the same interior spaces. They are both indoor cats. My vet isn't there today, so somebody please reassure me.

[Renee]

Heartworms are spread by mosquitoes--they are not directly transmittable from one animal to another. Also, although there is now evidence that cats can get heartworms, according to the vet I used to work for there is no hw test for cats, nor are there any apparent side effects or treatment for cat heartworms. That may have changed since I was a vet tech, though, so I'll be happy to be corrected if that info is wrong.

[Renee]

See also this: http://www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/heartworms.html

especially the note from the vet at the bottom of the page.

[Zsofia]

Thanks guys - that's a big relief! Obviously I'm sick to death with worry about the dog; it's good to know the cats aren't an issue.

[KarlGrenze]

Originally Posted by Zsofia

Thanks guys - that's a big relief! Obviously I'm sick to death with worry about the dog; it's good to know the cats aren't an issue.

Yours are probably not an issue, but other cats are. They are less likely to get heartworm disease, but when cats do get heartworm disease, it is a worse disease for them than for dogs. Cats are more likely to have the worms travel to different places other than the pulmonary arteries (where they should live), need a lower worm burden to cause a disease (2-4 worms), and their major presentation is respiratory problem (or found dead). There is no cure, only supportive treatment (well, maybe a cardiologist can perform surgery to remove the worms)... just keep the cat alive for longer than the worm remains alive.

[Zsofia]

There's no preventative?

[Wile E]

As has been said cats can get heartworms. They get them from mosquitos just like the dogs.

There are tests for feline heartworms, not all clinics may carry them, but they should be able to send tests off to an outside lab.

There is heartworm preventative for cats, most people don't bother if their cats are strictly indoors. These preventatives also help prevent other parasites so are a good idea for any outdoor cat.

Heartworm disease in cats would present as a respiratory or cardiac problem. But cats have so many other potential respiratory and cardiac diseases, like asthma and cardiomyopathy, that heartworms are often lower on the list of rule outs. It doesn't take as many heartworms to cause signs in the cat because their hearts are smaller and they can't tolerate as many worms in them.

[KarlGrenze]

Originally Posted by Zsofia

There's no preventative?

Yes, companies market the same preventatives used in the dog for the cat (different doses, though, so it is not a good idea to give a cat a dog's preventative or viceversa). Most people don't use them if cats are indoor or they live in more temperate/colder zones.

The heartworm antibody test and heartworm antigen test can be used to detect the parasite in cats. The antibody test, if positive, suggests only exposure to parasite (so sometimes the cat may be positive but have no worms hanguing around)... The antigen used in the antigen test is from the mature female worm's reproductive tract, and like said above, cats may not have females or not enough to show up with that test. So neither is as good as the dog's test, but a positive test with clinical signs can point you to investigate more. Worms can be found while doing an echocardiography (if they're working up the cat's cardiac problems).

[WF Tomba]

I am not a vet, but since heartworms are spread only by mosquito bites, and your cats are indoor cats, I wouldn't worry about it unless you get a lot of mosqitoes in your house.