GARFIELD ANIMAL HOSPITAL

Affordable Quality Service for Dogs and Cats

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Pets and Worms
 Pets have different kinds of worms or parasites like Roundworms, Hookworms, Tapeworms, Whipworms, Heartworms, Toxoplasma, Coccidia, Giardia etc.The best solution .... regularly deworming at proper intervals especially at young age which can reduce the risk of contamination of the environment (yard) and help prevent re- infestation to pets or even to human being.
More than 15,000,000 people in the United States are infected with the larvae of Roundworms from dogs and cats annually and about 1500 children lose their vision as a result of this parasites' larval migration in their eyes. Educating the children for a proper hygene is very essential. Most of the new born puppies are infected with roundworms from their mothers. These puppies thus shed  eggs of these worms in their feces resulting in contamination of the environment, which remains a source of infection for years to either pets or people. The Hookworms also cause larval migrans and enteritis in people. The most common Tapeworm of dogs and cats, not only cause serious problems for them but may also cause a less severe disease in people. Pets acquire this worm from ingesting fleas. Another type of  tapeworm is occasionally seen in dogs and cats which can cause a very serious disease in people on contact with contaminated feces, soil or pets' hair coat .
       We highly recommend to check all pets (puppies, kittens, adult dogs and cats and especially pregnant bitches or queens) for regular deworming and fecal checkup to be medicated appropriately. A fresh sample of feces is all it takes to screen-check, your pets for parasites. A recom-mendation of a specific medication is given after finding under microscope any parasite or its egg. Thus environmental sanitation with emphasis on educating the children is very essential.

Tapeworms A small white worm segment you see moving around the pet's bottom area or on its feces is tapeworm and is filled with eggs. The segments break, become dry (frequently seen like a rice grain adhering to hair coat around anal area) and release thousands of eggs in home, yard and on pet which are then eaten by flea larvae. These infected flea larvae become adult fleas which are ingested or eaten by the pets (when fleas bite or suck blood) on chewing or grooming. Call us at 562-630-2082 if you have concern for any parasite in your pet or human exposure.

 

Very high majority of pets having fleas have tapeworms and continue having as long as    

 they have fleas (and so can people by accidental ingestion of fleas). In spite of treatment the tapeworms will reappear in as little as two to six weeks, if pets continue having fleas . Frequently pets may scoot their bottom on the floor. Unless you can see these tapeworms, you may not know whether your dog or cat has this problem and a fecal or stool sample checkup under microscope may give an answer.. or at least, we will be able to tell you whether the pet has other than tapeworms. Sometimes a single fecal test may not show the tapeworm eggs as the tapeworm-segments may not break to release the eggs.

These tapeworms rob nutrients from your pet and can cause weight loss or other problems of digestive system. The best way to prevent the tapeworm is the year-around flea-control both on your (all) pets and their

environment with highly effective flea products like Advantix, AdvantageMulti, FrontlinePlus, Promeris, Comfortis. Hoping that one time treatment of pets for tapeworm will solve the problem ...... it may not, especially if fleas are a contiunuous problem at home. We carry the above professional flea products at competitive prices. Please call us about worms or other parasites and a complete flea control program.

Giardia A small parasite called Giardia, is very common in dogs or cats and is mostly  contracted by ingestion of Giardia cysts  in contaminated water.These cysts can survive for weeks to months in a cool, moist or wet environment. After ingestion, the cysts divide and multiply in the small intestine and continue to remain there or migrate to large bowels. Giardia causes diarrhea or loose feces, variably containing mucous and even blood. It can be accompanied by cramps or pain in the abdomen, occasionally vomiting and even weight loss due to malabsorption  (chronic condition). Cross infection from pets to human being or even vice versa is possible and we highly recommend to have your pet checked for this annoying parasite.

 

 A simple test on the fresh fecal sample of your pets can be done to identify or diagnose the infection and in some cases a blood sample is sent to laboratory for diagnosis. Please call for more information or make appointment with the doctor for your pet at (562)630-2082 for any concerns.

 

 Heartworms These worms are found mostly in the right chamber of the heart of dogs or cats. They can grow as long as 12 inches. The adult female heart worms produce larvae worms which circulate in the blood stream of a dog or cat, and through the mosquito bite are transferred into the body of a mosquito, and again these are transmitted by that mosquito into the skin  of another pet through their bite while taking another blood meal. These larvae then migrate into 

heart chamber in about 2-6 months as adult worms.

The clinical symptoms of coughing, difficult breathing, tired easily and depreesed are common. Most of these pets die of heart failure.

Important facts about feline (cats) heartworm disease  In cats immature heartworms cause heartworm-associated respiratory disease... even one heartworm can lead to sudden death... All cats should be tested for heartworm disease which are outdoors and exposed to mosquitoes, or having respiratory symtoms.

 Treatment can be dangerous but prevention is far better and preferable. A simple blood test can reveal whether the animal has circulating larvae in the blood or by doing a more accurate test if the adult worms are present in the heart. Dogs should be tested for hear worms before every mosquito season or if there is a gap in giving preventive medications. We carry Heartgard (shown above in picture), IverhartMax, AdvantageMulti, Sentinel and Revolution which can be given once a month after a negative hear tworm blood test for prevention of heart worms, fleas and many other worms. Please Call us at 562-630-2082 for an appointment to prevent this deadly disease.