Have you ever thought about what might be living on the inside of your pet? Most of us have heard of worms in dogs and cats but where do they live, are they really dangerous for your pet and what should you be doing about them? These are important questions to be asking as internal parasites can have a significant impact on your pet’s health and some of them can even be transmissible to humans, particularly children – not something you really want to be sharing with your pet!

Regular worming is essential to ensure the good health of your puppy and to prevent infection of children.  A good quality wormer to control roundworm, hookworm, whipworm and tapeworm should be used.  We recommend Drontal® or Cazitel® tablets.

Puppies should be wormed:

• Every 2 weeks until 12 weeks old
• Then every month until 6 months of age
• Adult dogs (over 6 months) are wormed every 3 months ongoing. We can generate easy to remember email reminders , so you do not forget the three-monthly dose. Just ask.

*Dogs living or visiting hydatid tapeworm areas or living on farms and eating offal should be wormed every 6 weeks to prevent hydatid disease.

Regular “poo patrol’ in the backyard is also important.

Heartworm Prevention in Dogs

Heartworm is a disease where the adult worms end up living in the heart and major arteries of the lungs. It spread by mosquitoes, so even “indoor” dogs are at risk.  Heartworm is a potentially fatal disease, and prevention is much safer than treatment.  While dogs are more commonly infected, cats and ferrets can also be infected. Heartworm disease is very much more common in tropical areas of Australia but it does happen here in Canberra. The heartworm infection can be quite serious as once infected the worms migrate to and live in the heart and the major arteries of the lungs. This is not where you want worms living! The worms can cause significant damage to the heart and heart failure. Treatment is also not without potential dangerous side effects, as the worms must be killed while still in the dog arteries.

Prevention is the key!

At Inner South Veterinary Centre we recommend in young puppies a Proheart® injection is given from three months old. Proheart® injection is then given again at 6 months of age, and continued annually through life. Monthly tablets are an alternative option. We have a very good reminder system to help us and you remember when their next injections is due.

 Worming Cats

Regular worming is essential to ensure the good health of your kitten, and to prevent accidental infection of children. A good quality allwormer to control roundworm, hookworm and tapeworm should be used. We recommend Milbemax® tablets or Revolution®. Revolution is an easy to use spot-on treatment that is simply applied to the back of the cat’s neck – no need for tablets or pastes. Used once a month, it treats fleas, intestinal worms and ear mites.
Kittens should be wormed:

• Every 2 weeks from birth until 12 weeks of age
• Then monthly until 6 months of age
• Adult cats (over 6 months of age) need to be wormed every 3 months with Milbemax®, or monthly with Revolution®

We can generate easy to remember email reminders so you do not forget the regular worming doses.