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Treatment

There is currently no approved adulticide therapy (a treatment that kills the presence of adult heartworms in the body) for cats. Therefore, a surgical procedure to extract the adult worms may be the best option. However, because heartworms in cats have a much shorter lifespan than those that infest dogs, a spontaneous cure is more likely to occur, so that no such treatment is necessary. Various medications may be used in order to help treat symptoms as well.

Living and Management

After treatment, your veterinarian will schedule your cat for follow-up exams in order to test for progress, as well as to attend to any side effects of treatment.

Prevention

Heartworms are a preventable disease, and there are a number of medicinal preventatives that are highly effective and commonly used. Your veterinarian can determine which medicine is best for your cat.