As summer is here or pulling up the driveway, depending on where you live, it’s time to think of the unpleasant things, parasites.  No one wants to talk about them nevermind think about them.  Unfortunately, we need to make a game plan on what to do about them.  The best place to start is with a veterinarian, a lot of people don’t want to vaccinate their pets or put them on preventive meds.  If you don’t want to vaccinate you could ask your veterinarian for a titer test to see what vaccines your pet needs.  Some pets have the antibodies they need to fight off parasites or diseases without getting another dose.  This is a conversation to have with your veterinarian.  

Why would you vaccinate or use preventative meds?  I’m going to go through a few of the parasites for examples.  Giardia it produces smelly diarrhea, which could lead to dehydration.  It can live for weeks up to months outside the body in soil.  It can also be transmitted to people.  

Heartworm is life threatening and is transmitted through mosquito bites.  Mosquitoes carry the heartworm larvae from an infected host to a non-infected host.  Once in the new host the larvae grow to adult size worms and take up residence in the blood vessels then migrate to the heart which stresses the heart out.  There is treatment but it is expensive please consider year round treatment.

Hookworms enter the host’s body through their skin then travel and attach to the wall of the intestines then feeds on the host’s blood.  They can cause a number of health issues such as iron-deficiency anemia, diarrhea and abdominal pain.  

External parasites like ticks can bring lyme disease, babesiosis, anaplasmosis, tularemia, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Borrelia miyamotoi, and Powassan virus. You don’t want to get any of these diseases or let your pet get them.  Although Rocky Mountain is more prevalent in North Carolina, Tennessee, Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, keep in mind parasites hitch a ride on people or pets then it can be transmitted to you.  

If you let your cat out they are susceptible to all of these as well.  Talk with your veterinarian about preventative measures for your cat.

Please take the time and work with your veterinarian to make sure your pets are safe this summer and through the year.  If you would rather a more holistic approach find a veterinarian to work with.  Keep in mind you can’t believe everything you read on the internet or your best friend’s uncle’s roommate’s sister’s customer at the convenient store says.  Also, new and improved medicine and methods are happening all the time.