Conventional wisdom among veterinarians has long held that heartworm disease is a serious, ubiquitous issue in dogs. At the same time, while many practitioners also believe that heartworm disease in cats is a serious disease, they view it as relatively uncommon. This assumption has led many practitioners to look for heartworms in feline patients only when overt clinical signs point to the problem, and to refrain from recommending routine heartworm testing and prevention in cats. The result: feline heartworm disease today is misunderstood, underdiagnosed and undermanaged.

It only takes one bite from a heartworm-infected mosquito to jeopardize the health and welfare of your dog or cat. And if your pet becomes infected, heartworm disease in dogs and cats can be fatal or cause lifelong damage.

To help you sort out heartworm facts versus fiction, let’s look at 10 of the most common heartworm myths and what you can do to protect your pet from heartworm disease.

A missed dose--or two or three missed doses--of heartworm preventive can result in your dog becoming infected with heartworms. If that happens, you will want to get your dog treated as soon as possible. In this PetMD article, learn the details of what heartworm treatment entails.

Driven by the underdiagnosis and undermanagement of heartworm disease in cats, the American Heartworm Society outlined four main reasons for recommending routine heartworm screening in cats:

• aiding diagnosis in symptomatic cats
• monitoring heartworm-positive cases
• establishing baselines before preventive treatment
• assessing heartworm risk in specific areas

Source: American Heartworm Society, November 2024. Link. The revised guidelines advise using both antigen and antibody tests, with antigen tests performed on heat-treated serum to improve accuracy. Antigen-antibody complexes in feline samples are more likely to yield positive results after heat treatment than canine samples.

Newly released revisions address the underdiagnosis and undermanagement of heartworm disease in cats.

The American Heartworm Society has updated its Feline Heartworm Guidelines regarding screening, mosquito control and treatment options.

“As an organization dedicated to reducing the incidence of heartworm disease and its impact on pets, the AHS has long been concerned about the underdiagnosis and undermanagement of heartworm disease in cats,” said the organization’s president, Dr. Jennifer Rizzo.

The American Heartworm Society (AHS) has updated their Feline Heartworm Guidelines for veterinarians. The guidelines—last revised in 2015—addresses persistent underdiagnosis and undermanagement of heartworm disease in cats, and provides more robust data on prevention, testing and treatment, according to AHS.¹

The guidelines update was spearheaded by a committee of AHS board members. The revisions were completed after a thorough scientific review by experts from the fields of parasitology, cardiology, and clinical practice. It includes revised advice on heartworm screening, mosquito control and treatment options for heartworm-positive cats.¹

Routine heartworm screening is now recommended for cats, according to the recent guideline updates announced by the American Heartworm Society (AHS) in managing the disease.

Addressing the “persistent” underdiagnosis and undermanagement of heartworm disease in cats is the driving force behind recent guidelines updates from the American Heartworm Society (AHS).

The AHS Feline Heartworm Guidelines for veterinarians, finalized following a scientific review by parasitology, cardiology, and clinical practice experts, provides revised guidance on heartworm screening, mosquito control, and treatment options for heartworm-positive cats.

Holly Springs, NC—Persistent underdiagnosis and undermanagement of heartworm disease in cats, along with more robust data on prevention, testing and treatment, recently led the American Heartworm Society (AHS) to update their Feline Heartworm Guidelines for veterinarians. The update, completed after a thorough scientific review by experts from the fields of parasitology, cardiology, and clinical practice, includes updated advice on heartworm screening, mosquito control and treatment options for heartworm-positive cats. The guidelines can be found on the AHS website at heartwormsociety.org/guidelines.

Heartworm tests for dogs are routine but essential diagnostic tools that veterinarians use to screen for heartworms in dogs. Because heartworms live in a dog’s blood vessels, testing requires a small blood sample, usually taken during an office visit.

To understand how heartworm tests in dogs work, it’s helpful to first understand the heartworm’s life cycle.

Heartworms are spread by mosquitoes, which are primarily considered outdoor pests. But if you’ve assumed that your indoor cat isn’t at risk for heartworms and heartworm disease, it’s important to understand what risks your cat is still exposed to even if they are only indoors.

Here’s why your couch-surfing kitties needs the protection of a heartworm preventive, regardless of whether they spend time outdoors.