By Casey Wolfe

 You just got a new puppy or kitten, or have adopted an adult pet to add to your family!  There are some things you need to know about prevention of some common parasites that can effect your new family member, and we’re here to help!

 Roundworms  Hookworms  Whipworms  Intestinal Flukes  Tapeworms  Heartworm

 Roundworms are a form of nematodes. They are an intestinal parasite that can effect both cats AND dogs.  Roundworm is very common in both dogs and cats, but occurs in about 99% of puppies.  It can be transmitted from mom to puppies, through the soil, and from direct ingestion of infected feces. Yuck!

 Treatment of roundworms in dogs and cats would consist of a de- wormer such as Strongid, and you should run fecal exams right away to protect your whole family, because it can be zoonotic (transmitted to people)  Prevention of roundworms would be to do a fecal exam on your pet and determine whether or not they are infected, and if not, you would want to start a monthly or yearly preventative medicine.

 Hookworms are a blood-feeding parasite that live in the intestinal tract of both dogs and cats.  Dogs or cats become infected after ingesting infective larvae, from Mom to puppies or kittens, or larvae penetrate the skin.

 Treatment of hookworms would include a de-worming medication, such as Panacur or Strongid.  Prevention is key, because just like roundworms, hookworms can occur in people. It would be smart to keep your pet on a preventative medicine because it can be very easy to re-infect with hookworms after treatment.

 Whipworms are an intestinal parasite that only affect dogs and the occasional fox.  They are blood feeding and get transmitted by ingesting the infective eggs.

 You would want to treat an infection of whipworm with Task or Panacur, and follow up with a preventative medication to keep your pets protected.  Whipworms are not transmittable to humans, but they can live in the environment for up to 5-10 years!

 Flukes are an intestinal worm that infect dogs, cats and some wild carnivores. They are transmitted through infected fish.  Your pet may stumble across a dead fish during a walk or a lake visit and eat it. This is how your pet would become infected.

 Intestinal flukes can be treated with a de- worming medicine and should be treated fast, because they can cause “salmon poisoning” disease in dogs.  Prevention of Intestinal flukes would be to keep your pet from eating uncooked fish.

 Tapeworms are one of the biggest intestinal flatworms that there are.  They attach themselves to the small intestinal wall.  They are transmitted by rodents, rabbits, and fleas.

 Treatment of tapeworms would include a medicine like Droncit or Cestex  To keep your pet from getting a tapeworm, keep your pet protected from fleas and try to prevent your animals from hunting rodents or rabbits outside

 Heartworm is an infection that effects dogs, cats, AND ferrets.  Once infected, the adult worms live in the right ventricle or the heart and the right pulmonary artery.  Heartworm is transmitted by mosquitoes

 If you catch it early enough, heartworm is easily treated with a medicine called Immiticide.  Prevention of heartworm is key, but also so easy. There are so many kinds of monthly or bi-yearly prevention medicines available that protect against heartworm.

In conclusion, there are many icky things out there that can harm your new pet. Remember these prevention measures and your pet will thank you!