Preventing Parasites in Cats and Dogs

Parasites can become a serious health concern for pets that are not adequately protected. In addition to spreading diseases, they can infest not only your pet but also your home. The best way to deal with parasites is to prevent them entirely with an ongoing, comprehensive prevention plan.

Keep Your Pet Protected. Call (518) 383-6254 or make an appointment online to learn more or stop in to purchase your pet's preventives.

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Fleas, Ticks, Heartworms and More

Our environment is full of parasites, but there are specific types that can pose a threat to dogs and cats in particular. Know that even in winter, fleas and even mosquitoes can be a threat-these pests can often handle temperatures above freezing and will otherwise go dormant until the next thaw. That's why year-round pet parasite prevention is so important! We can also offer recommendations for treating your home and keeping it completely parasite-free.

Heartworms

Known as Dirofilaria immitis, this parasitic roundworm is passed on to its host with the help of a mosquito. Mosquitoes carrying roundworm larvae transmit these larvae when they take a meal from their host. The larvae are then passed into the host\'s bloodstream and travel to the heart, lungs and surrounding blood vessels.

Fleas

Fleas are extremely tiny but in numbers, they're a huge nuisance. Despite being flightless, these pint-sized insects can jump great distances to reach their hosts. Flea bites can trigger allergic reactions in pets, causing severe itching and irritation of the skin. Telltale signs of a flea infestation on your pet can include "flea dirt" (which is actually flea feces) on their skin and biting/snapping at their sides and/or hind end. In some cases, if your pet accidentally ingests a flea, they might develop tapeworm.

In addition to these common offenders, other pet parasites include hookworms, whipworms, mites, giardia, and roundworms.

Did you know? We Offer Tick Collection in Clifton Park

Ticks are tiny arachnids that devote their short lives to securing a host and keeping their species going. They can usually be found hiding in tall grasses and wooded areas so they can easily latch onto passing hosts. Ticks come in many varieties, but deer ticks are the primary vector for Lyme disease, an illness that can cause inflammation of the joints, fever, depression, and lack of appetite.

Because ticks can pose a real danger to both pets and people, Animal Care Hospital of Clifton Park has become one of just 12 other Tick Collection clinics in the U.S. By participating in this program, we aim to stay at the forefront regarding research and breakthroughs in tick prevention. We collect as many ticks as we can from our patients and send them to the TickEncounter Resource Center at the University of Rhode Island for evaluation. Our goal is to keep our clients informed and better protected.

If you find any ticks at home, we encourage you to bring them to us!