
Cats can develop heartworm disease in the same way that dogs can. The disease is serious and can be fatal if not diagnosed and treated right away. Heartworms are capable of invading the heart, lungs and blood vessels of your cat. The disease, if not caught early, can be fatal as it can cause permanent damage to your cat’s main organs especially the lungs. Heartworm disease is transmitted in cats from mosquitoes. Adult female heartworms produce baby worms that circulate in the bloodstream. The mosquito picks up these baby worms when it sucks the blood from the infected cat. It takes 10 to 14 days for the baby worms to enter the infective stage. Once the mosquito bites another cat, it deposits the larvae into the cat. It can take 6 months for the babies to mature. Heartworms can live two to three year in cats. Learn more from your animal hospital Folsom, CA.