4 Best Heartworm Prevention Medicines For Cats

They’ll keep his heart safe 💖

cat heartworm prevention

Heartworm disease in cats is super scary, so you’re probably wondering what you can do so your BFF never has to go through it.

Luckily, you can prevent your cat from getting heartworm disease with regular medication. In fact, heartworm preventatives are actually crucial for cats, since it’s so easy for an unprotected cat to get infected.

We spoke with Dr. Zach Marteney, a veterinarian and medical director at Meadowlands Veterinary Hospital in New Jersey, to figure out which cat heartworm medicine options are best.

And it turns out, the best heartworm prevention kills juvenile heartworms, is appropriate for your pet's species and protects against other parasites. Here are some of our top picks:

Best overall cat heartworm prevention

Revolution Plus For Cats

Do cats need heartworm prevention?

Cats definitely need heartworm prevention medication, since it’ll keep them from ever having to deal with the life-threatening disease.

“Heartworm disease is easily preventable in cats,” Dr. Marteney told The Dodo. “These medications effectively kill any juvenile worms that may be traveling through your cat's body before they are able to arrive at the heart.”

All cats need heartworm prevention because it’s so easy for an unprotected cat to get infected, even if he never goes outdoors.

“This parasite is transmitted by mosquitoes,” Dr. Marteney said. “Mosquitoes can enter houses or apartments, so even indoor-only cats should receive regular preventatives.”

How to find the best cat heartworm medicine

There are a couple key things you need to consider when looking for heartworm prevention for your cat.

Type of medication

There are many heartworm medicines available that are designed to prevent cats from getting the disease, and the most common types are topical and oral.

“The most common preventatives are topical ointments that are applied to the back of your cat's neck once monthly, or oral medications that are given monthly like those administered to dogs,” Dr. Marteney said.

Both topical and oral medications are effective treatment options, so choosing between them comes down to preference.

For example, if your cat struggles or simply doesn’t like to take pills, a topical prevention may be best. But if you’re worried about your cat or another cat licking at his topical medicine, which isn’t made to be ingested, an oral preventative could be the way to go.

Cross-protection

A lot of heartworm medications will also protect your cat from other pests, in case you don’t want to stock up on multiple medications.

So if you're looking to bundle your heartworm preventative with flea and tick medication, choose an option that also protects against external parasites. Or if you’re concerned about internal parasites, try a heartworm medication that’s also effective against worms like hookworms, roundworms or tapeworms.

Length of protection

Most oral heartworm prevention and all topical medications for cats are given or administered monthly. But if you’d prefer to worry about it less frequently, Bravecto can protect your cat for up to two months.

Best heartworm prevention for cats

We rounded up some of the best heartworm prevention products out there, so you know exactly how to keep your BFF safe. (Keep in mind that you'll need a prescription for these, so make sure you chat with your vet first!)

Best overall: Revolution Plus For Cats

Revolution Plus is a monthly topical solution that pretty much does it all. In addition to preventing heartworms, Revolution Plus keeps your cat safe from fleas, ear mites, roundworms, hookworms and ticks. This medication is available for cats within the following size ranges:

Best dewormer combo: Centragard Topical Solution

Centragard is a monthly medication that prevents heartworm in cats and is also effective against several intestinal parasites. It’s formulated to treat and control roundworms, hookworms and tapeworms, too. So this is a good one if you already have a go-to flea and tick preventative. Centragard is available for cats within the following size ranges:

Longest lasting: Bravecto Plus Topical Solution

You also only need to apply Bravecto Plus once every two months, so it lasts longer than monthly medications. It’s also great for pet parents who are in the market for flea and tick prevention, since it protects against those pesky external parasites. Bravecto Plus is available for cats within the following size ranges:

Best value: Interceptor Chewable Tablets

Intercepter is a monthly oral preventative to keep your cat safe against heartworm disease. It also protects your BFF against other internal parasites like hookworms and roundworms. And since a lot of heartworm prevention medications can be pricey, this option is great for pet parents on a budget, since a six-month supply is under $50. Intercepter is available for cats within the following size ranges:

What is heartworm disease in cats, anyway?

Heartworm disease happens when cats get infected with worms that’ll live in their pulmonary artery, which is the artery that brings blood from the heart to the lungs.

When these heartworms die inside your cat, which won’t happen for about two to three years, their bodies can cause life-threatening blockages inside the blood vessels in your cat’s lungs.

The scariest part about heartworm disease is that most cats don’t show symptoms, so you might not even know your cat’s infected until it’s tragically too late. (According to Dr. Marteney, the first sign of heartworm disease that presents in cats can sometimes be sudden death.)

And if your cat does show symptoms, his heartworm disease could be misdiagnosed as asthma, since this can sometimes happen with cats.

You’ll also want to keep in mind that testing isn’t super reliable because it only detects female worms — so if your cat is only infected with male heartworms (which definitely happens), his screening won’t pick them up.

When it comes to treatment, there isn’t medicine you can give a heartworm-positive cat to kill the parasites. So treatment often involves just letting the disease run its course and a round of steroids to prevent complications when the worms die.

The other option is surgery to remove the worms, but that really only happens in severe cases.

That’s why it’s so important to get your cat heartworm prevention medicine so he’ll never have to experience this horrible disease and can stay happy and healthy for as long as possible.

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