Parasite Prevention

There are several kinds of internal and external parasites that affect your pets. Hookworms, Roundworms, Whipworms, Coccidia and Giardia are the most common intestinal parasites that affect your puppies and kittens. Some of these parasites have zoonotic potential that means pets can transmit these parasites to family members. It's very important to do a routine fecal or stool sample exam to screen for these intestinal worms and deworm your puppies and kittens on a regular basis. Our Preventive care packages include fecal exam and deworming with Pyrantel Pamoate (Strongid), Fenbendazole (Panacur).

Fleas and Ticks are the most common external parasites that affect your pets. Fleas are very common in both indoor and outdoor cats and also in dogs. These fleas not only infest your house, they can cause severe itching of the skin especially at the tail area. Fleas also carry tapeworm eggs and transmit tapeworms to dogs and cats. You may notice dried up rice grain or sesame seed like structures in the perineal area of your pets which indicates that your pet has tapeworms. Fleas also can cause anemia by sucking blood and also transmit some blood borne parasites like Mycoplasma which can cause severe Feline Infectious Anemia in Cats. Fleas are the number one reason for itching in dogs since fleas can cause Flea Allergy Dermatitis in dogs and miliary dermatitis in cats. At First Coast Vets, we educate all the clients and pet owners about flea related problems and how to control the flea infestation. We highly recommend keeping your pet on regular flea control along with treating your house and yard with pest control. We carry many varieties of both topical and oral Flea Control options like Sentinel Spectrum, Bravecto, Simparica Trio, Revolution and many more that fits your budget.

Ticks are skin parasites that feed on your dogs and cats. Ticks are more common in dogs that spend time outdoors. Ticks bite and suck blood and also transmit some tick borne diseases like Lyme disease, Ehrlichia, Rickettsia, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Anaplasmosis. Female ticks can also cause paralysis to dogs and cats by secreting some neurotoxins in their saliva. Some of these tick borne diseases are even zoonotic and have the potential to infect people. We highly recommend keeping your pets on regular tick control. We offer Bravecto, Simparica Trio for dogs, Revolution Plus and Bravecto for cats as Tick control options.

Heartworm (Dirofilaria immitis) is an internal parasite that lives in the heart and blood vessels of the lungs as an adult parasite. Mosquitoes transmit heartworm disease from infected pets to healthy pets. Heartworms are deadly parasites that cause right sided heart failure, coughing, fluid build up in the belly, liver and kidney problems, Caval Syndrome and sudden death. It’s very easy to prevent your pets from developing heartworm disease by simply keeping your pets on heartworm prevention. Heartworms are easy to prevent by keeping your pets on heartworm preventives. At First Coast Vets, we screen your dogs and cats for heartworm disease by doing in house snap tests and recommend heartworm prevention options. We carry several cost effective heartworm prevention products that fit your budget. We also treat dogs that have heartworm disease after staging the heartworm disease. We offer discounts for rescued dogs that are infested with heartworms. Please call us to get more information on heartworm treatment for rescue dogs.

Even cats can develop heartworm disease. But heartworms act differently in cats compared to dogs. Cats that have heartworms can exhibit clinical signs like coughing, wheezing, difficulty breathing, vomiting, nosebleed, neurological signs and in some cases sudden death from blood clots in the lungs. That is why we highly recommend keeping your cats on heartworm prevention.

Please refer to https://www.heartwormsociety.org/ regarding heartworms. This website has several videos and education material that helps every pet owner living in the southeastern part of the United States.