Following are selected posts to the Holisticat (TM) Mailing List on the subject of feline heartworm. There's a lot of information here, and the posts are arranged in ascending chronological order. If there is a particular word you're looking for, it's probably best to utilize the "Find in Page" function in your edit menu!

Happy hunting :)

[HOL] Heartworm in cats    From: Cntraryfmr      Date: Mon, 23 Aug 1999 09:24:33

Hello,
 I was just informed from a friend of mine that her young cat has been disgnosed with heartworms. Her vet told her that there is no cure and that there was a possibility of her outliving the worms. Any info on this . I knew that cats on rare occasions could get them but I was not aware that they were untreatable in cats. Any holistic approaches out there?

Thanks
Marcus

Hi everybody,

Marcus, I'm going to quote a passage from  _Keep Your Cat Healthy the Natural Way_ (1999) by Pat Lazarus. Lazarus is a medical
journalist who interviewed several holistic vets and compiled answers for holistic treatments for various conditions in cats. Here is what is written about heartworm:

"Dr. Price is able to 'just put cats on antioxidants and natural substances that stimulate the immune system. That way they can live comfortably with the worms until the cats digest them, and the worms leave the body that way.

"The antioxidants Dr. Price uses include coenzyme Q10 and vitamins A, C, and E. He also uses 'a minute amount' of selenium because in recent years it has been found that this nutrient helps the action of Vitamin E. 'I may add supportive treatment,' he says, 'such as the vitamin B complex and liver extract.'

"When I asked if he felt that in general natural therapy had a much greater success with heartworms than orthodox therapy, he said, "It sure does--for me, anyway." He added that, "It's just a lot more fun when you get good results, and the cat doesn't have any side effects.' Going into more detail, Dr. Price said, "If you treat heartworms with drugs, the animals generally die. But if you leave them alone and just support their systems with natural substances, they'll digest the worms and will be free of them in a year or two. In the meantime, the worst that might happen is that some of them have a little vomiting or coughing.'

"Dr. Price gave as a representative case history the story of Tinkerbell, a four-year-old female cat who was brought to him with heartworms a year ago. 'We put her on coenzyme Q10,' he said, 'and since then she's been doing fine. She hasn't shown any symptoms other than an occasional cough.' The veterinarian added that he's giving Tinkerbell only 10 mg of coenzyme Q10 a day, 'Which is not much, just about 1 mg per pound of her body weight.'" pp237-38

Dr. Price recommends adding brewer's yeast and garlic to the cat's diet to prevent heartworm. He also occasionally uses Advantage for this purpose. Dosage for vitamins E, 50 IU per day ; A 10,000 IU per week (can add a capsule of Vitamin A 10,000 units & D 400 units to food once a week because these vitamins often come together); C 250+ units a day of sodium or calcium ascorbate powder (or Ester-C)--you can stir this right into the food.

Hope this helps.

Susan

Hi all

Marcus wrote:
<<I was just informed from a friend of mine that her young cat has been  disgnosed with heartworms.>>

In addition to Susan's info, Dr. Martin Goldstein, "The Nature of Animal Healing", says at p 122 - (and he's talking of d*gs here; he says cats are rarely affected):

<begin quote>
...I treated herbally, starting with heart support supplements (a heart glandular, vitamin E, Co-Enzyme Q10) and regular doses of black walnut, an herb known to kill parasites. (It comes in a liquid extract form; I recommend putting a dropperful in the food or mouth at each meal.) [Note - this is dosage for d*gs] ...  All...are clinically normal - no evidence of heartworm recurrence - years after treatment.
<end quote>

BTW, apparently the microscopic worms (microfilaria) <begin quote> ...do *not* grow into adult worms on their own. To reach the next stage in their life cycle, they have to be sucked back *out* of the body by another mosquito, and go through the other stages of their maturation process within the mosquito. Only when that mosquito alights again on a d*g and bites it can the microfilaria reenter the bloodstream with the ability to grow into adults. <end quote>

Jean, Saski Brighteyes & Amber the Dreaded Flykiller

Hi Marcus,
Unfortunately (according to my vet), it isn't rare for cats to get heartworm anymore (at least here in central Ohio).  He was pretty skeptical about the  need for cats to have the monthly medicine (like d*gs) but the clinic where I take my babies had so many cases of cat heartworm last year that he's now recommended monthly medication! He says it is incurable in cats, too, but I've been reading some of the other responses to your query and it seems like the prognosis may be different now! (let's hope so!). Since it is no longer rare for cats I, too, would be interested in any  holistic ways to deal with the possible problem.  Anyone have any ideas?
Nadine
 

Hi Marcus,

So sorry to hear about your friend's cat:(  I must say I've always been skeptical about the need for heartworm preventive meds (such as they are) for cats.

Susan gave u some great advice on how to deal w/ this.  Makes a lot of sense to boost the immune system and let the body deal w/ this intruder. Walnut Hulls are very good too tho a herbalist would be the best bet to help w/ dosages, and also whether green or black is best indicated.

Personally I'd treat using homeopathy of course it being my favorite modality.  Would your friend be willing to consult w/ a homeo vet by phone?  A lot of folks on the list have had good experiences w/ this - have a local allo vet, and then consult w/ the homeo one.

Good luck, and hope kitty feels well real soon!

Sandy, owned and operated by the mountain cats

I have a question about the statement below. How does the cat "digest" heartworms when they are in fact located in the heart and not the stomach?

<<"Dr. Price is able to 'just put cats on antioxidants and natural substances that stimulate the immune system. That way they can live comfortably with the worms until the cats digest them, and the worms leave the body that way.
<SNIP>
Going into more detail, Dr. Price said, "If you treat heartworms with drugs, the animals generally die. But if  you leave them alone and just support their systems with natural substances,  they'll digest the worms and will be free of them in a year or two.  In the meantime, the worst that might happen is that some of them have a little  vomiting or coughing.' >>

Again, having put several dogs through HW treatment (admittedly no cats because I have never had a cat with HW) the animals don't "generally die". All have recovered and tested HW- after treatment.  Not to say no animals die from HW treatment, just that I don't agree that the general outcome is death. The vomiting and coughing are symptoms of HW infestation, so not sure why they wouldn't have those symptoms?

<<"Dr. Price gave as a representative case history the story of Tinkerbell, a  four-year-old female cat who was brought to him with heartworms a year ago. 'We  put her on coenzyme Q10,' he said, 'and since then she's been doing fine. She  hasn't shown any symptoms other than an occasional cough.' The veterinarian  added that he's giving Tinkerbell only 10 mg of coenzyme Q10 a  day, 'Which is not much, just about 1 mg per pound of her body weight.'"  pp237-38>>

It does not state here that Tinkerbell does NOT have HW anymore - just that she is only displaying the one symptom (cough). I believe it takes approximately 2 years for HW to become serious enough to be fatal if left untreated.

<<Dr. Price recommends adding brewer's yeast and garlic to the cat's diet to  prevent heartworm. He also occasionally uses Advantage for this purpose.>>

How does Advantage prevent HW? I thought it specifically affected fleas - I don't believe it repels mosquitoes otherwise our dogs wouldn't need HW preventative if they were using advantage.

Tracey Rentcome
Great Dane Rescue of Houston Inc.

Hi everybody,

Dianne, here is an excerpt from _The Cat Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook_:  "Signs of heartworm infestation include a cough made worse by exercise, lethargy, loss of weight and coat condition and bloody sputum.  Labored breathing and congestive heart failure appear late in the disease.  Worms may be discovered at autopsy following sudden unexplained death." p 227

<<I have a question about the statement below. How does the cat "digest" heartworms when they are in fact located in the heart and not the stomach?>>

Tracey, this may just a word choice problem.  I think what Lazarus/Price means is "digest" in the sense of "absorb."  My understanding is that the body outside of the digestive tract can break down materials; it just happens more slowly. Perhaps if the worms naturally die slowly, this gives the body a chance to break them down.  I'm just guessing :-)

<<Again, having put several dogs through HW treatment (admittedly no cats because I have never had a cat with HW) the animals dong "generally die". All have recovered and tested HW- after treatment.  Not to say no animals die from HW treatment, just that I don't agree that the general outcome is death.>>

I've never had an animal w/ HW, so I really can't comment.  My vet did say that heartworm in cats is more difficult to treat, but I'm not sure why.  Perhaps it's because cats are generally smaller and when the worms die there is more likelihood for a blockage in the heart or lungs. This doesn't explain why Price used the general term "animals" rather than "cats," however.

<<How does Advantage prevent HW? I thought it specifically affected fleas - I don't believe it repels mosquitoes otherwise our dogs wouldn't need HW preventative if they were using advantage.>>

Tracey, Price is suggesting that Advantage (as well as garlic and brewer's yeast) does repel mosquitoes.  I was surprised to see that,
too. I don't know if it does or not, but Price seems to think Advantage has some effect.  I haven't read this anywhere else, BTW.

Here are some links for HW in cats (all allopathically oriented):

http://www.vetmed.auburn.edu/distance/cardio/home.html

http://www.vetinfo.com/cathw.html

http://www.petrescue.com/notes/heartwm1.htm

I copied the addies for the sites above from Jeff & Diane's Cat Health-Related Links page:
http://www.oocities.org/Heartland/Plains/1151/hlthlnks.htm

Susan

Hi all

Tracey wrote:
<<I have a question about the statement below. How does the cat "digest" heartworms when they are in fact located in the heart and not the stomach?>>

Sorry the following doesn't relate to cats, but he only talks about d*gs! :) Dr. Goldstein: "Even in untreated d*gs, after a period of uncomfortable symptoms, the adult worms die."

So possibly that's what Dr. Price means?

More from Dr. Goldstein:
"As a precaution, I recommend that all d*gs be tested twice a year for heartworm. For clients who insist on a more active form of prevention, I suggest doses of black walnut given two to three times a week, as I've actually reversed clinical heartworm with it. ... We also use a homeopathic nosode. In areas where the chances of heartworm exposure appear greater than those in my own - like southern Florida and the Bahamas, where the chances of contracting it are high - I recommend adding to this regimen the conventional daily heartworm pill, given three times weekly. Veterinarians trained in homeopathy can get your pet on a good nosode program for heartworm prevention."

Dianne wrote:
<<This is the first time I've heard of heartworm in cats. Can anyone give me an idea of what symptoms to look out for? Is heartworm contagious?>>

Heartworm is caused by an infected mosquito biting your animal so I don't believe it can be passed from pet to pet.
Dr. Goldstein: "The worms find their way to the heart, where they grow to as long as twelve inches, constricting the heart's passages and causing symptoms that range from coughing to labored breathing to heart failure."

Jean, Saski Brighteyes & Amber the Dreaded Flykiller

<< We also use a homeopathic nosode. In areas where the chances of heartworm exposure appear greater than those in my own - like southern Florida and the Bahamas, where the chances of contracting it are high - I recommend adding to this regimen the
conventional daily heartworm pill, given three times weekly.>>

I used to give the daily heartworm pill to my d** and was told that if it was given to an animal that (unbeknownst to the person giving it to the d**) had a case of active HWs, it would cause an embolism (obstruction of a blood vessel).  The daily is not like the monthly in that you can "skip" a few days and be alright with starting it again.  The actions of the daily vs. monthly medications are completely different and kill different stages of HW.   I'll check this out with a couple vets on my breed list, but it sounds a bit risky.  If someone else has some input on giving the daily on a schedule like this successfully, I'd be interested in the information.

<<Veterinarians trained in homeopathy can get your pet on a good nosode program for heartworm prevention.">>

There are a couple people on one of the other d** related lists in which I participate that have used the HW nosode pretty successfully.  They still have their pets tested routinely, but so far, it seems to have worked reasonable well.  For right now, though, this is one area where I think I'll rely on the conventional meds for prevention.

Leah

<<untreatable in cats. Any holistic approaches out there?>>

I don't know if this apply to cat or not. But when my d*g had heartworm, I gave her garlic and combination herbs for parasite. I think garlic was the thing that worked for her. It's been 3 years since she was tested negative again.

Folks,

I don't know much about heartworm, except that it happens in less urban places.  I only saw it twice in dogs, and, as far as I know, never in a cat.  Here's the little I know:

Heartworm is treated with carefully CAREFULLY monitored cyanide.  It's a long treatment process, and expensive.  This was in the 2 dogs I saw with it.

Cats aren't a good host for heartworm, and it's easy to misdiagnose it as something else.  This is why there's a possibility of the animal
outliving the worm.  It's my understanding that heartworm is spread by mosquitoes.

The best treatment is prevention.  Some vets advocate giving the cats heartguard as well as the dogs.  Ivermectin, the preventative, is used for really bad cases of earmites.

There's my brain dump.  Hope it gives you more info.

Debbie

Hi everyone,

As I mentioned yesterday, I asked one of the vets (Dr. Beth Cochran) on my d** breed list about giving the daily heartworm med on a three times/week schedule (as recommended by Dr. Goldstein) and have placed her response below.  She also gave some brief information about HW preventative in cats, but recommends that anyone wanting information on this discuss it with their own vets:

" Daily preventative MUST be given EVERY day.  It  is totally ineffective if given any other way, and yes, can cause a potentially fatal reaction in a heartworm (microfilaria) positive dog.  Daily preventative, to my knowledge, isn't ever used in cats.  Interceptor, at the dog dose, or Heartgard, either for cats, or at a higher weight dose using the dog product, can be used in cats, and their heartworm status isn't important (OK to use even if the cat has heartworms, which are VERY difficult to diagnose in the living cat.)

Hope this answers your question.(smile)
Beth"

Hope this helps those of you concerned about this to weigh some options, but it's always advisable to discuss it with your own vet.

Leah

Hi all -

<<Daily preventative MUST be given EVERY day.  It is totally ineffective if given any other way, and yes, can cause a potentially fatal reaction in a heartworm (microfilaria) positive dog.  Daily preventative, to my knowledge, isn't ever used in cats. Interceptor, at the dog dose, or Heartgard, either for cats, or at a higher weight dose using the dog product, can be used in cats, and their heartworm status isn't important (OK to use even if the cat has heartworms, which are VERY difficult to diagnose in the living cat.)>>

This goes along with everything I've read and heard about HW in d*gs and cats... It is hard to dx HW in a cat, but not impossible. HW antibody and antigen tests can be done, as well as a chest x-ray. But, as Leah's source said, HW positive cats can be given the preventative without ill effects, so testing is not that common.

My holistic vet uses the monthly preventative on his cats, but we do live in a state where HW is an almost year-round threat. I still don't
use it, but that's a calculated risk I've chosen to take. From what I've heard, a healthy cat can outlive the HW, so I keep my cats healthy. If any of them ever tested HW+, I might rethink that position...

Vick and the kitties: Skippy, Sam, Max and Jezebel