For the majority of breeds of cats, just very limited bathing is needed. Keeping up with regular brushing and letting the cat take care of the majority of his or her grooming needs will be sufficient. There might be situations where they have gotten into something that's caused them to get dirty, if there's matting in their fur, or if there's a medical condition, it might require bathing. Then, of course, jump in. Otherwise, nature usually does best and minimal bathing is required. However, if you're like me and have a breed of cat that requires more of what they consider high maintenance, for instance, I have a Persian at home, and he does require a scheduled grooming service. So you'll see things like going in for a maintenance groom where he gets a thorough brush. I try my best to do daily brushing at home. About once a year, he'll go in and get bathing, brush out, and trim, and they'll shave out any mats and clean up the potty patch area so that there's no poop or any areas where litter can get stuck. Whether this is your aesthetic preference or if your cat needs it due to a lot of matting, you will see longhaired cats get what they call a lion cut. So they'll do trimming, usually leaving hair around the face and little boots around the feet. This is something to keep in mind as well. So if you are on the fence about deciding if you want a shorthaired cat or a longhaired one, keep in mind that those longhaired varieties will require more maintenance on your end than a shorthaired cat, which has an easier brushing routine than those longhaired friends.

I will answer this by saying that's kind of what they're known for. They will groom themselves, and they try to keep themselves tidy and clean. You'll notice that they use a litter box and keep their eliminations in a contained, neat area for the most part. I will go out on a limb and say that the majority of cats keep themselves fairly hygienic and clean. Hopefully, that answers your question for those who have that thought in mind.

Yes. Believe it or not, your indoor dog can get it. Mosquitoes do prefer room temperature, so when it's hot, we all see mosquitoes go into our house as we open the door, so even indoor dogs are at risk.

The cycle of heartworm starts when the microfilaria, which is found in the parasite, the mosquito, is injected into one dog, and microfilaria then slowly reaches different stages. There are actually six larva stages before it reaches the adult stage. Depending on the number of heartworms, we'd use that to determine how we stage the pet based on the size of the heart and the vessel issues we see.

Heartworm disease is fairly common in dogs. We see it quite frequently in the southeast of the United States.

Not through direct transmission, but they do utilize the mosquito. The mosquito bites an infected dog, and it is then reproduced in the mosquito and passed onto another dog. It is extremely rare to find heartworm disease in humans.

Heartworms are not visible on the outside of the dog. We can see the baby parasite called the microfilaria under our microscope of the blood drop, and we can see the adults in the heart with the naked eye.

Heartworm disease can be painful if the heart is very enlarged or if the migration of the worm suddenly happens and causes some issues in the vessels.

Coughing, exercise intolerance, and even a heart murmur can be signs of heartworm disease.