You should definitely ask about prevention, testing and lifestyle changes, when we can get tested, when to put them on prevention, and I think those are the main questions you should be asking.

Heartworms are not visible like other parasites, how people think, "Oh, I could see a worm on a fruit from a dog or a cat or something to that extent." No, they're not visible. They travel in the blood. The only way they're visible is with imaging, x-rays, and ultrasound. But otherwise, no, they're internal. They're inside the body.

As we said, inflammatory conditions of the lungs. That's the number one in cats is that, yes, it's a worm that may live in the heart, but it causes severe inflammation, respiratory signs in the lungs.

That's also hard to say. The traveling of the worm itself may not be painful, but the inflammation it brings about inside the body can lead to some pain and discomfort and stress. Even people when they can't breathe too long or they have issues breathing, they lead to stress and anxiety. So in that aspect it might be discomforting or painful. Yes.

So here's a trickier question than some people may think, 80% of cats are asymptomatic from showing signs of heartworms. So basically what that means is that they will not show any clinical symptoms. So remember eight out of 10 cats won't show symptoms, but the ones that do show symptoms, they'll usually have more breathing air issues kind of almost sounds like asthma, like wheezing or dyspnea. It can be very subtle sometimes, sometimes not, a little bit more aggressive, any panting. Anytime you see a cat pant, bring them in. Cats do not pant normally so you have them examined if they do. Other things that are more extreme, it's rare, but they could have a pretty aggressive nosebleed. Sometimes some cats can get something called thromboembolism, where they throw a blood clot and almost their back legs go cold and they can't really move them too much. So these are just some of the signs, but more respiratory signs you would see in a kitty cat.

That's a really hard question because, as we said, a lot of cats don't even show symptoms, so it can vary from cat to cat. Just keep in mind if you're showing any kind of respiratory signs symptoms, or not eating, lethargy, eating less, bring your cat in and we can examine them.