Appointments at Cotswold Animal Hospital in Charlotte, NC

401 South Sharon Amity Rd., Suite A,
Charlotte, NC 28211

Hospital Hours:
Monday-Friday 7:30am-6pm

phone: (704) 365-3787
fax: (980)495-6200

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Cotswold Pet Hospital in Cotswold

Spring Tips to Keep Your Pet Safe

As the warmer months are approaching, it’s important to start protecting your pet and home from fleas and ticks. Fleas live in moist, shady areas, including lawn thatch, mulch, leaf litter, woodpiles, crawl spaces, and under porches or decks. Fleas also prefer to live on wildlife such as squirrels, rabbits, groundhogs, and opossums that can be transmitted to your pet.

The most effective way to prevent your pet from fleas and ticks is by using a monthly flea and tick preventative. Fleas thrive in warm environments, and are capable of surviving in your home; fleas and their eggs are commonly found in carpeting, bedding, and furniture. If a flea infestation has already occurred in your house, preventives would be needed year-round.

To avoid a flea infestation, your pet must be on flea preventatives and be given the preventative consistently for six consecutive months. Many medications can be combined with the monthly heartworm medication. Not only is this convenient, but it reduces the cost of two medications! Although fleas are more prevalent during the summer months, they are capable of surviving in a home year-round.

Ticks are another danger to pets and can transmit serious diseases such as Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Ehrlichiosis, and Anaplasmosis. Many of these diseases have symptoms that are difficult to notice until the disease has progressed. Many flea and tick preventatives begin killing ticks upon contact, and will eliminate all four North American species of ticks (Deer tick, Brown dog tick, American dog tick and the Lone Star tick).

Heartworm disease is another dangerous condition to dogs and cats; although heartworm disease is preventable, it can be potentially fatal. With this disease, parasites attach themselves to the pulmonary artery and heart, and can cause symptoms such as persistent cough, fatigue, reduced appetite, and weight loss. Cats may show signs that mimic other feline-specific diseases, but chronic clinical signs of heartworm in cats include vomiting, difficulty breathing, lethargy, and weight loss.

We can help you protect your pet from heartworm disease with daily or monthly preventatives. There are a variety of options for preventing heartworm infection in both dogs and cats, including tablets and chewables, topicals, and a six-month injectable product available only for dogs. All of these methods are extremely effective, and when administered properly on a timely schedule, heartworm infection can be completely prevented. These medications interrupt heartworm development before adult worms reach the heart and cause disease.

Give us a call today to learn more about monthly preventatives, and how to protect your pet from fleas, ticks, and heartworm.

Cotswold Pet Hospital

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40I South Sharon Amity Rd.,Suite A,
Charlotte, NC 28211
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