Articles: parasites and pets

Cats need protection from fleas and ticks too. Dr. Christine Royal of Merck Animal Health talks about how cats can get heartworm. We talk about what can happen, which may be sudden death or heartworm associated respiratory disease (which has asthma-type symptoms). Imagine a 12-inch long worm winding its way inside a cat’s respiratory system.…

Dogs are a sentinel for various tick diseases, most notably Lyme disease. You think Lyme, you likely think either New England – where Lyme is endemic – or you think about tick disease when walking through the woods. It’s true you should think those things. But also think urban parks, like Central Park in New…

Nowadays, there’s a top-10 list for everything. I doubt it ever occurred to David Letterman to create a top-10 for cities with the most heartworm, but he would be thrilled to know there is now such a list. This list is based on the highest percentage increase in positive heartworm test results for dogs and cats…

In the early 1970s people in and around Lyme, CT were suffering from puzzling and debilitating health issues. Eventually, their illnesses were connected to a tick disease, now called Lyme. Historically, Lyme disease centered around the New England area, and was primarily only a problem in rural places. However, that’s changed dramatically, most especially in…

K. Wade Burton, DVM, a Medical Affairs Specialist in Infectious Disease at IDEXX, wants people to know about the importance of screening dogs annually for tick-borne disease. People seem to understand that ticks carry disease, but may not realize a single tick bite may carry a pathogen cocktail – passing along several tick diseases with…

Heartworm is not something you want your dog to get, one simple explanation for that: Heartworm can be deadly says CEVA Animal Health Veterinary Services Manager Dr. Todd McCracken on my national Steve Dale’s Pet World radio show. McCracken explains how dogs get the disease. He says it’s “100 percent preventable” IF you use a…

What does the FDA alert regarding some flea and tick products really mean? I went to the source, and talked to Dr. Martine Hartogensis, deputy director at the United States Food and Drug Associations Center for Veterinary Medicine’s Office of Surveillance and Compliance on my Steve Dale’s Pet World national radio show. llll The FDA is…

Blah! Blah! It’s scary. And you’re not alone, as more than 4.2 million dog-owning households and nearly two million cat-caretakers will be treating their furry companions to ghoulish goodies and grisly toys this Halloween, according to the National Retail Federation. I talk on my WGN Radio show, Steve Dale’s Pet World, HERE with Gabbie Roderer,…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is alerting pet owners and veterinarians to be aware of the potential for neurologic adverse events in dogs and cats when treated with drugs that are in the isoxazoline class of flea and tick products. What the heck does that mean? I spoke with Dr. Todd McCracken, veterinary services…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is offering concerns about some flea and tick products. Listen HERE to my WGN Steve Dale’s Pet World radio show to Dr. Todd McCracken, veterinary services manager at CEVA Animal Health and Fear Free certified, as he explains it all in a way which we can understand. McCracken says…