The need to protect your pets from worms

Every dog or cat loving owner wouldn’t wish to see their pets sick and it is a nightmare especially if they are infected with parasites and worms, a phenomenon which is highly likely to happen at some stage of their lifetime.

There are several types of parasites which can infect cats and dogs with the commonest of them being tapeworms, roundworms, hookworms and whipworms. These worms which are found in feces or in unhygienic places can be accidentally ingested by the animal and once inside the body, they tend to cling onto the host, not only growing larger in size day by day but also robbing the body of vital nutrients and minerals. Most of these pests are found in the gastrointestinal tract of the animal’s body and can cause severe damage if left unprotected.

The extent of destruction caused will depend on the type of worm but the other danger is that these infections can also be passed down to humans. Children are more prone to being attacked since their resistance power is far lesser as compared to adults. There have also been cases where the parasites have known to have destroyed delicate tissues in the brain and eye.

Therefore it is extremely important to take vital care of pets and look out for the tell tale signs of infection. These include sudden loss of appetite, tiredness or depression, pot belly, vomiting, weight loss or scratching and continuous licking around the anus area. These are some of the obvious signs but there are also others such as breath loss, coughing and weight loss. If you feel certain that your pet has an infection, immediately consult a veterinarian and get your cat or dog’s stool checked because if not all, atleast a few type of worms can be easily detected from the stool sample.

Many a time the medicines issued by the animal doctor are more than enough for your pet but there are also other medicinal products such as Drontal Plus which are readily available in the market. These have tablets for both cats and dogs entitled separately as ‘Drontal for Dogs’ and ‘Drontal for Cats’. The medications can be mixed with food and fed to the pet and in order to make sure that it doesn’t catch infection again, it is advisable that your pet be treated for worms four times in a year.