Fork Union Small Animal Clinic of Fork Union, VA 23055 | Veterinary Hospital, Veterinarian, Dog, Cat, Pet Doctor, Vet, Kennel Boarding / Preventative Medication

There are numerous heartworm preventatives on the market for both dogs and cats. These products effectively prevent this disease in both species. The doctors here at Fork Union Animal Clinic can offer you some suggestions to help you choose the best product for your pet.
IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT ALL CLIENTS USE HEARTWORM PREVENTION ALL YEAR ROUND IN CENTRAL VIRGINIA. This is true for both dogs and cats.

The right medication for your pet depends on what other needs for parasite control you need.

For Dogs we recommend 2 basic options for most pets.
1) Sentinel- This is a once a month chewable tablet that prevents heartworms, roundworms, hookworks and whipworms. It also has a product in it that very effectively prevents the development of flea eggs. If your pet has a very controlled environment with little exposure to adult fleas or ticks this is the best product for you to use. If your pet is on a monthly adulticide for fleas and ticks, you can still use Sentinel and you will see an additive effect on flea control when you use a combination of an effective egg killer and an effective adulticide. The current recommendation from parasitologists is is to use this type of combination in order to increase flea control effectiveness and reduce the chance of the flea population developing resistance to pesticides. PLEASE REMEMBER TO GIVE SENTINEL WITH A MEAL. This is required for proper absoprtion of the flea medication.
2) Interceptor - This is the same product as Sentinel but does not have the flea control product in it. This is the most popular product for clients that are trying to save money or clients that are already using an adult flea and tick product.

There is another option for heartworm control in dogs that some of our clients prefer. This is the use of Revolution. This product is a once a month topical product that is very effective for the control of heartworms, roundworms, hookworms, earmites, scabies and fleas. It does help with ticks but is not particularly good at tick control. This is a good product but it is usually used by cleints who's pets are repeatedly experiencing earmites and / or scabies as well as clients that prefer to use only one product for heartworms and flea control. Because of its weak tick control, most of our clients will prefer to use a different product. Ticks are generally a very serious problem here in Virginia.

For Cats we recommend 2 basic options as well.
The best product for your cats depends on two factors. Does your cat spend a great deal of time outdoors and do you see ticks on your pet. If you do not have tick problems on your cats we recommend Revolution topical for cats.
This is a once a month topical that kills heartworms, roundworms, hookworms, earmites and fleas in cats. All of these are very common in cats that go outdoors and we believe the year-round use of revolution is the right solution for many cats.
If you do see tick problems on your cat we recommend the use on topical Frontline for flea and tick control and the monthly use of Heartgard chewable heartworm prevention.

If you have questions about the best heartworm preventative for your pet please ask one of our doctors or staff members.I