The (Long, Potentially Slimy) Skinny on Deworming Pets

Having pets is a wonderful experience, but when your pets have pets, it can be… not so much fun. Part of the preventative wellness care we offer our pet patients at Beverly Hills Veterinary Associates is a good parasite prevention program. There are several reasons preemptively deworming pets is good practice, and we would like to help you understand why.

Parasites and Your Family

Our pets are part of our family, and it is important that they stay healthy so that the two-legged members of our family stay healthy, too. Pets and people can sometimes share diseases; which are commonly known as zoonotic diseases.

Intestinal parasites are often included in the list of potential zoonoses, and it’s a big reason we take deworming recommendations so seriously. Intestinal parasites can also affect your furry friend’s overall health.

Zoonotic parasites don’t mean that you shouldn’t have pets, though! In fact, there are many other sources of intestinal parasites that may not come directly from your pet.

Minimize chances of any issues:

• Wash your hands after cleaning up waste (and also after gardening, handling raw meat, or playing in the sand)
• Be sure to wash fruits and veggies before consuming
• Clean up your pet’s waste daily
• Cover sandboxes and other outdoor play areas to stop wildlife from eliminating in them

It is also important to follow a good parasite prevention program for your pets. And not to worry, our knowledgeable staff has this covered for you. 

Deworming Pets Before Worms are a Problem

Part of our pet wellness program is intestinal parasite prevention. In a perfect world, we would intervene before our pets are affected by parasites and bring them into our home. 

Pets can be exposed to intestinal parasites in a variety of ways:

• Puppies and kittens may be infected from their mothers
• Parasite eggs may live in the soil or water where our pets walk and play
• Parasites may live inside insects or small rodents that our pets ingest
• Fleas may carry parasites like tapeworms that can infect pets

Parasites are prevalent in the environment, and it is our job to put up a good defense. Year round, broad spectrum parasite control is recommended for all pets.  Please set up an appointment with us so that we can help determine the best option to provide this for your four-legged family. 

When Parasites Happen

Despite our best efforts, sometimes intestinal parasites do happen. No worries, though. With an aggressive approach we can catch parasites before they become an issue.

Routine examinations are vital for your pet’s health, and once to twice annually we should also be conducting fecal examinations. These allow us to detect parasites and their eggs even when there is nothing visible to the naked eye.

Thankfully, with prompt detection, pet intestinal parasites are typically very treatable. By being sure that you are doing your part from a sanitation perspective and a parasite prevention program, there is no reason to worry about any ill-effects to your family. 

Deworming pets is a simple thing that we can do to help keep them and the rest of your family safe. It doesn’t hurt, either, that it helps you to avoid encounters with unwanted houseguests, too.