Year-Round Parasite Prevention: Essential Protection
At Hamilton Crossing Animal Hospital, we consider year-round protection against fleas, ticks, and heartworms to be a core element of your pet's wellness plan. We believe that consistent prevention, administered every single month for 12 months a year, is the safest and most effective way to protect your beloved companion.
The Recommendation: All Pets, All Year
We strongly recommend year-round prevention for all dogs and cats, regardless of their lifestyle. The threats posed by these common parasites are far too serious to risk a lapse in protection.
Why Continuous Protection is Critical
Heartworms: One Mosquito Bite is All It Takes Heartworms are transmitted exclusively by mosquitoes. These insects can be active indoors or emerge during any unseasonably warm spell, even in the middle of winter. If a single infected mosquito bites your unprotected pet, the resulting heartworm disease can be fatal, and the treatment is lengthy, stressful, and costly. Prevention is the only truly safe strategy.
Fleas: The Indoor Threat is Real Even if your pet is strictly an "inside cat" or a dog that "never leaves the yard," they are still at risk. Fleas and their microscopic eggs can be brought directly into your home on the bottom of shoes or clothing from humans, or on other pets. Once established in your carpet, furniture, and crevices, a flea infestation is extremely difficult and expensive to eliminate.
Ticks: The Cold Does Not Guarantee Safety Ticks are resilient parasites that can survive freezing temperatures. They may become active any time the ground temperature rises above freezing. They simply wait in grassy or wooded areas and can easily attach to your dog or cat during a quick trip outside to use the restroom. Ticks transmit serious diseases like Lyme, Ehrlichiosis, and Anaplasmosis.
The "Indoor Pet" Myth Debunked
Many clients believe their indoor pets are safe from parasites. However, any time a door opens, your pet can be exposed:
Mosquitoes readily fly into homes and can transmit heartworms indoors.
A quick trip outside to the yard or litter area is all it takes for a tick to crawl aboard.
Fleas can jump onto your pet from a doorstep or porch, or be carried in by a human host.
Consistent, year-round prevention is the most affordable, safe, and effective way to protect your pet, your family (as many parasites are zoonotic), and your home from infestation. Talk to our team today about the best veterinary-approved product for your pet's needs.