My outdoor cat missed Revolution. Should I test for heartworm or dose?

From the Revolution website: "For the prevention of heartworm disease, Revolution must be administered on a monthly basis. Revolution may be administered year-round or at least within one month after the animal’s first exposure to mosquitoes and monthly thereafter until the end of the mosquito season. If a dose is missed and a monthly interval between dosing is exceeded then immediate administration of Revolution and resumption of monthly dosing will minimize the opportunity for the development of adult heartworms. For the prevention and control of flea infestations, Revolution should be administered at monthly intervals throughout the flea season, starting one month before fleas become active. " Now, other heartworm preventatives, I've been told, have a bit of a grace period, about a week of wiggle room between doses. I haven't been told that specifically about Revolution. If your vet will sell you a single dose, that would tide you over until your order comes.

If they tested negative for heartworms within the last six months, then it should be fine to give them the heartworm medication. Just double check with their vet. The heartworm medication is prescription only, so they will have to see their vet to get more. Be sure to give it to them once a month. Set up a calendar on your phone with a monthly reminder to give it to them. I hope this helps!

You can start both of them anytime now. Before starting the heartworm treatment, we recommend having her tested for heartworm. This is important, because if she happened to acquire heartworm (spread by mosquitos), then the preventative medication can cause a bad reaction. Your vet can do the testing and prescribe a preventative. Below are links to more information about heartworm and fleas. https://mobile.petcoach.co/amp/article/heartworms-dirofilaria-immitis-in-cats https://www.petcoach.co/article/the-best-flea-prevention-plan-for-your-cat/ I hope that helps and all is well with Ellie.

Hello, and thanks for your question about Mazie. This is a great question, and it really comes down to a question of how significant is the risk of disease exposure to Mazie, vs the cost of preventative. I see you live in Georgia - given how prevalent heartworm disease is in your area, as well as intestinal parasites, my advice would be to stick with Revolution in order to have a more broad-spectrum product to address heartworm disease and intestinal parasites in addition to external parasites like fleas and ticks. That's to cover your bases in case the rare mosquito finds its way into your home, or in case Mazie sneaks out. But, again it comes down to risk and cost. If you feel that you live in a home that's pretty mosquito-proof, and if Mazie is not prone to sneaking outside once in awhile, then her heartworm and intestinal parasite risk is probably low enough that a flea/tick product would suffice. Hope that helps!

You are very welcome! For most pets, Revolution is fine for heartworm prevention unless your area is experiencing very high levels of heartworm exposure or immunity to the product. Call your veterinarian and ask if there is a specific reason that he/she recommends an additional heartworm prevention. It’s always best to gather all the information! Also make sure to remind them she is on Revolution. Please feel free to post any additional questions.

I have attached more information on roundworms in dogs and cats below because it is a little different for each species. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=476 https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=498 Keeping your dogs on regular heartworm preventative should prevent them from having problems with roundworms. Here is a comparison of heartworm prevention products. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=488 Most flea preventatives do not have a dewormer in them, but here is a listing of current flea control products and what they treat/prevent. http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=2858 The Revolution dose for Oscar would cover 5-15 pounds, so I would not expect a problem with his weight since he is right in the middle of that. It is possible to see worms passed after deworming, so just because you see a worm does not mean the Revolution is not working. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Revolution is excellent. That is actually what I use for my own dogs. Heartworm prevention is indeed needed in all stages and I would highly recommend heartworm prevention which is included in the revolution. However, it is important to make sure that Maggie does not have heartworms before you start it so I recommend that you have her evaluated by your veterinarian for a heartworm test first if she was not on heartworm prevention previously. Good luck and have a great day!