Do Cats Get Heartworms Like Dogs. Exposure to mosquitoes is required for transmission. How do cats get heartworms?
Like dogs, cats can develop adult heartworms, but it’s more common for heartworms in cats to die before they reach full maturity, she adds. All dogs are at risk for potentially deadly heartworm disease. Because a cat is not an ideal host for heartworms, some infections resolve on their own, although these infections can leave cats with respiratory system damage.
Signs of heartworms in cats range from no symptoms at all to sudden collapse or death.
The same mosquitoes that transmit the parasitic worms to dogs can transmit them to cats; Most heartworm microfilariae die on their way through the skin. Exposure to mosquitoes is required for transmission. All dogs are at risk for potentially deadly heartworm disease.