Heartworm and Tick Prevention for DeKalb County Pets

Every spring we field the same round of questions at Bethany Animal Hospital. Is it too early to start heartworm prevention? Do indoor cats really need it? What about the ticks we keep finding after a walk on a wooded trail? The short answer is that prevention works best when it isn't something you start and stop with the weather. Here's how we think about it for the dogs, cats, and families we see in Sycamore and across DeKalb County.

Why This Comes Up Every Spring

Heartworm disease is spread by mosquito bites, and Illinois summers give mosquitoes a long season to work with. A single bite from an infected mosquito is enough to pass on the parasite, which is why heartworm prevention is one of our core preventive care services for adult and senior dogs, and why we talk about it with cat owners too. It's easy to assume a mostly indoor cat is safe, but a mosquito doesn't need much of an opening. A mosquito that gets into the house on a warm evening doesn't care whether your cat ever sets a paw outside. We'd rather have the conversation every year at your pet's wellness visit than have you guess at what's still needed from last year, especially since a pet's coverage needs to line up with the local mosquito season rather than a calendar date that doesn't account for a warm spring or a late frost.

Fleas Are Part of the Same Conversation

Heartworm and flea prevention sit together as one of our preventive care services, and for good reason. Fleas don't need much of an invitation either. A dog who picks one up on a walk can bring it inside, and from there it's not really an outdoor-only problem anymore, it's a household one. Cats who never leave the house can end up dealing with fleas that arrived on a person's shoe or a visiting dog. It's one more reason we treat prevention as a year-round plan for every pet in the house rather than something that only applies to the dog who goes on walks.

Ticks Don't Stop When Summer Ends

Ticks are active across DeKalb County from spring well into fall, and a warm stretch in October can bring them back out after you've stopped thinking about them. Dogs who spend time in tall grass, wooded trails, or even a well kept backyard near a tree line can pick up a tick on a single outing. A good habit is a quick hands-on check after time outdoors, especially around the ears, collar line, and between the toes, since those are easy spots to miss with just a glance. If you do find a tick attached, removing it promptly matters, and letting us know at your pet's next visit, or sooner if anything looks off at the bite site, gives us a fuller picture of what your pet has been exposed to over the season.

What We Watch For at Wellness Visits

Heartworm testing is part of our adult annual blood work, and senior dogs and cats get that same look twice a year through our senior biannual blood work, since older pets can develop or hide changes faster than a once a year visit would catch. We're not just checking a box. We're building a record of what's normal for your pet specifically, so if something shifts, we notice it sooner rather than later.

• A cough that wasn't there before, or tiring faster on a normal walk
• A tick you find attached, even if you removed it yourself
• A red or irritated bite mark that doesn't settle down in a day or two
• Weight loss or a drop in appetite with no obvious cause
• Any change in energy that lasts more than a day

None of these on their own mean something is wrong, but any of them are worth a call rather than a wait and see approach. We would much rather look at a pet who turns out to be fine than hear about a problem after it's had time to settle in.

We See Patients From All Over DeKalb County

Beyond Sycamore itself, our clients regularly come in from Cortland, Davis Junction, Genoa, Kingston, Kirkland, Malta, Maple Park, Monroe Center, and Rochelle. Prevention conversations look a little different depending on where you're coming from and what your pet's routine looks like. A dog who spends most of the day in a fenced yard has a different exposure than one who's out on rural acreage or walked through a wooded park most evenings, and a cat who splits time between indoors and a screened porch is different again. Bring your questions to your pet's next visit and we'll talk through what actually makes sense for your household, rather than handing you a generic answer that doesn't account for where you actually live.

If you want to get your pet's prevention plan sorted before the next season change, call our office at (815) 239-6938. If a quick text is easier for a non urgent question or to ask about scheduling, our text only line is (815) 991-4556.