Children and Pets

If you have young children and pets at home I’m sure you’re familiar with the kind of intimate contact they can share. Our 3 year old daughter is the same: she adores her canine and feline siblings! She is constantly hugging them, kissing them, and recently started showing some interest in the cleanliness of their, shall we say, “private areas”.

Today, I wanted to inform you about some of the dangerous zoonotic diseases that can pass from pets to people; especially children. Hookworms and roundworms are some of the most common intestinal parasites in cats and dogs. It is very common to see these parasites in puppies and kittens, but adult dogs and cats can also pick these up from the streets and dog runs of Manhattan. Unknown to many, indoor cats can also be infected if they hunt and ingest small insects or rodents, or come into contact with soil from indoor, potted plants. Some parasitologists say we can bring these parasites into our homes on our shoes as well.

In children, roundworms can cause tissue damage as they migrate through the body, and in severe cases can cause permanent nerve or eye damage, even blindness. Hookworms can cause serious damage to the intestine, skin, and other organs of children.

To prevent this from happening, we strongly recommend serial dewormings of all puppies and kittens. For adults, we recommend monthly dewormings with heartworm preventative medications, like Heartguard for dogs and Revolution for cats. These medications are mainly prescribed to prevent our pets from getting heartworm infection but they also protect our pets from the most common intestinal parasites.

So, make sure both your 2-legged and 4-legged children are protected!! If you have any questions, please call us at: 212-706-4088.

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