I was just reading some material on feline heartworm that my vet gave me for our new kitten. In it they say there is no approved treatment for heartworm. How do they test for it?

The answer is provided by :
De-De :
Fist link is best but go to the second if you want to read more on the paragraph below.

Today we must use what is referred to as an "Occult Heart-worm Test" As above we first draw a drop or two of blood. The blood is then processed in a detection kit. This kit actually detects antibodies to the adult heart-worms by causing a color change in the media of the test. (Antibodies are proteins produced by the dog or cat's immune system in attempting to control the heart-worm from within). Since this test does not rely on actually finding microfilaria, it is much more sensitive for detecting adult worms present in the heart. In the old days the microfilaria test would yield a false negative if the adult heart-worm wasn't producing microfilaria as in all female or all male infections. Yes they can happen! Also for some crazy reason microfilaria do not circulate in the blood during the day hours as much as at night. God only knows where they hang out during the daytime. Aren't parasites strange?

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