With warmer temperatures comes more frequent trips outdoors, from the park to hiking trails to the wilderness. If you’re the type of dog owner who loves bringing Fido along for every outdoor excursion, you should know about the health risks that await.

Although many people consider cats to be “inside” animals, an increasing number of pet owners are allowing their cats to roam around outside or are taking them on outdoor adventures. This can be great, as long as your cat’s temperament allows for it.

Spring is well underway, and summer is right around the corner. Pet parents know what that means: it’s flea season. Pests of all kinds run rampant in the warmer months, but one of the most prevalent and frustrating infestations to deal with is fleas because of their ability to spread quickly, reproduce consistently and hide for months on end.

As a dog owner, you’re probably familiar with numerous intestinal parasites, such as the tapeworm or hookworm, but another common parasitic worm doesn’t affect your dog’s intestines—it affects its heart and lungs.

When adopting a new cat, one of the first things recommended to pet owners is to have the cat dewormed if it hasn’t been already. Worms, those nasty little internal parasites, are one of the most common health problems in cats, and they can be tricky to spot.

It’s almost winter, which means that most of the creepy, crawly insects that hover around your home in the summer months are either dying off or preparing to lay low. However, one type of pest might actually be making its way inside your home before the cold settles in: cat fleas.

Every pet owner has heard of worms—the often-microscopic parasites that infect your dog or cat and spread through eggs. What pet owners often don’t realize, though, is just how common worms are in house pets.

It’s natural for your cat to get a little itchy now and then—almost any body part can have a normal itchy spot. Or, perhaps the itch is caused by a mild irritation or allergy. You’ll definitely notice, though, when your cat’s casual scratching turns into obsessive, harmful behavior. If this scratching is centralized by the ears, you might have something more than a regular itch on your hands. Your cat might have ear mites.

Warmer weather means more walks, hikes and playtime outside with your beloved pup. Unfortunately, the dawn of spring also means that bugs are also outside. One of the worst offenders during the spring and summer months are ticks—these nasty, blood-sucking insects are not only a nuisance to deal with, but can transmit terrible diseases to your dog, your other pets and even you.