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Ticks, Your Cat, and You

Most of us welcome the coming of spring and summer, with the longer days, warm weather, and freedom from shoveling snow!  Unfortunately, the warmer weather also brings unwelcome blood-sucking pests such as fleas, ticks, and mosquitos.  The dangers of heartworm carried by mosquitos have already been addressed in an earlier entry.   Unlike mosquitos, which bite a host and then go away, ticks must attach to their host, sometimes for several days, to feed on their blood.

Ticks are arachnids that prefer to live in wooded areas and tall grass.  There are two main types of ticks that live in the Northeast.  The American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis, is larger and the deer tick, Ixodes scapularis, is very small.  Ticks go through three life stages–the six-legged larval stage, then the eight-legged nymph and adult stages.  At each immature stage, the tick needs to find a host to feed on before it can progress to the next stage in the life cycle.  Once the tick reaches adulthood, it feeds and then mates.  Female ticks lay thousands of eggs, and the life cycle starts again.

Ticks are yucky and nobody likes the idea of an insect attached to their body or the body of their pet!  However, ticks are undesirable from a medical standpoint because they can carry a wide variety of diseases that are transmitted to the animals and people that they bite.  Deer ticks can carry Lyme disease, a bacterial disease that can cause joint swelling and pain, fever, and achiness.  In severe cases, it can affect the eyes, the nervous system, and various internal organs.  Dog ticks can carry various species of a bacterial parasite called Ehrlichia, as well as a closely related bacterial parasite called Anaplasma.  Bacteria in this family seek out various types of blood cells to colonize, and can cause fever, lethargy, and low red and white blood cell counts.  Ticks must be attached to a host animal for 24 hours before they can transmit Lyme disease, but some of the other tick-borne diseases can be passed on within 6-12 hours of attachment.

Dogs are very susceptible to Lyme disease and Ehrlichia infections, as are horses.  Luckily, most cats are resistant to infection and rarely get sick from tick-borne diseases.  Cats do occasionally get Lyme disease and Erhlichia, however, and these diseases should be considered in a sick cat who has access to the outdoors, especially if the cause of illness is not immediately obvious.  There is a very convenient blood test for sick animals that screens for the most common tick-borne diseases.

Our office cat in Nashua, Big Papi, contracted Lyme disease while he was a stray, and had terribly sore and swollen joints.  Treatment has improved his joints considerably, but because he was ill for so long before he came to us he has been left with permanent arthritis.

Despite the fact that cats rarely get tick-borne diseases, tick control is still very important for outdoor cats.  We want to prevent cats from getting life-threatening diseases, even if they are rare.  Tick control is also very important for protecting other people and pets in the cat’s household.  Ticks sometimes come into the house on a host animal, but then drop off and transfer to a human or other animal in the house.  Since people are very susceptible to Lyme disease, and also can get Ehrlichia infections and become very ill, it is important to prevent exposure to ticks via outdoor cats.

The most important thing you can do to prevent your cat or yourself from suffering from tick bites is to check your cat for ticks every time he comes in from outside.  This way you can remove any unattached ticks that could jump onto you as well as finding ticks before they have been attached for long enough to pass on an infection.  A tick control medication, called Frontline, is also generally safe and effective at killing ticks once they have attached to your cat.  Frontline should be applied every 3-4 weeks if you live in an area that has many ticks.

Frontline is available over the counter as well as in our office.  We also offer several other parasite preventatives, such as Advantage, Revolution, and Heartgard.  Please call if you have any questions about parasites and ways to prevent them.  Other medications that are available in pet stores and grocery stores are not as safe for your cat and can cause life-threatening side effects and reactions.  If you choose to buy medications somewhere other than our office, please do not purchase any product other than Frontline.

Learn The Proper Way to Remove a Tick

1.  Using tweezers, grasp the tick as close to where it is embedded in the skin as possible. Do not grasp the tick by the body.  Never use your fingers, as this can expose you to diseases the tick may be carrying.

2.  Pull slowly and steadily, directly out. Do not jerk, twist or wiggle the tick.  The steady pressure will make the tick release its hold and allow you to remove it intact.  Be patient if this takes a little time.

3.  Check to make sure all of the tick has been removed. Occasionally some of the tick’s mouth remains imbedded in the skin.  Be careful to remove any parts remaining.

4.  Once you have removed the tick, put it in alcohol to kill it. Ticks can survive being flushed down the toilet, as well as being thrown in the garbage.

5.  Disinfect the wound with soap or a disinfectant. Hydrogen peroxide applied to the area, left on for one minute, then blotted dry works well.  Remember to wash your own hands with soap and water.

American Association of Feline Practitioners Senior Care Guidelines

The American Association of Feline Practioners (AAFP), of which all of our doctors are proud members, recently released an update of their Senior Care Guidelines. The AAFP publishes guidelines on a number of issues regarding feline health, but these guidelines are especially relevant because so many of our patients are older cats. As veterinary care improves and more cats live indoor lifestyles, the proportion of senior cats is increasing. We find working with senior cats to be very rewarding, since we have the opportunity to improve their quality of life and their lifespan with some relatively simple changes.

The Senior Care Guidelines are directed at veterinarians, but are available for perusal by the general public, and can be found on the AAFP’s website at http://www.catvets.com/uploads/PDF/2009SeniorCGL_4-21.pdf. If you’d like to check them out, there are two very nice figures with a picture of a cat and a listing of common symptoms and diseases that can befall older cats.

The Guidelines cover a number of topics, but in general they emphasize early detection of disease so that it can be managed promptly, which in many cases delays severe disease signficantly. The most important part of early disease detection is twice-yearly exams for healthy senior cats. At these visits, we look for weight loss or changes on the physical exam, and we ask questions to help guide you in thinking about whether there are any changes in your cat’s behavior, eating and habits, litterbox usage, and mobility.

The Guidelines cover the management of common cat diseases such as weight loss and gain, high blood pressure, thyroid disorders, dental disease, and GI problems, but especially emphasize the most common condition in older cats, kidney disease. Arthritis is another point of emphasis, because it is a very common disorder that has the potential to decrease an older cat’s quality of life significantly, but is also very manageable in most cases.

If you check out the Guidelines and have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you are concerned about any suspicious symptoms in your older kitty, make an appointment for a senior exam today!