What is Lyme Disease and Cytauxzoonosis in Pets?

I. Lyme disease is a bacterial infection than can affect humans, dogs, cats and other mammals.

Its primary carrier is the deer tick, which can attach to a dog or human and transmit the bacteria that cause the disease.

Clinical signs of Lyme disease include depression, swelling of the lymph nodes, loss of appetite, fever, swollen, painful joints and kidney failure.

Lyme disease is most effectively treated with antibiotics.

With prompt, proper treatment, your pet’s condition should start to improve within 48 hours.

II. Cytauxzoonosis is a lethal infection caused by tick bites.

This blood parasite is common in the South and is carried by bobcats.

Ticks who feed on bobcats may transmit the infection to domestic cats, for whom the disease is fatal.

Clinical signs of infection include: high fever, difficulty breathing, loss of appetite, jaundice, coma and death.

The infection progresses rapidly—in a matter of weeks—and there is no known cure, though several studies have proved successful in managing certain strains of the disease.

III. Treatment and Removal

 If you do find a tick on your pet, it is important to take care when removing it. Any contact with the tick’s blood can potentially transmit infection to your pet or even to you. Prompt removal is necessary, but it is important to stay calm and not rush. Follow these step-by-step tick removal instructions:

 Step 1: Avoid Direct Contact

 Put on latex or rubber gloves so you’ll never have direct contact with the tick or your pet’s bite area.

Because throwing a tick in the trash or flushing it down the toilet will not kill it, you should prepare a screw-top jar containing rubbing alcohol to put a tick in after removal. This also allows you to hold it for veterinary testing.

If possible, enlist a partner to help you distract and soothe your pet and hold her still during removal.

Step 2: Remove the ticks

Using a pair of tweezers, grasp the tick as close to the animal’s skin as possible. Pull straight upwards with steady, even pressure and place the tick in your jar. Do not twist or jerk the tick. This may leave the mouth-parts embedded in your pet, or cause the tick to regurgitate infective fluids.

Do not squeeze or crush the body of the tick, because its fluids may contain infective organisms.

Step 3: Disinfect and Monitor

 Disinfect the bite area and wash your hands with soap and water, even though you were wearing gloves. Sterilize your tweezers with alcohol or by carefully running them over a flame.

Monitor the bite area over the next few weeks for any signs of localized infection, such as redness or inflammation. If infection occurs, please bring your pet—and your jarred tick—to your veterinarian for evaluation.

Tick Prevention

Many of the same products on the market that treat fleas also kill ticks and prevent against future infestation. Speak to your vet about the best product for your pet.

Ensure a tick-free lawn by mowing it regularly, removing tall weeds and making it inhospitable to rodents by keeping garbage covered and inaccessible