Fleas and Ticks

There are several diseases that can be transmitted to your pet from a little tick bite. Some of the most common tick-borne diseases seen in the United States are Lyme disease, Anaplasmosis, and Ehrlichiosis. Lyme disease is a zoonotic disease and is transmitted by the deer tick and western black-legged tick. Common symptoms include spontaneous and shifting leg lameness, reluctance to move, and fatigue. Anaplasmosis is also a zoonotic disease that is transmitted by the deer tick and the western-black legged tick. These are the same ticks that transmit Lyme disease, which increases the risk of coinfection with Anaplasmosis. Symptoms include loss of appetite, lethargy, lameness, reluctance to move, and neck pain. Ehrlichiosis is again a zoonotic disease, but is transmitted by the brown dog tick and the lone star tick. Signs of Ehrlichiosis include depression, loss of appetite, lameness, and joint pain, spontaneous nose bleeds, and bruising on the gums or belly.
Protecting your pets from fleas and ticks is the most important part of disease prevention. We recommend Nexgard oral for puppies younger than six months and Bravecto, a chewable preventative given every twelve weeks, for dogs older than six months. There is a Bravecto topical product for cats given every twelve weeks. Our doctors recommend Feline Advantage Multi for all cats from June through November, which is a topical product that protects against fleas, heartworm, ear mites, and some common intestinal parasites. Cats get heartworm disease from mosquitoes, and this disease can cause severe chronic problems, which need to be managed for the life of the cat. If you find yourself dealing with pesky fleas at some point this season, remember to gather anything your pet may have walked on and wash it in hot water. Anything that cannot be laundered or vacuumed should be put in trash bags and tied tight for 30 days to suffocate any hatching fleas. Remember to tie the vacuum bag in plastic and throw in trash as it is packed with eggs! Then, protect all your pets with one of these products to break the cycle. Email drcrisvalas@thefamilypethospital.com with questions!