Why Ticks Can Be Extremely Dangerous For Your Cat

Ticks transmit diseases to cats, dogs and humans.

From March to October, we often see a huge increase in the number of parasites such as fleas and ticks. These are parasites that can sit on the cat, leading to transmission of diseases. Cats can get tapeworms from fleas but much scarier diseases from ticks. Fortunately, we see that cats seem to be less susceptible to tick-borne diseases than dogs, for example. But even then, they need to be protected from ticks both for the cat itself and for the owners and dogs in the same household.

What diseases do cats get from ticks?

Babesiosis

When a dermacentor tick is infected with the parasite Babesia, it can transmit it to the cat while sucking blood. This parasite is transmitted only by ticks and nests in red blood cells, which are thereby destroyed. The symptoms in cats are often mild and quite common such as being a bit lethargic, often not eating, appearing a bit weak and having diarrhoea. It takes a week to six weeks for the cat to show these symptoms after an infected tick has had a blood meal on the cat. The Dermacentor tick is mostly in southern Europe but also seems to be increasingly common in the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium.

Ehrlichiosis

An organism, something in between a bacterium and virus, can infect cats with ricketsia (Ehrlichia). After infection, the ricketsia will settle in the cat's white blood cells. Like babesiosis, the Dermacentor tick can also transmit Ehrlichia (ricketsia). Ehrlichiosis can be treated in an acute stage but it hardly seems possible when it has been present for a long time. If cats are infected they may develop a fever, be lethargic, have no appetite. They may develop anaemia afterwards as red and white blood cells and platelets decrease in number, this causes pale mucous membranes in infected cats. The Dermacentor tick, as mentioned above, is mainly found in southern Europe but also seems to be increasingly common in the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium.

Anaplasma

Lyme disease and Anaplasma are transmitted by the same tick. These are ticks found throughout Europe. The disease symptoms are just very different. However, an animal with Anaplasma may also test positive for Lyme or vice versa. Cats are much less prone to symptoms than dogs and treatment often has a good outcome. Besides fever, infected cats may suffer from arthritis.

Lyme disease

The most well-known disease that can be transmitted by ticks is Lyme disease. This disease is transmitted by the Ixodes ricinus tick, which is infected with the Borrelia bacteria. This Borrelia bacteria is the actual causative agent of Lyme Disease. This bacterium is widely spread by wild animals, which unfortunately do not get sick from it themselves, so they can spread it well. A tick sucks blood from an infected wild animal and becomes infected itself and can then infect pets and humans. To pass on the infection, these ticks must suck blood from the new host, injecting the infected saliva into the host. This requires an infected tick to feed for at least 24 hours. Cats that have become infected may suffer from arthritis and joint pain, causing pain with walking. In addition, they often have general symptoms such as fever, lethargy, fever, low appetite and enlarged lymph nodes.

Cytauxzoon

Cytauxzoon is caused by a parasite in the blood called Cytauxzoon Felis, which is capable of infecting tissues and blood in cats. This is a condition common in America and southern Europe. In Europe, cats seem to get a less aggressive variant as symptoms are much milder.

How do I prevent my cat from being infected by a tick?

Tick prevention is most important to prevent an infected tick from making your cat sick. The most reliable tick prevention (nothing works 100 per cent) is to use a Seresto Tick Band. This band is effective against ticks for up to 8 months with the added benefit that the cat is also kept flea-free immediately.

-This is an automated translation-