Fleas and Ticks: What You Need to Know

In southern Ontario we have an annual cycle of recommended parasite prevention for dogs and cats. Today, this blog is to help shine a light on fleas and ticks and why we want to prevent infestation, rather than just treating dogs or cats that bring them home.

Fleas:

Fleas (Ctenicephalides felis or C. canis) are an insect that prefers to live on their host, but can survive off of them in the environment for periods of time.  When fleas lay their eggs, they drop into the environment where they will develop into their adult form when the appropriate temperature and moisture conditions are met. From there, they take the opportunity to jump onto a host where they feed off their blood by biting.  This can cause the host animal minimal to severe irritation. They are excellent jumpers, making moves from one animal to another quite easy, and this is generally how a dog or cat becomes infected when in close proximity to another animal with fleas.

When to suspect your cat or dog has fleas:

·      You see a flea on your pet

·      Your animal is scratching, itching, licking, or biting at themselves a lot

·      In severe cases there can be hair loss and skin trauma

·      Some dogs or cats can have an allergy to flea bites which can be severe enough to cause dermatitis – this is known as Flea Allergy Dermatitis, one bite may be enough to cause a bad reaction or distress to your pet

Flea dirt identified on wet paper towel

·      You can look for flea dirt – the digested blood meal fleas leave behind.  To do this use a flea comb and collect the debris from this combing onto a white paper towel or piece of paper, dampen with water and if any dark specs become rusty red/brown in colour that indicates flea dirt and the presence of fleas on your pet

Treating your animal with fleas:

Use a medication to kill fleas – there are many on the market that can be purchased from your veterinary clinic or pet stores, they can include topicals, chews, and collars.

·      If you have a cat ensure the product is safe for cats even when treating a dog who lives in a house with cats!!!

·      If you have an animal with severe reactions to fleas, an insecticide that kills the fleas on contact rather than them having to bite you pet to die is the best option.  Advantage is a product that does this and is quite effective

·      Treatment over a few months will often necessary to ensure all fleas, eggs and larvae have been killed

Another important component to flea treatment is thorough cleaning of the environment.

·      Frequent and thorough vacuuming

·      Reduce moisture on the home by using a dehumidifier, generally in the basement is fine

·      Clean bedding and other spots your dog or cat like to spend time in your home

·      Areas with low traffic in the home are areas fleas like to survive in, such as behind doors, under beds, behind furniture, so ensure to pay special attention in those areas of the home

Preventing fleas:

This is the best option for ensuring fleas do not infest your pet or home.  In southern Ontario flea prevention is often now recommended from March 1st to November 30th, 9 months of the year, though year-round prevention may be required in some circumstances.  There are many options of prevention that include monthly topical or oral chews, a chew that lasts for 3 months at a time, and others. Chat with your veterinarian about the best flea preventative for you and your pet!

Flea prevention is important for your pet’s health and wellbeing, overall hygiene, as well as reducing the risk of being infected with a type of tapeworm (Dipylidium caninum) within the fleas.

Ticks:

Ticks, of which there are many species, have been a growing concern in our region of Ontario over the last decade or so. Not only are they unpleasant to deal with, but they have the ability to transmit disease. They are of the Arachnid family as they have 4 pairs of legs, they feed off of their hosts and some require multiple different host species as they mature from larvae to nymph to adult forms.

Dogs or cats acquire ticks in Ontario outside where they make contact with them by brushing past them or walking over them.  The most prevalent species include: American Dog Tick (Dermacentor variabilis) and Deer Tick (Ixodes scapularis).  Between these two ticks they can carry a variety of diseases, including: Ehrlichia canis, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, as well as Lyme disease, Anaplasmosis, and Babesiosis.  If traveling outside of Ontario be aware that there are other tick species that carry various diseases that can affect your dog and possibly your cat.  The 4Dx SNAP test that many clinics use can test for Lyme, Ehrlichia, Anaplasma, as well as heartworm disease in dogs.  Annual or every other year testing is generally recommended for dogs and occasionally cats.

When you find a tick on your dog or cat:

The most important step is to remove that tick before it has more time to feed. The longer a tick feeds and becomes engorged the greater the chance of disease transmission if the tick happens to be infected. Careful removal is key in order to not leave the tick head in the skin of your cat or dog. You can try tick twisters or removers that are commercially made for this job, tweezers can be tried as well, but there is greater risk of the tick head breaking off. If you are uncertain, you can call your vet for advice or to have them remove the tick for you.

Identifying the species of tick can be very beneficial as it can help determine what disease risk there might be.  Additionally, if it is a Deer Tick they can be sent to a lab to test if they carry Lyme disease (Borrelia burgdorferi), a bacteria that can have health consequences for humans, and as well as dogs.

Testing for Lyme disease can be easily done with a SNAP test and a small amount of blood from your dog.  It is recommended that if you want to test for Lyme, to do so 4-6 weeks after the tick was removed.  This has the best chance of capturing infection if it is present in your dog. Annual testing may be something you wish to do with your dog, but speak with your veterinarian to determine the best plan for you and your pet.

My dog tested Lyme positive, what now?

Unlike humans, most dogs that test Lyme positive may never have clinical signs of disease.  Treatment is necessary when there is evidence of clinical signs and consists of an antibiotic that targets this bacteria, as well as other supportive therapies.  Treatment may be for 30 days or more.  Clinical signs to watch for include: shifting lameness, fever, lethargy, loss of appetite, joint pain and swelling, swollen lymph nodes.  Your veterinarian may also monitor their urine for protein loss as severe cases of Lyme disease in dogs can cause kidney injury and potentially kidney failure.  If any of these signs are noted, sometimes months after a tick bite, contact your veterinarian for appropriate treatment for your dog.

Lucky for cats, at this time we do not have evidence that cats contract Lyme disease, so ticks for the most part are an annoyance, but not a health concern in southern Ontario.  They can still pass ticks on to other pets and humans though, so prompt removal is still recommended.

Preventing ticks:

Prevention is the best method of reducing the risk of tick infestations and disease transmission.  Many of the preventatives do still require the tick to bite the animal, but they die shortly after, therefore reducing or even eliminating the risk of Lyme or other disease transmission.  Your veterinary clinic should have a variety of options, many of which include flea prevention as well, along with even broader spectrum prevention for intestinal worms and heartworm.

Another quick note on Lyme disease, if you feel as though your dog is in a high-risk area and want additional protection a Lyme vaccine can be administered.  Talk to your veterinarian if this is something you think would be beneficial to your dog’s disease prevention program. 

Wishing you and your pets a flea and tick free season!

Dr. Hillary