Welcome to the second installment of our three-part flea and tick series. If you remember, in the first segment, we explored preparation strategies for flea and tick season. We also covered what we, as pet owners, can implement to minimize the likelihood of a flea and tick infestation. Today, in the second segment, we’ll explore what steps to take should you discover fleas and ticks on your pet.
Subsequently, in the third segment of our series, we’ll explore the ’10 Best Strategies That We Can Implement’ to eliminate fleas and ticks immediately.
Let’s start, however, by covering essential information that pet owners need to understand about both of these troublesome parasites.
Fleas and Ticks Feed On Our Pets
Our pets’ coats are plush and cozy, creating an ideal habitat for both fleas and ticks. These parasites consume our pet’s blood and both can trigger significant health complications ranging from allergic responses to more severe tick-borne diseases. Fleas and ticks proliferate during the hotter seasons of the year, though as pet owners we can control them throughout the remaining seasons as well.
Warning Signs: Dogs
Indicators of fleas on dogs consist of flea droppings appearing as dark particles in your dog’s coat, or flea eggs presenting themselves as white particles.
Warning Signs: Cats
The optimal method to locate fleas on your cat involves using a cat comb on your cat. A cat comb is simply a fine-toothed comb available at any drugstore.
Always inspect for fleas around your cat’s neck along with the base of their tail and their abdomen. You may observe the fleas appearing like tiny black particles that seem to be in motion. You may also observe their flea eggs too.
Beyond warning indicators, there are medical conditions that may impact your cat or dog should they encounter fleas and ticks. These encompass:
Anemia
When canines and felines become infested with fleas they may lose as much as 15 times their body weight in blood loss. When pets lose excessive blood, they frequently develop anemia. Puppies and kittens face particularly high risk of developing anemia, displaying pale gums and energy depletion.
Flea Allergies: Pets
The primary trigger of dermatological disease in dogs and cats is fleas. When fleas bite they introduce saliva into our pets’ skin. This can trigger an allergic response. Indicators of flea allergies encompass: Itching, fur loss, scabs and red, inflamed skin. These indicators of flea allergies can result in skin infections in your pet.
Did we mention that humans can suffer from fleas too?
Flea Allergies: Humans
Fleas appreciate human blood equally as much as they appreciate pet blood. Fleas can leap from a pet’s coat or bedding onto our skin. Certain people experience adverse reactions to fleas, consisting of itching that can result in a skin infection. Preventing flea bites is simple when we maintain our pets along with our homes flea-free. For every flea you observe on your pet, there could be as many as 100 additional ones in your house.
Ticks: Warning Signs
You can detect ticks when you stroke your dog or cat and you can observe them visually as well. Ticks will frequently attach themselves near the head, neck, ears or paws of your pet. On cats, ticks are typically located around the ears and the eyes.
Ticks appreciate blood equally as much as fleas do, only when bitten by a tick, you risk contracting a tick-borne disease. If you’ve been outdoors near tall grass or weeds or within the woods, it’s advisable to inspect both yourself and your pet for ticks. If you locate a tick ensure you extract it immediately or as quickly as possible.
Removing Ticks
When extracting a tick, avoid the following approaches: Gasoline, nail polish, petroleum jelly, alcohol and also hot matches. Utilizing these techniques frequently pushes infected fluids back into the tick’s bite. Instead, it’s advised that you follow these steps:
Utilize gloves or tissues to protect your hands.
Ensure you grip the tick with tweezers from the side, by its head, as near to the skin as achievable.
Avoid twisting the tick during removal, ensure you extract it straight out.
Avoid disturbing the engorged abdomen of the tick.
After completing all of the above, ensure you cleanse the bite location along with your hands. If portion of the tick’s mouth remains, this is acceptable, as this typically doesn’t cause serious health complications.
How Pets Get Ticks
Pets acquire ticks from tall grass and vegetation. The ticks remain dormant until a host passes nearby and then they leap from the grass or vegetation onto the unaware host. Ticks are resilient little parasites that can survive up to a year without feeding on a host.
Cats that venture outdoors frequently acquire ticks through this method as well. Ticks are most prevalent in warm climates.
Types of Ticks
The Brown Dog Tick, alternatively called the kennel tick, is widespread throughout the United States because this tick flourishes in an indoor setting. The mature tick is red/brown in appearance and it typically attaches itself to the ears or between the toes of a dog. This tick variety seldom attaches itself to humans though it does transmit serious illnesses that impact dogs. These illnesses include ehrlichiosis.
The Deer Tick feeds on numerous different mammal species, including humans. The adults are also red and brown in appearance, but these ticks are more frequently located outdoors in forested regions. This tick variety can readily transmit Lyme Disease to both dogs and people. Lyme Disease is recognized to trigger fever, joint discomfort and occasionally severe kidney disease in dogs.
The American Dog Tick is among the most prevalent ticks and it’s recognized to attach itself and feed on both dogs and humans alike. The female American Dog Tick is simple to identify because she displays a large silver marking on her head that expands to the dimensions of a small grape following feeding. These ticks transmit Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, but only if they remain attached for at least 5 to 20 hours. Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever can prove fatal in both dogs and humans alike.
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Happy Tails!
