How To Keep Pets Safe From Fleas and Ticks

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Flea and tick season is well upon us, and there are things that you can do to ensure that you and your pets remain pest free this spring and summer.

I don’t know about you, but the thought of fleas and ticks on my pets (and potentially myself) is enough for me to make sure that I am diligent in treatment of my animals. Last year the cats started venturing outside for the first time since we moved into the house. So I had not been giving them meds as I was with the dogs.

I was giving Bubbles some scratches on my bed and felt what was like an extra piece of skin like a skin tag hanging off the back of her neck. Upon looking closer and giving it a little poke, I saw the little legs wiggle and knew. It was a TICK. On my CAT. On my BED. GROSS!

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Tick Removal

Running downstairs, I grabbed a pair of rubber gloves, the tweezers, a bowl of alcohol and alcohol swabs. I was now ready to clean the wound when I was done with this gruesome task.

Bubbles actually sat really well for me while I tended to her. This actually surprised me somewhat as I expected a bit of a battle to keep her still enough to remove the tick. I carefully parted her fur where the tick had latched on to do its dirty business. Then I got the tweezers right down under the body where it met the skin.

Hoping for the best, I pulled straight upwards with a steady motion and I could feel how tightly it was latched on. Finally I heard a POP and it was out! But I was still sitting on my BED with a half engorged tick…Into the alcohol it went! I ended up keeping it for several days in case Bubbles had a reaction. If she did the tick needed to be tested for Lyme disease.

It’s Out!

Cleaning up the wound area, I was hoping that I got out all the body parts and that there would be no infection. I checked the site regularly for the next few days. In addition I carefully monitored her behaviour to make sure that a vet visit would not be in order. Any regular reader knows I spend half my life there already anyways!

That was the first time I have had to remove a tick from one of my pets, and a bit of an eye opener. Where I grew up in Saskatchewan ticks are prevalent in the spring. So there are lots of stories of us running scared and screaming from a tick! There was also the time I found one latched on behind my Mom’s ear when we lived in Calgary…But I had not thought much of it living in the middle of a large city.

Fleas

Although small, fleas and ticks have the potential to create a great deal of chaos in their wake.

The most common external parasites found on pets are fleas. I have been relatively lucky in this regard, as I have only had to deal with fleas on my pets once. When I first moved to the city I was living in a basement of a house. My roommate’s cat would go outside and brought GIANT fleas into the apartment. They were the biggest fleas I have ever seen, and required multiple treatments to go away.

Part of the arachnid family (like spiders and mites), fleas are wingless.

Where Fleas Live

They can live outside in your backyard, thriving in the shade and moisture of grass. Fleas can also come in on your clothing and belongings, or come from daycare and boarding facilities. They can jump up to TWO FEET to latch on to their unsuspecting host, and start feeding within five minutes and can feed for up to two and a half hours! They can stay on your pet for up to five months!

Not only can fleas infest your pets, but they can infest your home as well and live in your carpets, furniture and bedding. It can only take one flea to cause an infestation given rapid reproduction habits. A single female flea can lay up to 2000 eggs over the course of her lifetime, 40-50 a day for up to two months. There are circumstances where newly developed adult fleas can hide in nests in your home for MONTHS in some cases until conditions are ideal…

Signs of Fleas On Your Pet

Among the first signs that your pet has fleas is relentless scratching. Flea bites are itchy, and you pet will likely be scratching continuously to try to get some relief. You can also look for small, flat brown objects on your pets. They can move fast though, so I have found that the best way to check is to flip your pet over and check their groin and armpit areas as fleas tend to love these spots. For a severe infestation there could be a rash, bumps and hairloss as well as potentially an unpleasant odor. Some animals also develop allergic reactions to flea bites.

In addition to being a nuisance, fleas can transmit tapeworm to dogs and people as well as spread bacterial diseases heightening the importance of treating your pet for fleas.

Ticks

Hand-in-hand with flea season comes tick season. Ticks start out small and are relatively hard to spot. They can be as small as a pin-head before latching on to you or your pet. As with fleas, they begin to get active when the weather warms up in the spring and into summer, and may be active all year around depending on where you live.

Where Ticks Live

Ticks tend to live in tall grass, shrubs, bushes and trees (fields and wooded areas in other words). They latch on and burrow their heads into the skin for a blood meal from their host. As they administer an anesthetic when they latch on, it is likely that you may not notice a bite until it the tick begins to swell with blood (as was the case last year with my cat, Bubbles). When they are full, they unlatch and fall off.

When your pet comes in, you can check for ticks by running your hands over your pet, paying particular attention to the ears, head and feet areas. They feel a lot like a skin tag when they start to get gorged on blood.

How To Remove A Tick On Your Pet

If the unthinkable happens and you happen to come across a tick, you can take steps to remove it. You will need tweezers or something similar to grip the tick, rubber gloves and a container of rubbing alcohol.

Try not to panic…like I did for a moment until I got my head cleared…Make sure to use rubber gloves, as you can potentially transfer infection to yourself or your pet by coming into contact with the tick’s blood. DON’T squeeze the body of the tick as it can cause infected fluids to move into your pet.

A partner can help you keep the pet calm and still (in my case I was alone so I did it myself). Separate the pet’s fur around the tick and use the tweezers to grip it between the body and the head at the surface of the skin.

Once you have a firm grip on the tick at the skin contact level, pull steadily straight upwards. It is VERY important not to twist or tug too quickly as it could leave parts of the tick embedded in your pet resulting in infection.

What To Do After Tick Removal

Grab your container of rubbing alcohol once the tick has been removed and deposit the tick into it. It will not only kill the tick, but you can keep it in here for a few days in case it needs to be tested for disease. For myself, I was panicking thinking I was going to drop a half fed tick onto my bed before I got it into the container…

Disinfect the wound on your pet, and watch carefully over the next few days or weeks even for any sign of infection (redness/swelling) and make sure to wash your hands and disinfect the tweezers used. Also monitor your pet’s behaviour for anything unusual. If your pet develops an infection, the tick may need to be sent for testing.

Disease From Ticks

Aside from infection at the entry point, ticks can cause a host of medical issues including blood loss and anemia, Lyme disease, tick paralysis and other infections.

Signs of Lyme disease in pets can include loss of appetite, depression, fever, swollen painful joints and kidney failure. With treatment (typically antibiotics) your pet should start to improve within a couple days. As such, it is important to consult with your veterinarian as soon as possible on finding any unusual signs following the removal of a tick.

Prevention

Prevention is the best way you can keep your pets and yourself flea and tick free. There are many options available, including topical and oral treatments. Please consult with your vet for the best option for you and your family, and we wish you a flea and tick free summer!

Another Tick…

Update: It is May 3rd. I was scratching Whiskers on the couch and found the telltale bump behind his ear. Sure enough, I part the hair and it is another TICK in my house! UGH!!! Got the tick removal gear out again…

This tick was about half the size of the one on Bubbles and boy did it move around when I exposed it. I pinned Whiskers down on the rug at the back door and went to work.

Oh Benson

I was just applying alcohol to the bite area when Benson came to see what all the commotion was about as he was yowling like crazy. He KICKED the container with the tick in it sending alcohol all up my side, onto my face and into my hair!!! OMG WHERE’S THE TICK.

Checking the floor and rug frantically I could not see the tick. Seeing as how the contents of the container were kicked all over me I PANICKED. Clothes went flying off! Hair shaken out! Checking all over myself and my clothes to find that stupid tick. Any of my neighbours behind me could have seen exactly what was going on…

I finally, finally found the tick on the rug…It is secured. Now the watching starts, as I am hoping that he won’t need to go to the vet…because we all know how that goes…In the meantime, trying to get over the creepy crawlies.