 
The following are warning signs that your dog or cat may have a disease that was transmitted by a tick:
| • |
Fever |
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• |
Sudden onset of pain in your pet's legs or body |
| • |
Lameness |
• |
Arthritis or swelling in your pet's joints |
| • |
Loss of appetite |
• |
Lethargy or depression |
| • |
Cough |
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Contact your veterinarian immediately to schedule an examination
and a blood test if you believe that your pet has been bitten and infected by a tick.
If you remove any ticks from your pet, save them in a bottle – your veterinarian may
want to examine them in order to determine what type of ticks they were. Remove ticks
with tweezers, never with your hands.
To control ticks on your pet, ask your veterinarian
for FRONTLINE® Brand Products - the Vet's #1 choice against both
fleas
and ticks.
Diseases transmitted by tick bites may affect your dog's or cat's health in the following ways:
| Lyme Disease |
 |
A bacterial infection that infects both people
and dogs, Lyme disease is carried by the deer tick. Signs include lameness,
fever, loss of appetite, fatigue and enlargement of the lymph nodes.
The signs of Lyme disease often resolve quickly with antibiotics. |
|
| |
| Babesiosis |
 |
Acute signs may include fever, loss of
appetite, and anemia. Shock, coma or death may also occur, especially in puppies. The infection
responds to a variety of drug treatments. Blood transfusions and other supportive care
may be necessary in some animals. |
|
| |
| Ehrlichiosis |
 * |
An infectious blood disease that attacks your
pet's white blood cells. Signs include fever,
depression, lameness, and loss of appetite. Antibiotic therapy often results in dramatic improvement within 1-2 days. |
|
| |
| Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever |
 * |
Often transmitted by the American dog tick and the wood tick.
Signs include fever, loss of appetite, coughing, bruising, lameness, depression, vomiting
and diarrhea. If untreated, permanent damage and even death may occur. |
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| |
| Cytauxzoonosis |
 |
An acute, usually fatal disease in cats. Signs
include loss of appetite and depression, followed by 1-3 days of fever.
Death may follow in another 1-3 days. |
|
If you believe that your pet is suffering from any of the above
ailments, consult your veterinarian.
Prevention
FRONTLINE Brand Products are gentle and have been used successfully in dozens
of countries and on millions of pets. In addition to applying FRONTLINE products regularly,
the following steps can also be taken to help prevent ticks from harming your pet:
Yard Work -
You can remove tick habitats from your yard by keeping tall grass clipped, removing
any mulch or leaf litter and trimming bushes.
Avoid Tall Grass Or Brush -
Keep your pet far away from these tick breeding grounds.
Examine Your Pet -
Examine your pet thoroughly every day for ticks. Although ticks prefer attaching to
your pet's head, neck and paws, you should still try to examine as much of your pet's
body as possible.
Reference: Greene CE - Infectious diseases of the dog and cat. 3rd edition, St. Louis: Saunders Elsevier, 2006. |
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