Articles: ticks

It’s always been assumed that Lyme Disease impacts people and dogs, but not cats. Well, it turns out that Lyme disease may be associated with some cardiac arrhythmias in cats. This report is from the Winn Feline Foundation:  Tørnqvist-Johnsen C, Dickson S-A, Rolph K, Palermo V, Hodgkiss-Geere H, Gilmore P, et al. First report of…

According to the Cornell Feline Health Center, parasitic infections can have a significant effect on feline health, and in some cases on that of their owners and other wild species. A recent study analyzed 21 previously published studies to quantify the risk of cats becoming infected with 19 different feline parasites, including those with the…

Cats need protection from fleas and ticks too. Dr. Christine Royal of Merck Animal Health talks about how cats can get heartworm. We talk about what can happen, which may be sudden death or heartworm associated respiratory disease (which has asthma-type symptoms). Imagine a 12-inch long worm winding its way inside a cat’s respiratory system.…

Veterinary parasitologist Dr. Michael Dryden, distinguished professor of Veterinary Parasitology, Department of Diagnostic Medicine and Pathobiology at Kansas State University says right now is when dogs are most susceptible to Lyme disease. Dryden is a guest on my national Steve Dale’s Pet World radio show. Dryden goes agrees there is as an epidemic of tick…

Just about every creature has a place – that includes the ridiculous looking opossum. And for whatever the reason, fall is the time of year these animals are most active. Many consider them an annoyance, and even call animal control just because there’s an opossum hanging out near your trash. It turns out that the…

Dogs are a sentinel for various tick diseases, most notably Lyme disease. You think Lyme, you likely think either New England – where Lyme is endemic – or you think about tick disease when walking through the woods. It’s true you should think those things. But also think urban parks, like Central Park in New…

Nowadays, there’s a top-10 list for everything. I doubt it ever occurred to David Letterman to create a top-10 for cities with the most heartworm, but he would be thrilled to know there is now such a list. This list is based on the highest percentage increase in positive heartworm test results for dogs and cats…

I speak HERE on my WGN Steve Dale’s Pet World radio show with Amanda Smith, lead author of a recent paper on leptospirosis,  “The Descriptive and Spatio-Temporal Analyses of 45 Canine Leptospirosis Cases from Chicago, 2015-2018” We’re talking about leptospirosis here for two primary reasons: The bacterial disease may infect our dogs and potentially cause…

In the early 1970s people in and around Lyme, CT were suffering from puzzling and debilitating health issues. Eventually, their illnesses were connected to a tick disease, now called Lyme. Historically, Lyme disease centered around the New England area, and was primarily only a problem in rural places. However, that’s changed dramatically, most especially in…

K. Wade Burton, DVM, a Medical Affairs Specialist in Infectious Disease at IDEXX, wants people to know about the importance of screening dogs annually for tick-borne disease. People seem to understand that ticks carry disease, but may not realize a single tick bite may carry a pathogen cocktail – passing along several tick diseases with…