Bug Wars

Okay, I know that in some parts of the country it’s still cold and snow continues to threaten. But here in North Texas, wild flowers have already begun to bloom. My roses are ready to explode, and the trees (achoo!) also splash the landscape with color. And oh, the bugs are out and about. Last week I found a tick, not on one of the animals, but on ME! Ew…I hate those spidery look-alikes. They not only suck blood from our cats and d*gs but they carry diseases that make pets sick as well as people. Cats in the southern states may be at risk for a protozoal disease called Cytauxzoon felis. The disease is carried by bobcats and the wild critters usually has no symptoms. But housecats suffer a sudden extremely high fever, jaundice (yellow skin), followed by plummeting body temperature--and death. There is no effective treatment. Please take precautions. There are some very good tick preventive treatments for d*gs--but some of these d*g treatments can be dangerous for cats. For instance, products containing permethrin or phenothrin labeled for d*gs can kill your cat. Frontline and Revolution both work against ticks and have formulations recommended for kitties. Evicting mice from the environment also boots tick-bearing bobcats out of the neighborhood, so clearing debris reduces tick risk to your housecats, too. Keeping your pets from problem areas and treating the bug habitats reduces the pest population. So this spring, get TICKED OFF! And keep your felines safe. Do you have any tips for keeping your pets and home tick free?