Cheetah7

I dont think we get paralysis ticks in WA, our vet never mentioned it. Gordon is allergic to the heartworm stuff though - Revolution and Advocate, he vomits badly 24 hours after the dose and gets bad skin reactions.

We keep him indoors but its always a worry.

Bermudashorts

Yes they are just on the east coast. We keep the cats indoors now, Edward always was a housecat really, he just went into the garden for about 30 minutes and that was enough. He doesn't go out at all anymore and he doesn't mind.

jessiej

Just got back from visiting Dougal, such an improvement from yesterday, although he looks very sorry for himself. Just needs to get his swallowing back then all good, I hope
How long does the tick session last and is it best to avoid particular areas?
Jess

carolinephillips

Aww he looks so mournful there in the cone of shame. (See the film UP if you haven't already done so.)

Bermudashorts

The paralysis tick can be found really anywhere up the east coast, from about where I am (just north of Sydney). My cat was bitten in November last year and there were 15 other animals brought in that weekend, I think the whole of srping and summer is dangerous.

Turban Explorer

Outboard gets off the boat and chases small crabs around the pontoons. We leave rope down so he can scramble up if he falls in. After he spent a night lost in Cairns we bought a tracker device which beeps faster as we get closer and lights him up. He seems to know that means home time now. If we lived in a house in FNQ I'd worry about snakes, cane toads, eagles as well as ticks. Apparently alot of cats are taken by carpet pythons.

Bix

And neighbours.

jessiej

Dougal has come home today
he is very tired and just sleeping alot, but we are so pleased to have him home. He now has a lovely yellow tick prevention collar and has had the drops on his back, so hopefully more protected now.
When picking him up met a work colleague who had brought her pug in last night with the same thing, she (the dog) is on a ventilator, these ticks are really nasty buggers
Jess

Rachel69

We lost our beloved cat to a paralysis tick about 4 weeks ago. We had her from the moment she was born, we had her mother who had the litter of 3 and we kept them all. The mother and one of the kittens went missing over the years, so it was just the remaining 2 left.

She was mostly an indoor cat, popped out one evening and didn't come back for 2 days, we searched everywhere, we knew something was wrong, she never went far.

We eventually found her lying in a corner of our outside entertainment area, just a few feet away from us, maybe she had been there the whole time (which makes me feel even worse about it all) she had lost the ability to miaow or cry.

Rushed her to the local vet, left her there , then they said she was ok to go home 5 hours later. she was in such a bad way i was so surprised she could come home.

She could only move her head and front legs, couldn't control her bladder , couldn't eat or drink, her throat was paralysed. The vet said she would improve over night.

I couldn't sleep most of the night, she was bad, and in the morning had deteriorated. It was a Sunday and the vet was closed. Found another vet that was opened and they said she needed to be in hospital on fluids etc. She should of been kept in for best part of a week, got a phone call early the next morning to say she stopped breathing at 2am.

It is so sad, the kids are devastated and her brother is pining for her. He is so down and is hardly eating.

I used frontline plus that you put on the back of the neck, and the vet said that it is not always 100% effective in cats. The spray is apparently better.

Bermudashorts

So sorry to hear this

We were very fortunate that we found Edward and took him in when we did and clearly we were very lucky with the vets too. I cannot believe that your vet sent her home! Edward spent two days in an oxygen tent at the emergency vets and then another four days at the regular vet.

Rachel69

Thanks.

You are very lucky. At least he has a happy ending to his awful ordeal.

Those ticks are nasty creatures.

I am so upset with the vet, I don't understand how it could of happened, but don't like to go accusing them of stuff. I just wont use them again, and will be extra vigilant with my other animals.

scrawni

We had to rush our dog to the vet 2 night ago. He had a paralysis tick near his eye.

Funny thing, it didn't seem to do anything to him he was fine. Mind you, he is a big dog, mastiff infact. It must have been on him a while aswell.

Very luck dog

Bermudashorts

The paralysis tick releases a very slow acting poison, my cat was predominantly a house cat and he went outside on the Tuesday (so the only day he could have acquired a tick) and it was not until the Saturday night / Sunday morning that he showed any symptons. By this stage of course it was very serious. If you spotted the tick wthin a day or two then this is great because there is not much time for the poison to act. It is why (we learned) checking animals thoroughly at the end of every day is the best safeguard.

odyssey

Hi

the spot drops such as advantix and frontline plus are not 100% foolproof but do improve the chances of not getting a tick. they also give a high chemical load - especially for the smaller breeds such as chihuahuas etc. I also try not to use indiscriminately the tick collars.

For our dog, we rely on tick checks whenever we get home, so when I say tick check my large dog immediately does a dying fly and lies with his legs in the air expecting to be stroked all over lol.

If we go on a camping holiday or somewhere where he will be going in long grass I will use a spot on - usually the size below his weight (so less than the recommended dose).

Being aware and vigiliant for symptoms is a must along with early action if there is a suspicion. there are tick removers that you can buy quite cheaply designed to remov the tick cleanly, not snapping off the head.

I am glad to hear that he is doing well. I also spray my dog with a natural deoderisor that includes essential oils aimed at repelling ticks although this shouldnt be relied upon as a solo solution.

I sell all of these products online (except the collars as I am not a fan of those) but as with everything, its the awareness that will help the most.

Good luck - let us knwo when hes all good
viv

lesleys

Unless you brought the tick in and transferred it. Ticks don't tend to attack human legs or arms - they make for softer skin around undergarments or the scalp. This leaves time for pre-bite detection or possibly transfer to an easier target. I've found lots on my clothes, probably because I'm paranoid and not too keen on tick bites.