Guest Al&Jo Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Guys, please please check check your pets for ticks. I moved to the Gold Coast just before Christmas from Melbourne and unfortunately had to have one of my cats euthanised last night. i had never heard of a paralysis tick. Please check them out and the products available to help keep them at bay. I would hate for someone else to feel the way I do right now and I had done nothing to help. jo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Que Sera Sera Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Oh you poor thing. What an awful thing to happen. They are awful things. :hug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Guys, please please check check your pets for ticks. I moved to the Gold Coast just before Christmas from Melbourne and unfortunately had to have one of my cats euthanised last night. i had never heard of a paralysis tick. Please check them out and the products available to help keep them at bay. I would hate for someone else to feel the way I do right now and I had done nothing to help. jo I had friends on the Gold coast and paralysis ticks were a big problem where they were. You need to use anti-tick treatment as well because if your animals are out and about, it's almost impossible to keep checking them all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HelensvaleHoward Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Sorry to hear of your loss Always keep an eye on them for any changes in their manner not as active etc It is a big problem here In tick season use the anti tick treatment every two weeks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozmaniac Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 (edited) Oh Jo, I really feel for you and have been through the same heartbreak myself a long time ago when I first moved to Queensland. Paralysis ticks are a major problem for pets that go outside all along the eastern coastal strip (to 50 km or so inland) from north of Townsville to about level with Canberra (the ACT has them too). You MUST check pets daily (you check by feel rather than sight) and remove any ticks you find. Most ticks will be found around the head and neck but they can be anywhere on the animal. I find the best way to remove the tick is to find how it's lying on the skin and then use a fingernail to scratch it off the skin - I've removed literally thousands of the horrible little blighters over the years so I speak from long experience. You can also get a tick hook which acts in much the same way. You actually hear an audible click when the tick comes away. Do it any other way (tweezers etc) and you risk injecting more venom and/or leaving the head parts which can cause infection. Ticks are at their worst during the summer months and tend to be worst when conditions are damp but in some areas, you can't let up the checking regardless of the season or conditions. If the animal is showing no symptoms (change in meow or bark, weakness in back legs, frothy vomiting among others), there's no need to rush the pet to the vet but you must keep an eye on them for the next few days and get them to the vet the instant you notice anything - time is of the essence. You can't 'wait and see how he is in the morning'. Prevention and daily checking is the key. For cats, Frontline Spray is probably best but ask your vet for recommendations and NEVER let up on the treatment or the checking. For dogs, after many years of experimentation, I found that by far the most effective preventive measure was a Preventic tick collar (a specific brand - none of the other collars have worked nearly as well for me). They take a few weeks to build up full resistance when you first start using them but then give excellent protection for at least 3 months. Since I started using them 10 years ago (I breed big, long haired dogs), I've only had to remove 2 very seedy looking ticks in contrast to pre-Preventic days of finding maybe 10 or 12 healthy ticks every week. I believe there's also now a new chewable product (Nexgard) which provides excellent monthly control of both ticks and fleas but I haven't tried it - ask your vet. Edited January 11, 2015 by Ozmaniac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peach Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 to about level with Canberra (the ACT has them too). Not according to the vets here they aren't. But they do see pets pick them up when they're taken on holiday to the coast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozmaniac Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Not according to the vets here they aren't. But they do see pets pick them up when they're taken on holiday to the coast. Yes, I could be wrong about the ACT having them. I don't live in the ACT - got the info from a distribution map. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parley Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 One more good thing about Melbourne. No bloody ticks to worry about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.