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This time of year we get lots of pets in with external parasites.  While there are many benefits to living in the Philadelphia suburbs, the mild winter we had combined with our overgrown deer population means we have a major problem with ticks, the fleas were not killed off, the mosquitoes are thriving, and scabies is on the rise.

 So you may be asking yourself, what do I use to help protect my pet and the rest of my family.  This is the beginning of a series of blogs to help answer that question. Today I am going to talk about ticks, next week fleas, the following week mosquitoes, and finally scabies (sarcoptic mange - with pictures of the critters and the damage they cause.)

TICKS and TICK BORNE DISEASES

In our area there are three common ticks that can be found that will feed on our pets and us.

Many species of ticks can transmit diseases (zoonoses) from an infected animal to other uninfected animals. Some of the more frequently transmitted organisms include parasitic worms, viruses, bacteria, spirochetes and rickettsias. The most important of these to Pennsylvanians are spirochetes which cause Lyme disease and Anaplasmosis, and rickettsias which cause Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

The American Dog Tick (Dermacentor variabilis) is the most common tick we FIND on dogs and people.  While the immature stages are frequently found on small rodents such as  mice, if you or your pet walk through a nest you or they will get these little ones in large numbers. The adults are frequently found on dogs (hence the name) and can be recognized by the distinctive white markings on their back. Left to feed The American dog tick may become greatly engorged, achieving the size of a grape. In addition to dogs, the other hosts are man, cat, cattle, donkey, hog, horse, mule, sheep, coyote, deer, fox, wolf, wildcat, badger, opossum, rabbit, raccoon, rat, skunk, squirrel, weasel and ground hog.  It is active from early spring to late fall for our region. Below are pictures of a female from not engorged to fully engorged.

American dog ticks are the major carrier of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, which is less common than Lyme disease in our area, but can be equally as devastating to us and our pets. This tick has also been known to transmit tularemia, and to cause tick paralysis.

Black-legged tick (Ixodes scapularis)

In our area, this is the tick responsible for more illness than any other tick.  According to the Entomology department at PSU "It has been expanding its range in recent years and can now be found in most of the counties in Pennsylvania. Three areas of the state are heavily infested: (1) the southeastern portion of Pennsylvania (in those counties southeast of a line through Wayne to Adams counties) (2) the north central counties of Elk, Clearfield and Cameron; and (3) Presque Isle in Erie county."  According to Idexx labs (the makers of the most commonly used Lyme test for dogs), between Montgomery and Chester County PA we have more Lyme Positive dogs than in the counties surrounding Lyme, CT.  In our region this tick is active year round.

The tick on the left is in the middle of the circle - a male. The tick on the right center is an engorged female, far right in same bag is an unengorged female.  My Left index finger is there for size.

Any stage of the black-legged tick can feed on dogs, cats, or humans.  All are so small that when you add in your hair or your pets hair they are almost impossible to see until they have fed for some hours and have become engorged.  The ones above we got of the eyelids of two different cats.

This tick is well known as the vector of Lyme disease (more on this below) and has also been known to carry human babesiosis - a fairly rare, generally mild febrile disease and canine anaplasmosis. The black-legged tick typically requires in excess of 24 hrs. of attachment before it can transmit the causative agent for Lyme disease.  However, its small size makes it very difficult to find before that time.

The Lone Star Tick is widely distributed in the United States. In Pennsylvania it is found most often in the southern counties near urbanized areas. The lone star tick may be active from early spring to late fall.

All stages are found on deer and dogs and will feed on humans.  This tick is less common than the other two but is also a significant source of Rocky Mountain spotted fever infections.

Lyme Disease

Lyme borreliosis is an infection caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi which is transmitted to animals by ixodid ticks. It is a multisystem illness characterized initially by a series of common nonspecific complaints and symptoms including headache, fever, sore throat, nausea, etc. and to late phase symptoms which left untreated may progress to debilitating joint, heart, kidney, and nervous system diseases. Untreated or caught later this disease can be fatal.

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF)

RMSF was first recognized in the United States during the 1890s, but until the 1930s it was reported only in the Rocky Mountains. By 1963, over 90 percent of all cases were reported east of the Rockies. In the west, the disease was limited mainly to men who worked and spent time in wooded areas, while in the east, cases occur when people come in contact with infected ticks from their pets or in their yards.

In our pets this disease can cause fevers, achy joints, skin reactions, and bleeding disorders.  Like Lyme disease, it can be fatal if left untreated.

Erlichiosis

Most common in the southern United States, erlichiosis usually occurs in rural areas during May, June, and July. It is caused by a rickettsia belonging to the genus Erlichia. The clinical signs are similar to those of Rocky Mountain spotted fever.  In humans this includes: chills, headache, body aches, fever, and a rash, though the rash occurs with a lower frequency. Often the symptoms are very mild. Tetracyclines are the treatment, as with RMSF. Originally identified as an animal disease, erlichiosis was believed to be limited to dogs.

Well at the end of next week the G-force will be 5 months old.  Gaspar and Gabriel were adopted together.  They are well settled in with their new family.  Gideon and G'linda were adopted together, they have an older fur sister now named Nolly.  Godric stole my husband's and son's hearts while recovering from his second surgery (that we, not the Ferdy Fund, are paying for).  He loves to travel back and forth to the clinic with me. 

 G'linda with Gaspar and Gideon at 7 weeks old.

That leaves us with Gillian.  She is the only girl.  She still needs a home.  The woman who wanted her has not had a cat in a while and as soon as she got home to her family and spent time with their cat she started sneezing and having an allergy attack so she decided not to adopt Gilly.  Gilly is a typical kitten and loves to run and play and is also very content after some activity to curl up in your arms and purr for hours.  She will make someone very happy.  She was spayed on Tuesday.

Gillian is on the Left.  This was taken April 11th. Godric is on the right.

So please share this with your friends so she can get a wonderful home.  Thanks!

Today, we took the G-force litter to the Veterinary Referral Center in Malvern, PA.  We met with Dr. Dietrich Franczuszki, a doctor I have know since 1999.  He had agreed to check out our little Godric and perform the amputation needed to help save his life.

After filling out all our paperwork, we were seen by Dr. Franczuszki. We discussed the plan.  Since Godric is only 120 grams and the lower 1/2 of his leg was dead with his ankle dislocated, we decided to do a local anesthetic block and remove the foot at the point where the skin appeared to be healthy just above his ankle.

Dr. Franczuszki examining Godric.

Placing the Nerve block.

Removing the dead foot and closing the wound.

All done and set up to spend the holiday weekend at my house.

 Thank you all for your support and prayers.  Godric and the rest of his family are comfy and eating very well!  When he is about 8 weeks old we will do a revision surgery that will shorten his stump and make it easier for him to function like a normal three legged cat!

I purchased the Exton Pet Clinic in June of 2006.  From the time I took over the reins and changed the name to Exton Vet Clinic, clients have told us to keep the change and so we started a Kitty Kiddy.  We have used the funds donated to help defray the costs of numerous strays and pet treatments when the owners couldn't afford them.  At the beginning of 2011 we started actively promoting our fund.  Then in February 2011 a veterinarian friend contacted me about a kitten with a shattered femur.  The clinic she was working at that week in Philadelphia had a policy to kill any stray or dumped pet that was injured.  She called me and we agreed the Kitty Kiddy would fund his treatment and we would foster him and put him up for adoption.

She came in with this beautiful 5 month old kitten.  His femur had an open fracture near his knee, but the neck (the part that attaches the ball to the long part of the femur) was also shattered.  This injury appeared to be about 7-10 days old.  There was nothing we could do to save the leg.  He was anesthetized and we removed his leg.  Within two hours, he was standing at the front of his cage head butting the front and wanting us to pet him.  He looked just like the images of Ferdinand the Bull in the children's book of the same name.

When we first started we had named the kitties we fostered fairly randomly.  In 2009, we started naming them in a more orderly fashion.  We had a litter of 4 - the A-team - Abigail, Anthony, Amelia, and Adam.  The next one was a 3 week old orange and white fluff ball with pneumonia found outside of the SPCA.  We fostered him and planned on adopting him out - but Bertram stole my heart and now lives at my house.  Then came Coraline - an adolescent female that was hit by a car and left to die. She had a non-displaced pelvic fracture and with 6 weeks cage rest was healed and able to be adopted.  The adopting family are an avid GeoCaching Family and established their first Geocache in her and our honor.  (Coraline's Lifesavers at www.geocaching.com ).  Next came Ducky - Ducky was an adult female cat that a client found in a winter rainstorm coming out of a class at Temple University.  She loved to splash and play in her water bowl too.  Ducky was spayed and placed with a family that had recently lost their 25 year old cat.  She has had her name changed but remains a very sweet and loving cat and her family loves her dearly.  Last Christmas (2010) Mr. E showed up.  He was an adult male cat that had been trapped when a clients cat had gotten out while home visiting their family over Christmas.  He went to a non-client.  Then came Ferdinand.  We all agreed that the Fund needed a more formal name.  The Ferdy Fund began. www.facebook.com/ferdyfund

This brings us to our current litter.  G-Force - Momma G'linda, Daughter - Gillian, Sons - Gaspar, Gideon, Gabriel, and Godric.  Godric and Gabriel both had a hind leg injured right after birth.  All five kittens came to us from the SPCA with their umbilical cords all twisted and tied together - a true knot of kittens.  With careful manipulation we got them untangled.  Gabriel's leg looks like it is going to be fine.  Godric's leg was devitalized by the cords cutting off all circulation.  This foot will be amputated tomorrow using funds from the Ferdy Fund by an orthpaedic surgeon at our local specialty center - the Veterinary Referral Center in Malvern.  We will continue to foster them until they are available for adoption in February.  If you are able to help - please donate.