Sunshine Pet Hospital

A veterinarian treats a dog from parasites by dripping medicine at vet clinic

The Importance Of Flea and Tick Control For Pets

The weather has become warmer, and it’s time to enjoy the walk with your dogs and cats. The vectors are the leading cause of the spread of diseases among animals. The flea, tick and other parasites transmit vector-borne diseases. These parasites carry harmful viruses, bacteria, and pathogens. You can avoid spreading these harmful diseases to your pets by taking preventive flea and tick control medicines. The experts who belong to the veterinary field explain that pets are under significant threat by these flea and tick, which are responsible for spreading vector-borne diseases.

The typical cat flea belongs to the disease-causing flea that spread the diseases equally to cats and dogs. The experts have highlighted using antibiotics such as doxycycline to treat flea-borne diseases transmitted by bacterial pathogens. The cat flea life cycle takes place in our environment, and these are easily adaptive to our household environment. They comfortably live on ruptured surfaces, and the most commonplace for their living are the carpets and floors.

By using the flea control programs, you can prevent fleas on your pets and your living environment. Apart from spreading viruses and bacteria, fleas cause severe itching and anemia in pets. The most common skin condition in dogs is flea allergy dermatitis caused by fleas, an allergic reaction caused by flea saliva.

To your surprise, fleas also carry tapeworms that can reside in the intestine of pets. Ingestion caused by an infected flea will result in your pets getting tapeworms. It occurs mainly when the animals are going through grooming sessions. On the other hand, bacterial pathogens are also transmitted by ticks to various animals such as cats, dogs, cattle, horses and deer.

It is essential to go for tick control methods to prevent the transmission cycle of fleas from being established. These methods will ward off the transmission of pathogens to humans beings in the household. The different diseases transmitted by ticks to pets include Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Lyme disease. Another significant spread of disease by the ticks is canine babesiosis in dogs.

Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever is a severe disease caused by ticks. In this disease, the platelet count is decreased considerably, resulting in increased bleeding. Studies have shown that this disease mostly goes undiagnosed in dogs. The good news is that it can be treated using antibiotics. The common symptoms of tick-borne diseases include fever, lethargy, joint pain, weight loss, weakness, swelling, enlarged lymph nodes, and changes in the texture and color of gums.

Pet owners must know different fleas and tick control methods, both topical and oral, to prevent these parasites. Before taking your pet for a walk in this warm weather, it is vital to consult the veterinarian to know the best options to prevent fleas and ticks. The right kind of medicines to control the flea and tick will help your pets enjoy summer and winter without worrying about diseases transmitted by these parasites.

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