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Paralysis Ticks


Mystiqview
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I have also posted this in the health forum.

This morning we were moving the horses around the paddocks. We found some irresponsible neighbours cat under a tree sporting this paralysis tick on its neck.

It was in advance stage of paralysis when we rushed it to the vet for treatment - yes my vet does treat "found" animals.

SO PLEASE - be vigilent if you are in tick areas.

I am in Samford, on the North side of Brisbane. Not far from the CBD. We are still getting ticks off the dogs daily, and the vet is still seeing tick cases daily despite being winter.

post-430-0-83431100-1339643257_thumb.jpeg

If someone wants to tell you not to be worried in Winter for ticks.. show them this photo.

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Holy crap !!! look at the size of that tick. I haven't seen one that big since I was a child. Good on you for taking the poor cat to the vets Mystiqview, poor thing would have passed away for sure right under that

tree if it weren't for you. Hope it is alright. I have gone back to Advantix once a fortnight again as I thought all this rain might increase the number of ticks. GRRRRR I hate them with a passion.

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Having lost a dog last year to a tick and my cairn having a tick that same week (who was born in Samford :-) ). You just can't be too careful. We aren't too far from Samford at all.

We have a new pup too, so am constantly checking both of them. Hate the things!!

Edited by katetk
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I have a litter of 7 week old puppies at present.

They are being sprayed twice a day with Fidos flea and tick rinse as there is nothing more stronger you can put on such young pups.

Thankfully I still have 6 boxes of Proban here to last a bit longer for my adults..

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That is a very different tick to the ones we get in Northern NSW. Ours are almost white & not as large & dig right in. The ones we get that look like that one, are what we call Bean Ticks, cause they can get the size of a bean. They are also called cattle ticks as they get on the cows in great numbers. But they don't cause paralysis. I have never seen a Paralysis ticks that looks like that, so I hope it isnt a new breed. Are you sure this is the tick that actually caused the paralysis ??

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One of our girls spent 4 days in hospital last year because of a paralysis tick. The ones here aren't very big and the smaller ones are nearly white and can be detected on the dog by feeling a slight lump, which the tick is usually dug in, in the middle of it. Even though we are not classed as a paralysis tick area, we have had a phenomenal amount of rain this year and last, and the ticks just seem to have appeared. We are constantly going over all of our dogs, and are still finding ticks even though it is cold here.

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That is a very different tick to the ones we get in Northern NSW. Ours are almost white & not as large & dig right in. The ones we get that look like that one, are what we call Bean Ticks, cause they can get the size of a bean. They are also called cattle ticks as they get on the cows in great numbers. But they don't cause paralysis. I have never seen a Paralysis ticks that looks like that, so I hope it isnt a new breed. Are you sure this is the tick that actually caused the paralysis ??

That photo was taken after it was removed from the cat by the vet. It was a very pale grey while it was on the cat. The photo unfortunately was taken on my phone, so not the best resolution showing the colour. It is not often you get to see a paralysis tick FULLY engorged and an adult such as this one. Most times you will only see a half fed female or nymph.

It was confirmed by the vet as a paralysis tick. It is not a new breed - just a bad photo. I wanted to try to get a photo of it on the cat, but did not get a chance.

All ticks cause paralysis. Brush ticks and brown dog ticks also cause paralysis but generally need to have a lot more ticks on the host for paralysis to occur.

See photo: post-430-0-07636600-1339665599_thumb.jpg

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That is a very different tick to the ones we get in Northern NSW. Ours are almost white & not as large & dig right in. The ones we get that look like that one, are what we call Bean Ticks, cause they can get the size of a bean. They are also called cattle ticks as they get on the cows in great numbers. But they don't cause paralysis. I have never seen a Paralysis ticks that looks like that, so I hope it isnt a new breed. Are you sure this is the tick that actually caused the paralysis ??

That photo was taken after it was removed from the cat by the vet. It was a very pale grey while it was on the cat. The photo unfortunately was taken on my phone, so not the best resolution showing the colour. It is not often you get to see a paralysis tick FULLY engorged and an adult such as this one. Most times you will only see a half fed female or nymph.

It was confirmed by the vet as a paralysis tick. It is not a new breed - just a bad photo. I wanted to try to get a photo of it on the cat, but did not get a chance.

All ticks cause paralysis. Brush ticks and brown dog ticks also cause paralysis but generally need to have a lot more ticks on the host for paralysis to occur.

See photo: post-430-0-07636600-1339665599_thumb.jpg

Yeah...that chart you put up...the top ones are the paralysis ticks we get here. Gee I have never seen one as big as the one in your photo...not even on the cattle. :( Poor cat...did he survive ??

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Sorry Sheena.

I don't know. I will check with the vets tomorrow.

He was in a pretty bad shape when we found him. It was just soo lucky we moved the horses into that bottom paddock as it is at the base of the dam wall, and has been too boggy to let the horses in there.

I have a feeling it would be a miracle if he did survive. He was wheezing pretty bad and it was difficult for him to breath. I don't know if they found any more on him. They took that tick off to show me and a few in the surgery. It was a domestic long hair cross, not microchipped.

I have not seen a tick that large for some 20 years myself, ever since we had cattle. I have found a few on the horses, but they are only half fed females. Never a big female like that. They just don't get to stay on any of our animals long enough to get that big.

We do not get a break from them in winter. It just has not been cold enough to stop them the last few years. We have not even had any frosts yet.

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We are just north of Brisbane and are still getting ticks, one off the Poodle yesterday and five off the Jack Russell in the last couple of weeks. I've used up all the Proban and am now trying Frontline spray (can't use Advantix because of the cats). We haven't had a break from ticks the last two years either. Our JR is 11 and has only started getting ticks in the last two years. Our Poodle is super sensitive to them and has been hospitalised twice. It drives me crazy with worry (along with toads and snakes, but that's another story!).

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Updatate on the cat.

Rang the vets this morning. He has survived the night. They found two more ticks on him yesterday. He is on IV fluids however is still not out of the woods. The next 24 hours will be the next task for him to get through.

They said he is better this morning.

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We are just north of Brisbane and are still getting ticks, one off the Poodle yesterday and five off the Jack Russell in the last couple of weeks. I've used up all the Proban and am now trying Frontline spray (can't use Advantix because of the cats). We haven't had a break from ticks the last two years either. Our JR is 11 and has only started getting ticks in the last two years. Our Poodle is super sensitive to them and has been hospitalised twice. It drives me crazy with worry (along with toads and snakes, but that's another story!).

Frontline Plus spot on is the best one for ticks if you have cats & can't use Advantix. I wouldn't want to be relying on Frontline spray to protect my dogs from ticks. I buy the biggest one available & split it up with a very small syringe, so I get two doses out of every one.

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Thanks for that info Sheena. I thought I read somewhere that the spray was more effective against ticks than the spot-on

Yes, this is what I have found both personally and through feedback from my clients.

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Thanks for that info Sheena. I thought I read somewhere that the spray was more effective against ticks than the spot-on - I'll have to go and do some more reading.

Depends on who you talk to. A friend has a mobile grooming business. She says at the moment the spray is better than the top spot. I think it depends on who you talk to.. For everyone that tells you Brand A is the best, someone will say Brand B is the best.

When I have used the top spot. I did the same. buy the largest and use a draw up syringe to draw it out and dose two dogs with one pipette. Cheaper that way.

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great vet, not many would go above and beyond for an unclaimed domestic animal :)

yes. you pay a little bit more for their services, but they are good vets and go the extra mile.

My 6 week puppy vaccinations for 6 puppies took over an hour.. the vet check and vaccintions did not take long.. the cuddles and the spoiling took longer.

When I had to front up there for the C-sect. Leigh was on a blow up matteress in the surgery because she needed to keep an eye on another tick case there at the same time.

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I remember finding a kitten in our primary school grounds that was gasping. We got three massive ticks off but she died in my arms while we worked on the other three or four. Poor little bush kitten must have fought so hard, all the ticks were massive.

I also remember clearly several fast dashes to the vet with beloved dog or cat wobbling, puffing, with the 'tick eyes'. Once you've had the paralysis tick migraine yourself a couple of times, you don't forget it. Nothing beats the hands-on search, twice a day.

Good luck little kitty, sounds like you're in good hands.

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