Usually considered a seasonal problem, ticks and tick-borne diseases have become year-round threats to our beloved cats.
According to Michael Dryden, DVM, a Kansas State University professor of veterinary parasitology, warmer temperatures, increasing white-tailed deer populations, reforestation and urban sprawl have all led to tick migrations and a surge in tick-borne infections.
The rapid change demonstrates the mutability of parasites and the diseases they carry. “Whatever you considered about ticks, their location and tick-transmitted diseases five years ago, it is going to be different today and continue to be different in five years based on these factors,” Dryden said.
With the increasing population of white-tailed deer comes the increase of deer ticks (Ixodes scapularis), the primary transmitter of Lyme disease in eastern North America. Deer ticks can now be found from Minnesota to Florida, from Texas to Maine, and from Kansas to Virginia. “That means Lyme disease and/or other diseases associated with deer tick, such as anaplasmosis, may exist throughout all of those regions,” Dryden said.
As tick populations migrate to new areas, the number of different tick-borne diseases increases. Matt Eberts, DVM, has seen a rise in co-infections, when cats are infected with more than one tick-borne disease, which “are making treatment for tick-borne diseases more difficult,” Eberts said.
Another reason cited for the tick-borne disease incidence is that people and their cats and dogs are spending more time outside, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Companion Animal Parasite Council recommends year-round heartworm, flea and tick preventatives for all areas of the country.