Summer is just about to begin and so is the possibility of increase in the number of ticks and fleas and other harmful things for your animal friends out there. Recently, Barbara Tarbutton lost her beloved cat Pawpaws to a very common, yet deadly tick disease that happens to affects cats only.
Read more to find out about the disease and prevention to help your furry friends stay safe.
1 What is the disease?
Many US regions like Arkansas, Oklahoma and others have been gripped with feline deaths due to a parasitic disease known as Bobcat Fever or Cytauxzoon felis. This deadly parasitic disease is highly fatal for cats. The Lone Star tick has been carrying this disease for a long time, and cats have been getting it for a long time. The Lone Star Tick is really common in Oklahoma and it carries a lot of diseases that affect cats ” said Dr. Laura Nafe, a veterinarian at Oklahoma State University.
The tick is known as lone star tick and it bites the cats and the symptoms of the disease start to show up, when there is little time to do anything to save the animal. "Most people have probably seen a lone star tick even if they're not familiar with them by name. They're the ones that have a bright white spot on their back" said Susan Nelson, a veterinarian and clinical associate professor at Kansas State University's Veterinary Health Center.
Image Source: www.missouri.edu