Protect Your Pets: Tick Season is Here and Vets Say Prevention is Key

The CDC is warning pet owners to take tick season seriously this year, as emergency room visits for tick bites are running higher than normal in many parts of the country. And while most people think about protecting themselves, experts say your dogs and cats need just as much attention.

Thomas Hart with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health put it plainly: "These diseases can be just as serious in your pets as they can be in people." Animals are vulnerable to the same tickborne illnesses as humans, including Lyme disease, and Hart says your veterinarian can tell you which diseases are most likely to be a concern in your area.

Unlike humans, pets have few vaccine options. Lyme disease is the only tickborne illness dogs can currently be vaccinated against, and cats have no vaccine options at all. That makes daily checks essential. The CDC recommends looking in and around the ears, eyelids, and collar, as well as under the front legs, between the back legs, under the tail, and between the toes. If you find a tick, remove it immediately, then watch your pet closely for any changes in behavior or appetite. Signs of illness may not appear for up to three weeks after a bite.

Before reaching for any tick prevention product, Hart says to talk to a vet first, especially for cat owners, since cats are extremely sensitive to certain chemicals. Once you have the green light, though, those products can make a real difference. "Those anti-parasitic treatments that you might give your dog or cats monthly, or flea collars, things like that, are really going to prevent the tick bite in the first place," Hart said. The simplest protection, he added, is straightforward: "If you don't get bitten by a tick, you can't get a tick-borne disease, and the same thing is true for your pets as well."