Ticks attach to dogs and cats (and people), secreting a paralysing toxin as they feed. Left untreated, treatement almost always leads to respiratory or heart failure.
This Paralysis is caused by a specific tick, lxodes holocyclus, which is found along Australia’s east coast and is especially prevalent around bushland and coasts.
This grey-greenish coloured tick can be as small as a pinhead and as large as a thumbnail. The bigger the tick, the longer it has been on your pet, ingesting the blood and becoming engorged. The neurotoxins in the saliva that it secretes into your pet’s bloodstream cause the symptoms.
Tick paralysis is one of the most frustrating things for a veterinarian to be presented with. There is no blood test to show an animal has tick paralysis, so it is diagnosed on the signs of disease and the presence of a paralysis tick or crater.
The signs of disease can be very variable. Even veterinarians with decades of experience of diagnosing paralyzed animals can miss the signs of tick paralysis or not locate a tick!
Modern long acting preventatives are at present very effective. If your dog or cat has had tick control of the correct dose and is within the protected period, then it is less likely to have tick paralysis.
Types of Tick Paralysis
An unprotected animal can make your veterinarian suspicious of tick paralysis with a variety of signs. Sadly if we wait to treat the animal until we are absolutely sure it is tick paralysis, they may develop more dangerous signs of tick paralysis and be more difficult to save. This demonstrates how important it is to have your dog or cat up to date with a well regarded tick protection.
Mild Tick Paralysis
These animals might just be not quite themselves. Signs include Not wanting to eat, Less active, Change in voice Unable to urinate, Slight weakness when walking
Treatment: If a tick is the cause of these signs it is best to treat, because tick poisoning signs can get worse for 48 hours after the tick is removed.
Our recommendation is to admit your pet into hospital and have:
- Sedation for treatment and clipping
- Intravenous fluid therapy
- Tick antiserum administration
- Full body clip
- Tick prevention applied
- Bladder support
- Eye care. (Animals with ticks often have dry eyes which develop ulcers)
Animals that are treated quickly with mild signs are often home and back to normal within one to two days.
Moderate Tick Paralysis
These animals are very obviously affected and are at risk of severe, life threatening tick paralysis.
The signs of this stage include:
- Weakness and wobbliness of legs, with difficulty rising
- Increased effort with breathing
- Cats may have a mild grunt as they breath out
- Dogs may develop a noisier breathing
Treatment: These animals are likely to die without treatment and the sooner it is started the better the outcome is likely to be.
Our recommendation is to admit your pet into hospital and have:
- Sedation for treatment and clipping
- Intravenous fluid therapy
- Tick antiserum administration
- Full body clip
- Tick prevention applied
- Bladder support
- Eye care. (Animals with ticks often have dry eyes which develop ulcers)
- Medication to decrease retching and vomiting
- Perhaps ongoing sedation to control anxious and difficult breathing episodes
- Survey xrays to detect aspiration pneumonia may be needed
- Oxygen therapy may be required to avoid exhausted breathing
Animals that are treated quickly with moderate signs are often home and back to normal within two to four days. Some animals take longer to convalesce, especially if they are older or over weight.
Severe Tick Paralysis
These animals have life threatening tick paralysis and may die despite treatment.
The signs of this stage include:
- Usually unable to stand
- Very obvious effort with each breath. The paralysis will go on for at least three days so this breathing effort can be exhausting.
- Cats may have an exaggerated ticky grunt
- Dogs may be retching and gagging. Often these animals will suddenly regurgitate froth into the back of their mouths. Because they are paralysed they can not clear the throat and it is sucked down into the lungs causing pneumonia. This acute pneumonia puts the animal in critical danger of death.
Treatment: These animals are likely to die without intensive care
Our recommendation is to admit your pet into hospital and have
- General anaesthesia for treatment and clipping
- 24 hour intensive care to monitor progress and to suction secretions
- Ongoing sedation to control anxious, difficult breathing episodes
- Oxygen therapy to assist with breathing. (Even with oxygen these animals sometimes do not have the ability to breath adequately.)
- Intravenous fluid therapy
- Tick antiserum administration
- Medication to decrease retching and vomiting
- Medication to treat possible pneumonia
- Survey xrays to detect aspiration pneumonia
- Full body clip
- Blood tests performed to assess progress and possible further complications
- Tick prevention applied
- Bladder support
- Eye care. (Animals with ticks often have dry eyes which develop ulcers)
These animals are best cared for at our emergency service where there is 24 hour care and access to more advanced life support options. NEVS has highly experienced staff available, even in the middle of the night.
End Stage Tick Paralysis
These animals can not survive without life support. This is a costly treatment.
The animals body will recover from the poisoning 3-4 days after all ticks are removed but these animals will not live that long or have complications that are now life threatening.
To try to save their lives they can be placed on life support or ventilation.
The animal is kept anaesthetised and a ventilator controls their breathing. As well as ventilation, intravenous fluids are carefully administered, blood tests performed, medications given, hourly physio and eye care, bladder control, regular chest xrays and constant monitoring.
Animals may require ventilation for anything from 2 days to 10 days. When off the ventilator they are in intensive care for a number of days before being well enough to go home.
Intensive early treatment and monitoring can often avoid your pet getting end stage tick paralysis.
March 7, 2024
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