In terms of public awareness, educational emphasis, and research, tick-transmitted diseases in cats often take a back seat to those in dogs. While there is evidence that cats are parasitized by ticks and clinically affected by common tick-transmitted infections less often than dogs, some tick-transmitted infections can significantly affect feline health, and the importance of tick control for cats should not be overlooked. This article reviews the incidence and risk of tick parasitism in cats along with common tick-transmitted diseases and their relevance to feline health.<\/p>\n
Take-Home Points<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/div><\/div><\/p>\n Some cat owners believe that tick control is not necessary for their cat because they never see ticks on their pet. Risk perception is even lower for cats that live strictly indoors. However, while outdoor access is a risk factor for acquiring ticks, indoor-only cats are not always spared. Large-scale surveys of ticks recovered from companion animals showed that 3.4% to 4.2% of ticks submitted were reportedly removed from cats that lived strictly indoors.1,2<\/sup> Cats that live totally outside are at substantially increased risk for tick infestations, with 1 survey finding 18.7% of free-roaming cats in the central United States to be infested.3<\/sup> Compared with dogs, cats do tend to have fewer ticks, with surveys finding that tick burdens on dogs ranged from 1 to 4765 ticks while cats hosted only 1 to 46 ticks.1,2<\/sup><\/span><\/p>\n The tick species most commonly found on cats are Ixodes scapularis <\/i>(<\/span>FIGURE 1<\/b><\/span>), Amblyomma americanum <\/i>(FIGURE<\/b><\/span><\/span>\u00a02<\/b><\/span>), and Dermacentor variabilis <\/i>(FIGURE<\/b><\/span><\/span>\u00a03<\/b><\/span>); other Ixodes<\/i> and Dermacentor<\/i> species, Amblyomma maculatum<\/i>, Rhipicephalus sanguineus <\/i>(FIGURE<\/b><\/span><\/span>\u00a04<\/b><\/span>), and Otobius megnini<\/i> are less common.1-3<\/sup> The likelihood of recovering a particular species from a feline host is largely driven by the geographic range and seasonality of that species.<\/span><\/p>\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/navc.sitepreview.app\/todaysveterinarypractice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/10\/StarkeySmith_TVPNovDec24_FelineTicks_Fig1.png\")