27/09/2025
PSA to pet owners. As many may know I work as an emergency veterinary nurse. This year we are seeing an increased number of paralysis ticks on animals. Dogs and cats being mostly affected, but foals, calves and smaller livestock are also succumbing to paralysis. The ticks are dangerous this year and we have seen cases of paralysis ticks even on animals that are on prevention. Please make sure your pet is protected, do not let it lapse, apply it a couple of weeks early if need be. Some of my clients are using a spot on as well as a collar, not a bad idea this year in my opinion. Check that your preventative works in QLD.
If you're unsure what to use, call your vet. Most clinics are more than happy to give you free advice over the phone.
"But my dog only goes out in the yard"
Doesn't matter, possums and wildlife enter your yard and can carry ticks on them.
"My cat is indoor only."
Again, wildlife that roams around your house can bring in ticks and even you can bring them in on your shoes.
"It's so expensive."
Emergency and critical care hospitals are more expensive!!
"I don't like putting chemicals into/on my pet."
Everything is a chemical. The amount of products/chemicals/drugs that we will have to pump into your pet to keep it alive if it gets paralysis far outweighs one spot on treatment.
If the below image is distressing for you to see. Good. It should be. Do not let your pet get to that stage. That is a puppy on a ventilator, once they reach that stage survival can be as low as 10% and the costs are astronomical. And at the end you may end up with an enormous vet bill and no beloved pet.
As a vet med industry professional, we do not want that!
Keep your pet safe, put that prevention on and check your pets for ticks regularly.
Common symptoms include:
Wobblyness
Not eating or drinking, dropping food
Not urinating or defecating
Loss of bladder and bowel control
One side of the face being droopy
Paralysis (typically starts in the back end)
Change of bark/meow
