Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Joan Campbell: Tick season means keeping a close eye on pets and people

From March until the end of November, cat and dog owners must be especially aware of ticks.

Cats who roam outside are at risk of picking up ticks (Image: Altsva/Shutterstock)
Cats who roam outside are at risk of picking up ticks (Image: Altsva/Shutterstock)

Mention TikTok in our house and the cat does a runner.

It’s not the social media platform itself that causes her to flee, but the word “TICK!” – a bad one in her vocabulary. From March until the end of November, she is as familiar with it as her name.

This year’s attack from these bloodsucking arachnids came early, along with the fear that a winter with less frost may mean a hard time ahead for dogs, cats and all who enjoy walking, especially where deer like to roam. This includes our back garden and the nearby woodlands the cat considers her territory.

Ticks spark fear when we become aware that Lyme disease, if left untreated, could be fatal. Thankfully, treatment is both simple and effective.

Cats Protection advises volunteers who pick up a tick to seek medical advice immediately. Well, some of us would never be away from the doctor’s surgery, as ticks invade gardens close to countryside and fields where host animals intrude.

Instead, we check for and remove the pesky creatures, and watch out for a telltale rash that may form a ring round the infected area. It’s then that we should get to our nearest medical centre for the antibiotic that deals with this cruel bacterial infection.

There can be other symptoms and no rash, but information is easily found in leaflets and online, or a quick call to animal organisations will point you in the right direction.

It’s the black-legged tick that may carry the bacterium Borrelia mayonii, and transmit through its bite not only Lyme disease but other infections.

Aiming for prevention is best

Unfortunately, despite what I inadvertently believed, sometimes even after an animal is treated using one of the many prevention solutions available, the unwelcome tick still burrows in. This makes it much more difficult to deal with, but using the little forked removal tool provided with most treatments should ensure you get the tiny tormentor out cleanly.

Sadly, a single bite from any tick is a disaster for my own cat. Dead or alive, the tick’s removal is traumatic in itself, and then the skin reaction sets in. We aim for prevention, but I’ve yet to find a solution that delivers it.

Tiny ticks can do a lot of harm if they go unnoticed.

There are several advertised, and Cats Protection has its own favourite. Using any one of them is much better than none, as all brands I’ve tried work to a degree – some better than others.

Spring is welcomed by me, and no doubt by you, as well as the cat and the deer, too, exercising their right to roam wherever they can. But, beware of the ticks.


Joan Campbell is an author who began her work with Caithness Cats Protection after retiring from the tourism industry.

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