CAIRNS PET PROBLEMS

Having a dog or cat in North Queensland includes some challenges and risks you may not encounter in other parts of Australia or if you are a new pet owner.

Particular North Queensland problems which often affect Cairns Pets include:

• External parasites: Paralysis Ticks, Brown Dog Ticks, Fleas
• Internal Parasites: Heartworm, Intestinal worms
• Cane Toad poisoning
• Skin diseases
• Ear Infections
• Leptospirosis.

 

Learn how to protect your pet from common Tropical Problems

Above: Potteritis: a severe addiction affecting Cairns Pets for which there is no cure.  Penny catching up on some light reading.

Ticks Affecting Cairns Pets

Ticks are one of the most common and serious problems affecting Cairns Pets.

Ticks are blood sucking parasites that live on the skin of animals. There are two types of ticks which commonly affect Cairns Pets: Paralysis Ticks and Brown Dog Ticks.  Because there are few cattle around Cairns we almost never see the Cattle tick which is common in many rural areas.   Other types of ticks such as "Bush Ticks" are not commonly seen in Cairns.  If you ever find a tick on a cat you can be 100% certain it is a paralysis tick, as they do not get brown dog ticks and rarely get other ticks (which we don't see in Cairns anyway.

PARALYSIS TICKS (Ixodes Holocyclus)

Also called the scrub tick or shellback tick, this tick is mainly spread by bandicoots and its venom can cause serious illness and death in all animals including man.  In the Cairns Region these ticks are most prevalent in the second half of the year from July to December but cases can occur outside these times. These ticks differ from the common brown dog tick in that they are blue-grey in colour, are firmly attached to the dog and have their legs up the front of the body around the mouthparts. When removed they leave a distinctive tick crater: a 2mm hard, round volcano shaped lesion on the skin. These ticks crawl usually attach on the front half of the body, especially the face, head, neck and shoulders. After 3 to 5 days of feeding on blood symptoms of paralysis may develop. These ticks produce a very powerful toxin. One tick is powerful enough to kill a horse.

Symptoms of tick paralysis start with wobbly gait, voice change, vomiting and labored breathing. If not treated early with antiserum death frequently ensues from respiratory paralysis.
If you find a scrub tick It can be killed with an insecticide spray such as "Pea-Beau", a few drops of concentrated dog tick and flea rinse, or a drop of frontline applied directly to the tick. Once e the tick is dead it is easy to remove. Alternatively you can purchase a special tick remover to detach tick immediately.

THE BROWN DOG TICK (Rhipicephalus sanguineus)

Brown dog ticks can be common and numerous in the tropics.  They are also wrongly called grass ticks, cattle ticks, bottle ticks and bush ticks.  In Cairns, we rarely see cattle ticks as there are few cattle, just sugar cane!).  This tick is found on dogs only and engorges to about the size of the nail on the little finger. It can be found in very large numbers all over the body. Only the female sucks blood. Often the male tick is found next to the engorged female and looks like a little spider. The main identifying features of this tick are its brown colour and the fact that the legs are down the side of the body (rather than clustered near the head in the paralysis tick). This ticks only loosely attach to the dog and are easily removed. There are often very large numbers of these ticks and they cause damage by sucking blood, skin irritation and their ugly appearance. They can carry infections such as Babesia canis which can make dogs sick. If left untreated these common brown dog ticks can multiply into plague proportions, infesting both the dogs and the house.

PREVENTIVE TICK CONTROL FOR CAIRNS PETS

Cairns Veterinary Clinic recommends the following tick control regime for Cairns Pets

FOR OUTDOORS CAIRNS DOGS - ADVANTIX

Combines the proven flea-killing action of ‘ADVANTAGE’ with tick control. Used as a “spot on” every 2 weeks it protects your dog from paralysis ticks. Used monthly it protects against ticks, fleas, mosquitoes and sand flies.

Other options include Frontline (more waterproof), tick rinses like permoxin or fidos, and tick collars)

FOR OUTDOORS CAIRNS CATS - FRONTLINE SPRAY

every 3 weeks. Cats don’t like being sprayed, so many people prefer to use the more convenient FRONTLINE TOPSPOT. Note this is not registered for fortnightly use against paralysis ticks, but many people find it helpful.

An insecticidal rinse such as Fido's flea and tick rinse repeated twice weekly is another option.

FLEAS

Fleas can be a big problem for many pets in Cairns.  They can be a problem all year around, but may reach plague proportions during drier times of year (June to December).

Year round prevention is essential to preventing flea problems.

We recommend Advantage, Advocate or Advantix for flea control. Frontline is also suitable.

For Dogs Comfortis is excellent, though it doesn't treat ticks at all.
Flea rinses (Like Fidos rinse concentrate) can be effective but need to be repeated weekly.
Flea powders and collars are NOT very effective.
Flea prevention can be improved by using monthly Sentinel tablets for dogs (or 6-monthly Program injections for cats) which prevent fleas from laying fertile eggs.
Environmental control including thorough cleaning, washing bedding in a flea rinse and spraying the yard (especially favored sleeping spots) with an insecticide spray like K-Tab.

Every dry season we have people complain that their Frontline or Advantage is not working.  Invariably this relates to inconsistent use and a large population of fleas hatching in the environment (for every flea on the dog there are 100 in the house/yard).  Make sure you keep up your flea control even when they don't seem to be a problem, or you will be inundated during the flea season.

 

GECKO TAPEWORM (Spirometra Erinacei)

We also commonly see a peculiar very large TAPEWORM in Cairns cats (and some dogs) which is caught by eating geckos, lizards and frogs and the like. This tapeworm requires four times the normal dose rate of tapewormer for control so normal worming will not treat it. We produce a capsule with the complete worming dose for various size cats. Many people cannot give pills to their cat so instead bring their cat in to the clinic for worming.

These tapeworm can be present in large numbers in infected animals: there may be dozens of 1 metre long worms, which can cause problems like vomiting and weight loss.

Spirometra also infects frogs and is a major cause of frog disease and death, so worming your cat is an important part of responsible pet ownership.

 

HEARTWORM

Heartworm in Cairns dogs thrives due to the large number of mosquitoes, and although expensive to treat, it is easy to prevent. All dogs should be given control measures. This means monthly medication. There is also a yearly injection available to adult dogs. In most cases dogs older than 3 months of age should have a preliminary check with a vet before commencing heartworm prevention. Heartworm also occurs in cats occasionally and heartworm prevention is now available for them.
Heartworm is much less common now than it was 20 years ago but we do still see cases and prevention is essential for all Cairns dogs.

OTHER PARASITES

All parasites like moist warm conditions. Therefore in North Queensland we tend to get more parasitic problems than perhaps elsewhere. As a general rule all animals should receive a thorough worming for intestinal worms every 3 months in the dry season or 2-monthly from December to May. Some of the monthly heartworm prevention tablets also kill intestinal worms (Interceptor or Sentinel). Young animals need worming even more frequently (2 weekly until 3 months of age, then monthly until 6 months of age). HOOKWORMS in pups can be particularly serious and life threatening.

 

CANE TOADS

A common cause of trouble in dogs, particularly in the smaller Terrier breeds. Cane toads have their poison glands in the skin on their back and when mouthed by dogs these glands produce a milky type poison. This substance is extremely toxic irritating and affected dogs drool and slobber copious amounts of frothy saliva due to its burning action in the mouth. If sufficient toxin is absorbed nervous signs such as twitching, convulsions and death can follow, particularly in smaller dogs. It is very unusual for cats to be affected. Usually a very thorough washing out of the mouth with the garden hose is sufficient to control symptoms, making sure of course that water does not get into the dog's lungs. If dogs develop severe neurologic signs like rigidity, convulsions or difficulty breathing we recommend they are brought to the clinic for treatment after thoroughly washing their mouth out. The occasional dog seems to become addicted to toad poisoning and can become affected over and over again.

LEPTOSPIROSIS (Leptospirosis Australis)

Leptospirosis, also known as "Lepto" or "Wheal's Disease" is a deadly infection in humans, dogs, pigs, cattle, and other animals. It can cause life-threatening liver and kidney disease. Dozens of dogs and people are infected in North Queensland each year, and unfortunately some die even with treatment.

Dogs are mostly infected by drinking water contaminated with rat urine, but other contact like eating dead rats or rats eating from the dogs bowl may also cause infection. Lepto can also be acquired from infected wildlife, pigs or cattle.

Infected dogs develop symptoms including fever, weakness, anorexia, vomiting, anemia, jaundice (yellow skin), and red or brown urine. Treatment involves intravenous fluids, antibiotics and other medications. Unfortunately many animals are not diagnosed in time and die without or even with treatment.

Leptospirosis has a high zoonotic potential. The most likely source of infection to humans is urine of infected animals, thus strict kennel hygiene and disinfection and treatment of infected animals are important.

Prevention involves maintaining good kennel hygiene, including rodent control and limiting access to wet areas like swamps and cane fields, and wildlife like pigs, bandicoots and rodents. Dogs with possible exposure to rats should be vaccinated with the Auslepto vaccine annually. Ask your veterinarian to do this for you.

SNAKES & CAIRNS PETS

Snakes are much less of a problem in Cairns than many other Australian regional towns: this is partly because most of our snakes are pythons which are not venomous (but can still kill and eat pets: see below).  We do get venomous snakes like Taipans, Brown Snakes, Black Snakes and Death Adders but they are less common and more active (and thus less likely to be stepped on or caught while lying in the sun trying to warm up.)

Get the right health care advice for your Pet from Cairns Vet Clinic

Cairns Pets Are at risk of a range of serious health problems which you should consider and prevent: for expert advice contact the staff at Cairns Veterinary Clinic to ensure your pet is protected.