Tick Embedded In Cats neck.. now what?

[DB89014]

Hi all, I found a tick embedded in my cats neck. He is indoor only and am guessing he picked it up from the Christmas tree. I brought him to the vet and they said they got it out and gave him an antibiotic. I told them I wanted to have a blood panel done to check for tick Bourne illness but they said they don't have that for cats. Is this the case is there no testing that can be done to make sure he didn't contract anything? Thanks in advance

 

[piano cat]

Blood testing for cats can be done but they may want to wait a few days to see if there is anything in the blood. Was the tick engorged? Was it whole when removed? Did they get the head?

Cytauxzoonosis in Cats.

 

[DB89014]

I totally understand waiting for a little bit first to allow things to show up but they tried to tell me that illness from ticks is rare and they don't test for it which didn't sound right to me. The tick did not look engorged from what I could tell it still looked pretty flat. The head was stuck still initially but the vet said they got out what they saw

 

[FeebysOwner]

Most tick-borne diseases are treated with antibiotics, usually something like doxycycline or tetracycline, and I believe I read it is usually for a duration of at least 2 weeks. Additional treatment would only be needed if your cat would show other signs of illness. See link below that explains the various ticks and how common (or not) they are, as well lists the possible symptoms that might indicate your cat contracted a disease from the tick. It also discusses what other treatment besides antibiotics would be appropriate should any of those symptoms appear.
6 Types of Tick-Borne Disease in Cats | PetMD

 

[DB89014]

Thank you for the article. From what I gather a lot of these diseases progress quickly once symptoms begin which was why I was interested in doing a blood test in a couple of weeks for peace of mind and potentially catch something early but they're saying they don't do that which I guess is what doesn't make sense to me

 

[FeebysOwner]

Thank you for the article. From what I gather a lot of these diseases progress quickly once symptoms begin which was why I was interested in doing a blood test in a couple of weeks for peace of mind and potentially catch something early but they're saying they don't do that which I guess is what doesn't make sense to me

I can only guess that since antibiotics are the primary treatment, then it must be the vet's belief that will take care of matters. You can only confirm that is their thought process by discussing that aspect with them. From the contents of the article, it looks like any symptoms that could arise in the coming weeks would be treated with supportive care such as pain medications, blood transfusions, anti-inflammatories, IV fluids, and appetite stimulants depending on the severity of symptoms. As labeled, these are supportive care, not cures or prevention, so I doubt any vets would want to administer them until such time there are symptoms that need to be addressed.

Other than consulting with another vet, your best bet is to keep an eye out for any of the symptoms that could occur. But the other thing to discuss with the vet is the duration of the antibiotics since it seems it should be 2-4 weeks' worth.