External parasites are a group of bugs that infest the external areas of skin and ears of the dog and cat. These bugs are different to the internal parasites like worms which live in the internal organs like the stomach or intestines. This brief article will focus more on the external parasites… the ones that bite, chew, suck or tickle our fur kids!
Ticks are one of the most common external parasites especially in our warm climate. During the summer months even the most well looked after fur kid can be exposed to these arachnids. They tend to hang out in areas where vegetation is dense, examples are the local park, or dog school or even in the long grass growing along your daily walking routes. Ticks are particularly good at “smelling” out a host and will hitch a ride with any warm-blooded mammal which means they are widely spread around every corner of the country. Ticks do unfortunately carry diseases like Babesia “tick bite fever/bosluiskoors” and Erhlichia “bosluisbytkoors”. They can also cause significant irritation to our fur kids with resulting skin infections and even abscesses.
Fleas are another common external parasite which are also very prominent in summer months. Fleas being insects have a life cycle involving several stages from adult to egg to pupae to larva and finally to adult again, in fact most of the fleas out there are in egg or larvae stage! For every 1 adult flea on your fur kid there are up to 9 others in either egg or larvae stage in the environment, this makes flea control tricky. Fleas are the intermediate hosts for the dog tape worm, the fleas carry tape worm eggs which are ingested by the dogs and cats when they nibble at their itchy skin. Fleas also cause a lot of irritation to the skin of dogs and cats. Flea bite allergic dermatitis is a common cause for itching, scratching, licking and hair loss in our fur kids.
Mites being our final group of parasites, are often microscopic bugs, not visible to the naked eye. Vets are able to see them under a microscope by performing a procedure called a skin scrape or ear smear. Don’t worry these are easy, quick, and painless procedures performed to collect samples from deeper layers of skin or ears where these parasites may hang out. Demodex mange is a non-contagious mite that lives in the skin causing patches of hair loss in young or immune compromised dogs and cats. These mites do not always cause itchiness. Scabies mange mites however are intensely irritating and scratching is very common. Scabies mange mites are also very contagious. Ear mites occur most frequently in cat’s ears causing intense irritation, head shaking and scratching. These ear mites are also very contagious.
Demodex Mange Mite Sarcoptes Mange Mite Otodectes Ear Mite
When it comes to treating or controlling ticks and fleas on your fur kids, prevention is most definitely better than cure. There are a range of products available to control and keep parasites at bay. These are either in the form of a spot-on (liquid applied to the skin), oral anti-parasitic medications or collars worn by the fur kids. Most products do need to be used monthly with certain products offering up to 3 months of protection. Some of these products are also effective against skin and ear mites but sometimes certain mites may need extra treatments in the form of medicated ear drops or other injectable medications effective against mites. Always ask your friendly vets at Waterkloof Animal Hospital which products or combination of products would best suit your fur kid’s needs.
