What is Lyme Disease in Cats?
Lyme disease is an illness that primarily affects dogs and humans and can have potentially serious health impacts, including joint inflammation, fever, and damage to additional organs. It’s a bacterial disease that’s spread primarily by tick bites, which can have a high range of impact on dogs and humans with a unique severity to each patient.
The disease is prevalent mainly among dogs and is rarer among cats. Despite that, many cat parents may wonder if their felines could also be at risk for contracting Lyme disease.
Here, we’ll look at Lyme disease in cats a bit closer, shedding light on whether cats can get it, how it spreads, its symptoms, and the best way to treat and prevent it.
Can cats get Lyme disease?
Full-blown Lyme disease in cats is rare, even if they are bitten by ticks carrying the infectious bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi. Symptoms rarely present, and in turn, make the disease difficult actually to diagnose. It doesn’t necessarily mean cats are entirely immune to Lyme disease, but it likely indicates that their immune systems manage the infection differently than other species.
Aside from Lyme disease, tick bites in cats can still present other disease transmission risks and should constantly be monitored closely. Outdoor cats, especially those in wooded or grassy areas, remain at the highest risk of exposure to ticks and additional tick-borne illnesses beyond Lyme disease.
Lyme disease symptoms in cats
Most cats do not present symptoms of full-blown Lyme disease, but symptoms would mirror those of dogs and humans when infected. Those indicators may include:
- Fever
- Reduced appetite
- Lethargy
- Lameness
- Joint pain or swelling
- Swollen lymph nodes
- Weight loss
Other tick-borne bacterial infections – like anaplasmosis – can also cause similar symptoms, which should be monitored by pet parents and veterinarians accordingly.
How is Lyme disease in cats diagnosed?
Lyme disease in cats is rare, with diagnosis even rarer due to the low occurrence of symptoms that would generate potential red flags. However, if Lyme disease is suspected, a similar diagnostic approach of a physical exam, blood tests to detect an active infection, and additional lab work to rule out (or confirm) other tick-borne illnesses may be ordered.
Lyme disease treatment for cats
Since it is a bacterial infection, antibiotics are the most prevalent treatment for Lyme disease in cats. Like Lyme disease in dogs, doxycycline is one example of an antibiotic that a veterinarian could use to treat the condition. Additionally, other medications like pain relievers or anti-inflammatories can be used to help with potential joint pain/discomfort.
Where Lyme disease in cats is diagnosed, prompt treatment is essential. But given the rarity of the disease’s occurrence in cats, as it stands, a visit to your veterinarian after a tick bite is confirmed and any symptoms start is essential to confirm or rule out other tick-borne illnesses.
Lyme disease prevention for cats
Pet parents can take charge in actively preventing Lyme disease in cats and other tick-borne illnesses through proper medications and at-home management measures.
Tick prevention
Cat parents can help prevent tick-borne (and other parasite-borne) illnesses by using medications specifically designed to deter these parasites. It’s essential that cat parents do not use medicines tailored for canines, specifically those intended for cats. Some examples of those medications include:
Safe tick removal
If a tick bite occurs with your cat, removing the tick safely can lower the Lyme disease risk. Cat parents can use fine-tipped tweezers to carefully take ticks out, avoiding twisting or crushing the head, as this can increase the risk of infection.
Keeping the bite area clean with antiseptic can also help lower the risk of infection.
Keeping cats indoors
Overall, minimizing the time that cats are outdoors – especially in grassy and wooded areas – can drastically lower the risk of infection from tick-borne illnesses like Lyme disease in cats.
For pet parents who want to permit their feline outside, keeping them within a contained environment can minimize the risk of exposure.
When to see a veterinarian
Since Lyme disease in cats and other tick-borne illnesses in felines are relatively rare, cat parents should consider a trip to the veterinarian if they notice a tick bite and any potential red-flag symptoms that follow so that other diseases can be ruled out or confirmed. Some additional factors to consider include:
- Keep a close eye if the tick has been attached for more than 24 hours.
- If suspicious Lyme disease symptoms like fever, lameness, joint stiffness, or lethargy present themselves.
- If any tick bite on a cat becomes red, swollen, or otherwise looks infected.
- If your cat experiences any unusual symptoms after time outdoors.
Final word about Lyme disease in cats
Lyme disease in cats is incredibly rare. While the condition in dogs is much more worrisome, pet parents should also be aware of the potential signs and symptoms, as they could also result from other tick-borne illnesses. While rarely impacting cats, these illnesses are largely preventable with medication and at-home management measures, including safe tick removal and keeping cats indoors or in contained outdoor spaces. In the rare event that a tick bite results in a tick-borne illness, including suspected Lyme disease in cats, cat parents should promptly visit their veterinarian for guidance and seek the best treatment/diagnosis to rule out other potential conditions.
