FELINE ARTHROPODS ARTICLE Lindsay Starkey, DVM Jay Stewart, DVM Oklahoma State University Aumsville Animal Clinic, Aumsville, Oregon
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PARASITE PROTOCOLS FOR YOUR PRACTICE Peer Reviewed Recommendations from the Companion Animal Parasite Council FELINE FRIENDLY FELINE ARTHROPODS ARTICLE Lindsay Starkey, DVM Jay Stewart, DVM Oklahoma State University Aumsville Animal Clinic, Aumsville, Oregon The mission of the Companion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC) is to foster animal and human health, while preserving the human–animal bond, through recommendations for the diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and control of parasitic infections. For more information, including detailed parasite control recommendations, please visit capcvet.org. Ectoparasites—in addition to being a nuisance— 4. Adults quickly fi nd a host after emerging, and are associated with allergies, skin infections, and begin feeding within minutes.1 self-induced traumatic injury in pets. They are also • Egg production begins around 24 hours after vectors of infectious and zoonotic disease-causing initiation of feeding.1 agents, some of which can prove fatal.1–6 Fleas, • Adults account for only about 5% of the total ticks, mites, and lice are common ectoparasites flea population in an infestation.12 seen on cats in the United States. Completion of the life cycle typically takes 3 to 8 weeks, and depends on relative humidity and FLEAS temperature; a moist, warm environment is ideal.4 The most common ectoparasite that infests cats (and dogs) in North America is the cat fl ea, Signi cance of Infestation Ctenocephalides felis ( ). Other fl eas also Figure 1 Fleas can cause irritation and pruritus, and certain infest cats, including Echidnophaga gallinacea, Pulex cats may develop fl ea allergy dermatitis. Heavy irritans, and P simulans.1,7,8 infestations can lead to anemia and, if not managed appropriately, can be fatal.1 Life Cycle Fleas are also important vectors of disease- Fleas have 4 life stages: causing agents. They can transmit Dipylidium 1. Eggs are deposited by fed females and quickly caninum and bacteria that cause bartonellosis, fall into the environment; a female fl ea produces 40 to 50 eggs per day.9 hemotropic mycoplasmosis, rickettsiosis, plague, 2. Larvae hatch from eggs in 1 to 6 days.1 and tularemia; many of the aforementioned agents 5,6 • Food sources include organic debris (flea can infect humans as well. eggshells, adult flea feces) and other larval fleas.1 • Larvae develop in areas away from direct sunlight, including cool, shady areas outdoors, such as under porches or decks, and indoor locations, including carpet, furniture, and baseboards.1,4 3. Pupae develop from mature larvae.1 • Adults emerge from pupal casings in as little as 2 weeks or up to 6 months.1,10,11 • Emergence is stimulated by mechanical FIGURE 1. Adult Ctenocephalides felis. pressure, carbon dioxide, and increased Courtesy National Center for Veterinary Parasitology, Oklahoma State University temperature.10 tvpjournal.com | January/February 2015 | TODAY’S VETERINARY PRACTICE 59 Peer Reviewed PARASITE PROTOCOLS FOR YOUR PRACTICE Treatment Strategies Eliminating fl ea infestations can TABLE 1. be challenging, and many factors Flea-Control Products Available for Cats in the U.S. 15 must be considered:12–14 INSECTICIDES TO KILL ADULT FLEAS • Killing the fleas on the patient Topical • Dinotefuran • Indoxacarb (1-month effi cacy) • Eliminating eggs, larvae, and • Etofenprox • Pyrethrins • Fipronil • Selamectin pupae in the environment; as • Imidacloprid • Spinetoram these life stages mature, they Oral • Nitenpyram (Q 24 H or as needed) will continue to infest the pet • Spinosad (1-month effi cacy) • Identifying additional untreated Collar pets, feral animals, or peri- • Flumethrin (8-month effi cacy) • Imidacloprid domestic wildlife that contribute 15 to environmental contamination INSECT GROWTH REGULATORS & DEVELOPMENT INHIBITORS • Choosing products that address Topical • Methoprene (1-month effi cacy) difficult-to-treat life stages: • Pyriproxyfen Larvae and eggs may be located Oral (1-month effi cacy) • Lufenuron in hard-to-reach areas (eg, deep Injectable (6-month effi cacy) • Lufenuron within the carpet) and pupae can withstand many chemical Note that treatments. Implementation of an many drugs are formulated to treat integrated pest management ectoparasites, but strategy is often necessary to some that are safe resolve fl ea infestation:4,13 for use in or on 1. Routinely apply approved, dogs are not safe for use in cats due persistent fl ea-control products to potential adverse to every pet in the home year- effects, including round (Table 1):15 A B death. Follow label • Insecticides to kill the adult instructions carefully. fleas • Insect growth regulators and insect development inhibitors, which prevent maturation of immature flea stages 2. Treat the environment:4,14 • Mechanically remove immature stages by laundering flea-contaminated C D items and frequently FIGURE 2. Larva, nymph, and adults of Amblyomma americanum vacuuming (A); adults of Dermacentor variabilis (B) and Ixodes scapularis • Apply premise sprays to (C); and a nymph of Otobius megnini (D). Courtesy National Center for accelerate death of some Veterinary Parasitology, Oklahoma State University immature flea stages in the environment such as Rhipicephalus sanguineus, occasionally infest • Address sources of continued environmental cats.4,16-18 contamination. Life Cycle TICKS Life cycles differ greatly between hard and soft Ticks, although more common on dogs, can infest ticks. For hard ticks—A americanum, D variabilis, cats as well.16 The most common ticks found and I scapularis—3 different hosts are required to on cats in the U.S. are Amblyomma americanum, complete the life cycle:19 Dermacentor variabilis, Ixodes scapularis, and Otobius 1. A blood-engorged female deposits a single clutch megnini (Figure 2); however, other tick species, of thousands of eggs into the environment; from 60 TODAY’S VETERINARY PRACTICE | January/February 2015 | tvpjournal.com PARASITE PROTOCOLS FOR YOUR PRACTICE Peer Reviewed TABLE 2. Common Feline Ticks: Geographic Distribution & Host/Environment Preferences TICK SPECIES GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION18,20,21 PREFERENCES18,19,21,22 A americanum Southeastern states; recently spread Hosts: White-tailed deer northward and eastward to include Environment: Leaf-littered wooded areas upper Midwest and New England states D variabilis Eastern 2/3 of U.S. Hosts: Small vertebrates, including rodents/reptiles (immature stages); medium to large mammals (adults) Environment: Open areas with tall grass I scapularis Eastern 2/3 of U.S. Hosts: Small vertebrates, including rodents/reptiles (immature stages); white-tailed deer (adults) Environment: Wooded areas O megnini South central and southwestern Hosts: Variety of mammals (immature stages) states Environment: Can withstand high-temperature, low- humidity areas those eggs hatch 6-legged larvae that fi nd the Ticks are also important vectors of infectious fi rst host. agents: 2. Larvae attach and feed for a few days before • Borrelia burgdorferi, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, falling off and molting in the environment into and an Ehrlichia canis-like agent can infect cats 8-legged nymphs. Nymphs fi nd another host, (and humans), but their pathogenesis appears to feed for days to a week, detach, and fall into be minimal in cats.24,25 the environment, molting to the fi nal stage—8- • Infections with Cytauxzoon felis or Francisella legged adult male and female ticks. tularensis, both vectored by A americanum and D 3. Adult ticks fi nd hosts and feed for 1 to 2 weeks; variabilis, are far more severe diseases; both can engorged, mated females detach before laying cause death in cats.26-28 their egg clutch.23 For the soft tick—O megnini—only one host is Treatment Strategies required to complete its life cycle:18 Tick control, similar to fl ea control, can be 1. The female can lay several clutches of eggs in the challenging, and also requires an integrated pest environment. management strategy.18,19 2. When the larvae hatch, they obtain a host, CAPC recommends keeping cats indoors to crawling into the ear canal, feeding, and molting protect them not only from ticks but from other into the fi rst and second nymphal stages. parasitic infections. However, for cats that do 3. Second-stage nymphs crawl out of the ear canal venture outdoors, or those that share their living and enter the environment, molting into the spaces with dogs, control ticks by:18,19 nonparasitic adult stage; the adults mate off-host. 1. Using a tick-control product (acaricide) Geographic distribution and host preferences approved for cats, such as:15,18 differ among tick species (Table 2).18-22 • Topical (1-month effi cacy): etofenprox, fi pronil Signi cance of Infestation • Collar (8-month effi cacy): fl umethrin As seen with fl ea infestations, ticks are associated 2. Implementing environmental management with irritation, pruritus, anemia, and potential strategies:19 secondary bacterial skin infections; furthermore, • Limiting exposure to areas conducive to ticks due to the attachment and feeding practices of • Excluding wildlife from areas near the house most ticks, severe skin reactions at the bite site can • Manicuring lawns and removing brush piles occur.4,16-18,21 and leaf litter (“tick-scaping”) • O megnini exclusively infests the ears, resulting in • Applying acaricides to yard and perimeter. inflammation of the ear canal.23 • Attachment of D variabilis has been associated MITES with a paralytic condition that resolves upon tick Cats can be infested with several mite species; the removal.18 most common are Otodectes cynotis, Notoedres cati, tvpjournal.com