[seanis]

Hello,
I removed a Paralysis Tick from my 2yr old male cat Brick, yesterday at about 4pm, it's his first Paralysis tick.
About 2yrs ago I removed the first Paralysis Tick from my Staffy cross dog Bud, he was aged about 1yr at the time, his weight been around 25 kgs. On this occation, he lost bowl and hind leg control. I spoke with a vet, it was late at night 11:30pm, the vet said it could cost upward of $800. I declined vet service and monitored him through the night. I based the decision around not been able to afford vet cost and observasions of wild dogs surviving in the area. Bud made a full recovery, I have removed a number of Paralysis ticks off him since and removed one last night, they do not seem to effect him anymore.
I'm a little more concerned about the cat, as they have a sensitive nervous system and are much smaller. Brick was born on the farm his father been a wild cat.
I did a bit of research last night and this morning on Paralysis Tick bites and feel convident in nursing him through toxin stages and will post on his progresstion.

Day 1 - 21 Oct 2009
4:00pm: Removed tick (size W:7mm L:10mm), he is gaunt/pout around mouth. Is alert. No dilation of pupils. Slight control loss of hind legs. Occational dry regurgitation. Breathing is smooth. Loss of appetite. Able to get onto top bed bunk. Have removed all food and water sources and have placed him in a quite, dark, cool room with windows wide open.
Day 2 - 22 Oct 2009
5:30am: He is gaunt/pout around mouth, Is alert. Slight dilation of pupils. Control loss of hind legs has progressed slightly. Occational dry regurgitation. Breathing is smooth. Still able to get onto top bed bunk. Made his way out to do poo and wee. Food is still been held back,he was interested in food. Provided water, but not interested. Have removed all food and water sources and have placed him in a quite, dark, cool room with windows wide open.
1:00pm: No change
4:00pm: 24hrs since the removal of tick. He is gaunt/pout around mouth. Is alert. Increase in dilation of pupils. Control loss of hind legs has progressed to 30% immobility. Occational dry regurgitation no increase. Breathing is smooth. Don't believe he is still able to get onto top bunk bed. Made his way out to do poo. Food is still been held back. Provided water, but not interested. Have removed all food and water sources and have placed him in a quite, dark, cool room with windows wide open.
7:00pm: He is gaunt/pout around mouth. Is alert. Increase in dilation of pupils. Control loss of hind legs has not progressed since 4:00pm. Occational dry regurgitation has decreased. Breathing is slightly strained. Administered 3ml then 5ml of water vitamin C mix, he resists this. Food is still been held back. He wants to be outside, allowing this as the fresh air should be of benefit, however need to insure he does not get another tick.
8:30pm: Ate raw red meat, willingly. One change is that he is becoming reclusive. Keeping him inside again.
10:00pm: Dry regurgitation has stopped. Hind leg paralysis 50% immobility. Pupils dilated. Administered 4ml of water mixed with vitamin C.
Day 3 - 23 Oct 2009
5:30am: Remains reclusive, makes no attempt to move, when called. Hind leg paralysis 80% immobility. No dry regurgitation. Breathing is still good. Pupils dilated. Ate raw red meat, willingly. Administered 5ml water vitamin C mix, he resists, but took it in. Took him outside for toilet, however can not assume position. Have placed him in a quite, dark, cool room with windows wide open. Will be helping a vet castrate a young bull this afternoon, will see if he can take a look at Brick.

This post has been edited by seanis: 23 October 2009 - 06:47 AM

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[seanis]

Day 3 - 23 Oct 2009
5:30am: Remains reclusive, makes no attempt to move, when called. Hind leg paralysis 80% immobility. No dry regurgitation. Breathing is still good. Pupils dilated. Ate raw red meat, willingly. Administered 5ml water vitamin C mix, he resists, but took it in. Took him outside for toilet, however can not assume position. Have placed him in a quite, dark, cool room with windows wide open. Will be helping a vet castrate a young bull this afternoon, will see if he can take a look at Brick.
1:00pm: No Change
2:30pm: Notice a slight change in respiration. Remains reclusive. Is alert. Hind leg paralysis 90% immobility. No dry regurgitation. Pupils dilated.
3:00pm: I hoped he would start to recover before onset of respiration stage, as he has not, I have dropped him off at the vet. He is alert, still has good strength, respiration sympton is slight and he may have made it without going to vet, however not able to risk it. Will talk with vet around 4:30pm.

[Pixiekatz]

This is an interesting read, but glad you are taking him to the vet.

I think the main issues with paralysis tick poisoning is that they generally get worse before they get better and you never really know if you have removed the offending tick. Ticks have been known to attach in the animals anus, mouth, deep in their ears etc.

Also the size of the tick you removed from Brick is quite large. I have had ones smaller than that hospitalise for several days my dog who is a very sturdy bull terrier.

[CoralD]

Very interesting....sometimes when you pull a paralysis tick out the head remains and continues to function.

My vet told me a good trick is to spray the tick with mortein or Baygon...it will not kill it but it forces the tick to let go completely and it can be safely picked off. Hope Brick recovers okay.

[Pixiekatz]

Coral - re pulling off their head - this is not actaully true. Yes the head remains attached and can cause swelling and inflammation but you have ripped its head off - it aint working

It is easy enough to twist them off, but you can always kill them first to ensure the head is removed.

[Patricia L]

I can't believe I just read a part of that, it made me feel quite sick that you could watch your cat go through that and make notes and not go to the vet.

This post has been edited by Patricia L: 23 October 2009 - 03:56 PM

[CoralD]

Coral - re pulling off their head - this is not actaully true. Yes the head remains attached and can cause swelling and inflammation but you have ripped its head off - it aint working

It is easy enough to twist them off, but you can always kill them first to ensure the head is removed.

Hehehehe...well if you ripped my head off it sure as hell wouldn't be working.
Interesting to know...because we almost lost two dogs in Queensland and the vet told us the insecticide trick.

Coral
(Off to pull her head in )

[seanis]

Hi Pixiekatz,
Brick should be fine, a lot of Paralysis Ticks around here at present. The cattle are around the house as not much feed in the paddocks. Will post more on Bricks recovery tomorrow. Take Care

[rocanrole]

I am speechless. I can't believe that anyone would watch and document the deteriorating condition in their cat for 3 days!

[seanis]

Hi CoralD,
Brick is well, I'll be picking him up at 10am tomorrow. When talking with the vet he said his condition was a 2 in the scale of 1 to 5. I had been in conversations with vet durring the three days of nursing.
When removing the tick I was able to get the head out quickly, although the mandible remained in. I find that the Paralysis Ticks bury into the host a lot deeper than the Catle Ticks, making removal difficult. I have heard of first using a spray, but have been concered that the tick may regurgitate into host.
Thank you for your concern

[seanis]

Speechless? Sound pretty verbal to me!!!!!

[aboutTaya]

I'm very pleased to hear Brick is recovering. We've had ticks on our pets at my parents home but all were removed before any noticeable effect except one where our dog Shadow was rushed to the vet - he wasn't at all well. Am not aware of the protocol for action post paralysis ticks - I must admit we'd go straight to the vet if there were any symptoms but am curious as to why the food and water gets taken away, especially with cats.

[burmeselover]

I hope that Brick doesn't die from lack of veterinary attention. I wouldn't try to nurse a cat with tick paralysis without having had the cat examined by a veterinarian first.

[seanis]

Hi aboutTaya,
Bricks recovery is very pleasing. The neurotoxin given by the tick is called Holocyclotoxin, as this toxin causes paralysis the concern with food and water is that the passages they pass through could be in paralysis stage and cause choking. I hand fed brick small amounts of wet meat and administered 2 ml of fluid at a time. Keeping Brick from getting stressed and keeping him cool slows the toxin down allowing the body to catch up and heal.

[CoralD]

Seanis...I think some people are being a little hard on you.

It seems you live on a farm and I am guessing the vet isn't eactly next door. Also you've had previous experience with paralysis ticks and you seem to kno a lot about the whole process.

People in the country DO learn to care for their animals medically....it's a pratical thing if you can't reach a vet in a hurry. And $800 is not to be spent if it isn't necessary. I am sure you did the right thing and making a log of everything that happened was not from callousness but for future reference.
Do keep us updated.
Coral