ASK THE VET: Tick warning (From Oxford Mail)

ASK THE VET: Tick warning

10:00am Tuesday 20th July 2010 in

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Q. One of my ferrets ran off the other day. She came back later covered in ticks. We are trying to remove the ticks by burning their rear end with matches. The only problem is that there are so many of them and ferrets, as you know, are hard to keep still. Is there a better way as we need to clear this up?

A. Please stop the match trick, that is not going to work and it is hardly surprising the ferret will not stay still. There are more effective ways to remove ticks. I like to use the O’Tom tick remover tool. This device is quick, easy to use and removes ticks painlessly. It is available at some vets and most pet stores. Frontline is a medicine used in dogs and cats for flea and tick prevention and it is safe to use this for the ferret. It is available as a spot-on or as a spray. I much prefer Frontline in the spray format rather than the spot-on format in ferrets. At this point in time Frontline spray is only available from your vet or you can get a prescription from your vet once the animal has been examined.

Q. I’m looking after my neighbour’s rabbit while she is away and it seems to drink a lot more water than my own rabbit. She seems to eats her food well enough. Should I tell my neighbour her rabbit is ill?

A. It is normal for rabbits to drink a surprising volume of water in a day, a 3kg rabbit can drink up to a pint of water daily (450ml). However, for the same size of rabbit to drink only 150ml could also be normal. The intake can be affected by the weather, the diet and the activity levels of the rabbit. For example, if a rabbit is fed a lot of fresh greens he is likely to drink less as greens contain a lot of water. You could weigh the rabbit and measure the volume of water drank in a day then assess the intake according to the body weight using 50-150ml per kg body weight as the normal intake range. If your figures fall within this range then the intake is probably normal. Either way, mention your concerns to your neighbour and she can talk to her vet if worried.

Q. My daughter found a young stray cat. How can we tell if she is pregnant? She is gaining weight and has really large nipples. We are worried because she has a deformity in her spine and back.

A. This is the time of year when many young female cats get pregnant if they have not been spayed (neutered) and it sounds like there are some of the signs of pregnancy there. You should take her to a vet as soon as you can because you need to know if she is pregnant and when the kittens are likely to be born. This can be determined by feeling her belly or by having an ultrasound scan. You also need to have her deformity assessed because it may affect her ability to have the kittens without help. Advice can also be sought on vaccinations, worming, the birth process and kitten care.