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With spring, cats and dogs tend to venture out into the garden and beyond. But there they may come across insects that can damage their health and cause irritation.
Cats, dogs and generally all domestic animals are just like us at the mercy of tiny biting and blood-sucking insects. Mosquitoes, ticks and other pests can poison the lives of our companions just as much as we do. Their fur, as thick as it is, does nothing to protect them from the attacks of these little creatures.
From a simple nuisance to a veterinary emergency, find out which insects are the most dangerous to our pets.
Process caterpillars
In just a few years, they became a real disaster. Process caterpillars, which were previously only found in the south of France, have now spread to almost all of France.
Their stinging hairs cause pain, inflammation, burns, swelling and sometimes even anaphylactic shock, which can lead to the death of the animal. This is a veterinary emergency.
Mosquitoes and mosquitoes
Mosquitoes can be carriers of serious diseases for our four-legged friends, such as leishmaniasis, a severe pathology whose effects on dogs can be fatal by attacking their kidneys, liver, digestive system or even joints.
Another mosquito-borne disease is cardiopulmonary heartworm disease, otherwise known as heartworm disease, which causes heart failure in animals.
Fleas
Fleas suck the blood of dogs and cats by injecting saliva, causing irritation, itching and sometimes severe allergies. Fleas also transmit serious diseases such as typhus in cats. Cats can still carry cat scratch disease, which is harmless to them, but which they can then transmit to humans. In both dogs and cats, fleas can cause skin diseases and tapeworms.
Read alsoWhat houseplants are toxic to cats?
Ticks
Although a tick bite is not inherently painful for your dog, it risks transmitting a potentially fatal disease called piroplasmosis, which can take up to two months to show symptoms.
Ticks also transmit Lyme disease, which can infect humans. In addition to antiparasitic treatment, it is necessary to regularly check the animal and remove the ticks present on it.
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Chiggers
Tiny mites barely visible to the naked eye, or rather their larvae, settle in the fur of animals for a period of two to ten days. They cause intense itching that can lead to scabbing and hair loss. Saliva from chigger larvae can also cause your pet to have an allergic reaction, as well as the risk of superinfection of wounds due to vigorous licking or scratching to relieve itself.