Already this year our sister clinic, Hall Vet Surgery, and the Canberra Veterinary Emergency Centre have treated pets with tick paralysis. Several of these pets have not been to the coast and neither have their owners.
Please check your outdoor cats every day by running your fingers through their fur, checking in their ears, armpits, around their faces and under their tails for ticks. We have other types of ticks in our region too. If you find a tick and are not sure whether it is a paralysis tick or not bring it in for identification.
Prevention is much better than cure, especially where ticks are concerned. We recommend Frontline spray, but also suggest Seresto collars, which coastal vets recommend.
Watch this video for the signs of tick envenomation.