Treatment of Tickborne Illness in Cats

Last week we pulled a tick off of our barn cat which was the size of my fingernail ( I'm a 6'1" adult male). The thing was huge. This week the cat is acting very sick. Not eating, losing weight, discharge from eyes, sleeping all the time and coughing.

Sounds like ehrliciosis or mycoplasma. Does anyone know if we can use the same protocols on cats? Or can I go to my local farm store and get some antibiotics for the poor sucker.

I'll probably have to take the poor sucker to the vet, but that place gets awfully expensive.

I'm a farmer and I have a hard time justifying certain expenses for my barn cat. I know that sounds harsh....but I will say that I'm considering the blood test, if for no other reason than to see what the ticks in my area are carrying.

He's got the whole range of symptoms....I'm here in central Ohio where "lyme doesn't exist." Maybe my cat could prove that theory wrong.

I have lyme but I'm pretty sure I got it on the east coast.

I think I'm going to pick up some Duramycin from Tractor Supply or some fish antibiotics from online and see what I can do. I found a veterinary medicine book which tells about the antibiotics cats can tolerate.

Thank You for the great information!

On a lighter note, my cat and I are going to be treated with a tetracycline at the same time, what a world we live in!

Hi Banzai,

Not sure how you would figure the dose but we had a Holstein ox that had Lyme years ago. We successfully treated for two weeks with LA200. He was a 2000 lb steer and was given 80 cc every other day.

He recovered. I m not sure if tractor supply or maybe a good feed store carries it.

Hope your cat gets better.

Take care Jo

Does your cat act like it's not feeling well? From what I've heard, lyme isn't very common in cats, although they can get other things sometimes. My cats have all been bit by ticks and they don't seem to have gotten sick.

One cat has been sick or something ever since I got her when she was a kitten, so I don't think she got something from a tick, or at least not from my yard. I don't let my cats out during tick season anymore.

Hi, to the best of my understanding, cats rarely if ever get Lyme. They do get Bartonella a lot though,and maybe other tick born stuff. ( I’m not sure what)

Bartonella is something really common in cats , & easily transmitted to humans -usually by fleas I think, but some people say by scratches-which is why it’s also called cat scratch fever.

There is a test for Bartonella for cats, I’m not sure they test for the other tbd’s in cats. If it is Bartonella, there are several antibiotics that can be used. Not all cats who have bart are symptomatic & require treatment, some just carry it.

My outdoor cat gets ticks often, sometimes I manage to put frontline type stuff on him though. So far so good, he’ a healthy kitty. Even my indoor cat goes out sometimes & picks up ticks & is super healthy.

I’d like to say I always remove the ticks promptly, but Sometimes I don’t see them for awhile - especially on my outdoor kitty.

Good luck, hope your cat is healthy ! It’s hard to know what to do with cats when it comes to t.b.d.. maybe your vet could suggest something, or at least ease your mind...if you find out be sure to let us know!

Hi all

My vet thinks I am being a hypochondriac and thinks kitty is just fine. But I insisted and I just spent $500+ getting him tested for tick borne diseases including Borrelia and Bartonella. Everything negative. Thing is I remember that I tested negative too and that doctors kept pointing to all my wonderful bloodwork as proof whatever illness I had was all in my head. Also there's so many strains of bartonella alone... I wonder how good these tests are.

I guess it's just fear and love... Thinking I never want him to suffer the way I did without treatment.

My cat is 12 years old unfortunately and over the past few years he's aged more as I struggled in a haze of Lyme. It's only now as I am "waking up" and thinking about it that I'm wondering. Hard to say whether his constant sleep is fatigue or just an old cat being an old cat. He does get lameness from time to time but he is also unfortunately fat He seems to have harsh breathing and throws up occasionally but he always did that.

For sure if I figure something out definitive I will update. If anyone has other thoughts on pet cats I'd welcome it.