Okay, sooooooo...not to scare you but...we are hoping and praying that you live nowhere near a "bobcat fever" zone. We live in the 7th circle of hell zone for ticks and a few years ago it became endemic ( and an epidemic) and we lost 13 cats to it ( we had volunteered to take in a relocated " feral" colony at the time that otherwise was set to be trapped and poisoned...)

Now, at DaBear HQ we learned lots and lots about cytauxzoonosis which is truly, truly just unimaginable. As it turns out, there is no treatment...having said that, we have lived in the area for DECADES and had NEVER encountered anything like it. So....the odds are very much in your favor that there is nothing, nothing to worry about.

Ticks just have terrible diseases that they carry and removing the tick does not necessarily mean the disease has not been passed along once the animal has been bitten. We also learned that just removing the tick makes them regurgitate the nasty stuff into the host animal. So...if possible, the best course of action is to try to use not only a flea and topical but a repellent as well. And since those treatments can be slightly toxic as well ( depending on the animal and their health), pawrents are then caught between a rock and a hard place.

I would at least place a call to your regular vet and see what they have to say. If they have NEVER seen a case of cytauxzoonosis, then you really may have nothing to worry about. And we at DaBear HQ rarely share this story because it was deeply scarring for us but others do need to know-likely due to global warming- the ticks are proliferating, carrying worse diseases, and much more active for longer periods of time. Again, this was, hoping and praying, a once in a lifetime event but those nasty little buggers are just allllllllllll over here...please let us know what your regular vet says:)

Sending best wishes, huge hugs, and PyrPaws all around!

The very best method of prevention is what you are already doing which is keeping your cat indoors:):):) And living in an area where it is not endemic! (And maybe check the big fella Gator for ticks coming in the door?) 

Depending on our cats' needs, we use monthly topicals ranging from Revolution to Advantage, etc. If a cat is healthy and youngish, we use the ones that cover the most issues such as worms, fleas, ticks, mosquitos. For awhile we also sprayed with a repellent in addition to the topicals. Some people also just use diatomaceous earth and rub it in the coat but since cats groom all of the time that seemed a bit problematic.We ended up enclosing and double screening all of our porches and bringing as many as we could inside. Basically we went full force DefCon but also know despite everything we have done, it could recur at any time and there is nothing that can be done: do NOT believe the sites claiming a cure or effective treatments.

This disease is like the plague ,and, yes, maybe one in a zillion survive but it is a horrendous and by the time clinically presented almost always fatal within days. We took the first few to the Vet School ( where even they were confused about what to do as they see few cases according to one and to others tried to experimentally treat and to others said take home and euthanize and do not come back or bring any more in as it is futile and cruel) spoke with researchers, discussed in depth what the Vet School treatment protocol was with our regular vet, etc. (even he said he was not comfortable due to the cruel nature of it). There is another Vet School in a close by state that was ,for awhile, claiming a new treatment protocol that worked: it did not and was, in my mind, a cruel experiment which then led to false hopes. Now, I am not saying don't try for any parent and cat that finds themselves in this circumstance. I am just saying after extensive experience and research, be aware. And there may be new and viable treatments on the horizon but...not in our neck of the woods yet:(  Also, many types of ticks- and their baby seed ticks-carry the disease and there are many subsets of the disease which is another reason it is difficult to find an effective treatment.

Please know that I am NOT trying to scare anyone or normalize our experience or dissuade anyone from ever trying a treatment. It is just when I hear tick on a cat, I want others to know and be prepared on the very, very slim chance that it could be bobcat fever. Getting off soapbox now;) And, honestly, if you live in an area where there has never been a case, you have nothing to worry about:):):) YEA!!!!!