Pet Parasites: Symptoms, Diagnosis & Treatment

As the weather warms up and we venture outside more often with our pets, they become more susceptible to parasites, like ticks, tapeworms and ear mites.

And guess what … if not properly treated in a timely manner, parasites could be life threatening.

What is a parasite?

According to the CDC, “A parasite is an organism that lives on or in a host organism and gets its food from or at the expense of its host.”

There are more than 1,000 species of parasites around the world that could affect your pet.

They fall into two categories:

External parasites live on the skin. Think fleas, ticks and mosquitoes. They bite, embed and generally irritate your pet’s skin. External parasites can cause more serious diseases like mange and scabies.

Internal parasites live (you guessed it) inside the host animal, in the blood or tissue. They can get in by way of contaminated food or water, or by burrowing through the skin. However they get in, they like to set up camp in one location where they can grow and reproduce.

Common Pet Parasites

Today we’ll talk about three of the most common parasites that affect domesticated animals: