Gail’s Tails; Symptoms of Lyme Disease in Cats

Cats rarely have signs of Lyme disease. While humans commonly see a red “bull’s eye” rash around the bite, this is uncommon for dogs and cats. Black fly bites are commonly mistaken for a Lyme rash, and a veterinarian should carefully examine the pet.

The most common symptoms, when present, include: Lameness, Fatigue, Loss of appetite, and Fever.

Animals with a more severe form of Lyme affecting their kidneys may show: Vomiting, Weight loss, Severe lethargy, and Edema (swelling caused by excess fluid) in the limbs. Severe cases may cause damage to the nervous system and heart.

Cats get Lyme disease after being bitten by a tick infected with the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi. Immature ticks get the bacteria when they are feeding in the fall. The bacteria spreads to cats through the saliva in the tick’s bite, where the Borrelia quickly replicate on the skin and migrate through the cat’s tissues.

Ticks must be attached for 24 to 48 hours before Borrelia is transmitted. Therefore, tick preventatives have time to kill the tick before it can transmit the bacteria, which is why keeping cats on flea and tick preventatives is so important. There are many options of tick control in cats.

Lyme disease is diagnosed mainly through history, signs of disease, laboratory tests, and ruling out other diseases with similar symptoms. Because Lyme disease is so uncommon in cats, other conditions, like fractures or abscesses, should be eliminated as potential reasons for limping and infection before Lyme disease is considered.

Testing for Lyme disease involves a positive result on a relatively inexpensive and quick blood test. Additional tests, such as blood work and radiographs, eliminate or diagnose other disorders that may cause similar symptoms. If a cat tests positive for Lyme, additional tests will also help analyze the severity of the disease.                  

Cats exposed to Lyme disease may not test positive for Lyme disease for two to eight weeks after a bite, if at all. If you find a tick on your cat, you can consider sending it to one of many laboratories that will analyze the tick for any diseases it may be carrying. Cats aren’t routinely tested for tick-borne diseases, like Lyme, but your veterinarian can help you decide on the necessary tests or treatments if you find a tick on your cat.

While veterinarians use a few medications to treat Lyme disease, the gold standard is the antibiotic doxycycline. However, not all cats can tolerate this antibiotic. Antibiotics are typically prescribed for 30 days, but cats may need more courses in the future to safeguard against flare-ups.

Pet parents should use caution when using doxycycline in cats. In the tablet form, it can cause esophageal strictures or narrowing, scar-like formations in the esophagus, if it gets stuck. Many veterinarians use liquid doxycycline or follow the tablet with a good amount of water.

Some cats may be helped by non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, or other pain relief medications while they are in acute pain from Lyme disease. Typically, animals start feeling better within one or two doses of antibiotics. If cats do not rapidly improve, other diagnoses should be considered.

While most cats can be treated on an outpatient basis, some may need IV fluid therapy, kidney medications, anti-nausea medications, and nutritional support during acute crises. They may require long-term hospitalization for severe cases affecting internal organs.

This week I’d like to talk about one of my kittens named Fierce. He came to me as a 3-month-old with his sister Feisty, both very feral. It took months to be able to touch them.

Fierce started having mobility issues. When combing him I found an old grey tick stuck in his fur. When we went to the vet I asked if he had Lyme Disease since he exhibited some of the same symptoms as two of my friends. The vet said it was possible, but rare. I asked for the test to be done.

Sure enough, it came back positive. Right away he was started on Doxycycline. His then, paralyzed front legs started to show improvement. He got some movement back, but over the next three weeks he declined rapidly to where I was feeding him with a spoon three times a day and had him wearing diapers. By the third week he could barely move his back legs and head. He started moaning and I knew it was time to let him go.

So please read about this disease and hopefully never have to experience what I went through.