A deadly tick-borne disease is actively affecting domestic cats in Kentucky.
Bobcat fever, also known as Cytauxzoonosis, is transmitted through a single tick bite and can progress quickly, according to veterinarian Adrienne Price Williams.
Williams said day one, the tick bites, it is usually a 10 day period before the cat will start acting sick. And usually then another could be up to 48 hours before that cat could be dead.
Williams said, bobcat fever has become more prevalent across the region.
Symptoms include lethargy, fever, decreased appetite, increased respiration or heart rate, and pain.
If the disease is left untreated it has a death rate of 97%, according to USA Today.
A team of researchers at North Carolina State University and the University of Missouri created a vaccine for the disease, helping improve survival rates. However, the vaccine is not commercially available currently.
Williams recommended keeping cats indoors this summer and practicing year-round tick prevention.
Source: WBKO
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