What Wild Animals Can Give Your Pet Fleas and Ticks?

If you love traveling with your pet and going on an adventure together, you must’ve already visited several exciting places. Unfortunately, in doing so, your pet can be susceptible to external harm that may be directly related to their health. No matter how diligent you are in grooming your pets and keeping up with your vet visits, if you’re not careful when you’re out with them, then they can be in serious harm.

One of the things you need to look out for is wild animals that you may encounter as you continue your expedition. These animals can carry dangerous parasites such as fleas and ticks that can put your pet in great distress.

So, to prevent such cases, it would be best to prevent your pet from interacting with them too much, even if they display no threat. Here’s a list of wild animals that can appear harmless but can give your dog a flea or tick infestation.

Raccoons and Opossums

Raccoons and opossums are wild animals that usually easily wander within the backyards of a family’s home. These animals are usually mistaken for one another, but they can equally put your pets at risk. They’re mostly active at night, and it can even be more dangerous if you have pets sleeping outside.

Most people may have already known that raccoons and opossums carry rabies, but they might be unaware of the dangers of fleas they could transmit. They’re usually infested with cat fleas, a parasite that feeds on a warm-blooded body. Though they can only cause discomfort by biting, cat fleas usually carry other types of diseases that can be harmful to the pets, such as the PARVO virus.

There are several available cat or dog flea treatments options, and it’s always best to be attentive and prevent anything from happening.

Feral Cats

Feral cats are a type of cat that’s unsocialized and dangerous to other domesticated pets. They most likely do not have contact with humans, and making them a pet would also be risky, and they can incur harm when you least expect it. Also, since these cats spend their lives living anywhere, it’ll be no surprise if they become fleas and tick carriers.

What makes this more horrifying is that sometimes the side effects of these parasites can stay dormant for a long time until it reaches a critical stage. That’s why you must be careful with wild animals, like feral cats.

On a side note, feral cats have excellent jumping abilities and can jump from a distance. This means they can quickly jump from a tree branch to the inside of your home. In this case, you need to take special measures to protect your pets.

Rabbits

As adorable as they seem, rabbits can be very vile. Although rare, they can easily attack other animals and even humans, which is not unusual behavior for wild animals.

If they have visited another household with a pet infested with parasites, the fleas and ticks can breed in this. This is most common if they’ve lived in the wild for most of their lives.

Squirrels

A lot of people find the squirrel’s fluffy tail and berry-black eyes adorable. As a result, some may try to attract squirrels to their yards. However, you shouldn’t be deceived by their adorable appearance because they can also lead your pets to potential exposure to disease from the parasites they can carry.

Dogs and cats enjoy chasing squirrels on your property, and letting them catch one could put them at risk. Additionally, purposely attracting these squirrels by giving them food never helps. If your pets get exposed, the parasites may start breeding on their own and cause an infestation.

Deer

Although deers are not primarily seen in the backyard, like any other wild animals in this list, you’re most likely to see them when you go out for a hike with your pet. However, once they appear, it would be best to enjoy their beauty from afar and not go near them since they may also carry fleas and ticks that can harm your pet. One of the most common types of ticks that can affect your pet and a person is deer ticks.

Keep in mind that ticks hide on leaves and grasses in places frequented by the deers, but they will also attach themselves to any unfortunate host they can attack. As a result, your pets may become accidental hosts of deer ticks even with a moment of interaction.

Final Thoughts

Although some of the wild animals mentioned above may seem harmless, preventing them from coming to your house and contaminating your safe haven is better. Always watch to prevent fleas and ticks from contacting your pet, then regret it later. As they said, prevention is better than cure, and to start with this, you must make use of this list to guide you.