Ticks are an important but under recognized parasitic threat to cats in many areas of the United States. To characterize the species and stages of ticks most commonly recovered from cats and determine the prevalence of disease agents in the ticks, we conducted a survey of ticks removed from cats at veterinary practices in 18 states from April 2016-June 2017. A total of 796 ticks were submitted from 332 cats from 41 different veterinary practices. A single tick was submitted from the majority of cats, with a mean infestation intensity of 2.4 (range 1-46). The most common tick was Ixodes scapularis, accounting for 422/796 (53.0%) ticks submitted, followed by Amblyomma americanum (224/796; 28.1%) and Dermacentor variabilis (131/796; 16.5%); a few I. pacificus, I. banksi, D. occidentalis, A. maculatum, Rhipicephalus sanguineus, and Otobius megnini were also submitted. A majority of ticks were adults (593/796; 74.5%); females predominated in all adult tick submissions including I. scapularis (277/327; 84.7% female), A. americanum (66/128; 51.6% female), and D. variabilis (75/126; 59.5% female). Immature ticks included 186 nymphs and 17 larvae and were primarily I. scapularis and A. americanum. Adult I. scapularis were most reported to be attached to the dorsal head and neck; A. americanum to the abdomen and perianal region; and D. variabilis to the back and ear. Ticks were collected in every month; the largest number of submissions were in May and June (42.5% of ticks) and October and November (35.9% of ticks). Adults of I. scapularis were most commonly submitted October through December, A. americanum March through June, and D. variabilis May through July. Cats with ticks were predominantly male (58.8%) and altered (76.2%), and most reportedly spent >30% of time outdoors, although 64/294 (21.8%) for which lifestyle estimates were provided were reported to live primarily (≤30% of time outside; n = 54) or entirely (100%; n = 10) indoors. Assay of ticks removed from cats revealed I. scapularis were infected with Borrelia burgdorferi (25.7%) and Anaplasma phagocytophilum (4.4%); A. americanum were infected with Ehrlichia chaffeensis (1.3%); and D. variabilis were infected with spotted fever group Rickettsia spp. (3.1%). No ticks in this study tested positive for Cytauxzoon felis. Pet cats, including those that live primarily indoors, are at risk of tick infestation, potentially exposed to tick-borne disease agents, and would benefit from routine tick control.

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To determine the risk of canine infection with spotted fever group (SFG) Rickettsia spp. following natural tick exposure, 10 dogs determined to be free of evidence of exposure to or infection with tick-borne disease agents were exposed to ticks via weekly walks in a wooded area in north-central Oklahoma. After each walk, dogs were examined and the number and species of ticks present were recorded. The dogs were then returned to outdoor kennels to allow the infestations and subsequent transmission of any pathogens to proceed. Serum samples and whole blood were collected from each dog twice weekly for 121 days and evaluated via indirect fluorescence antibody (IFA) for antibodies reactive to Rickettsia rickettsii, R. montanensis, and "R. amblyommii," and by PCR for evidence of Rickettsia spp. Dogs became infested with a total of 57-108 ticks over the entire 8-week infestation period (weekly average tick infestation=12.0±4.1). The great majority of the ticks present were Amblyomma americanum (90.5%), with a small number of Dermacentor variabilis and A. maculatum also identified. All (10/10) dogs seroconverted to R. rickettsii, R. montanensis, and "R. amblyommii," with mean maximum inverse titers of 1176, 1448, and 6654, respectively, for all dogs in the study. Maximum inverse titers to "R. amblyommii" ranged from 4096 to 16,384 and were higher in 9/10 dogs than maximum inverse titers to R. rickettsii or R. montanensis. Sequence-confirmed SFG Rickettsia spp. (R. montanensis and "R. amblyommii") were occasionally, but not consistently, identified from whole blood by PCR. Taken together, our data suggest that, in areas where A. americanum is common, antibodies reactive to R. rickettsii in dogs may be due instead to infection with "R. amblyommii" or other, closely related SFG Rickettsia spp.

Geographic distribution records for the lone star tick [Amblyomma americanum (L.)] in the peer-reviewed literature are incomplete for Oklahoma, preventing accurate disease risk assessments. To address this issue and document the presence of A. americanum in available habitats throughout the state, county-scale tick records published in U.S. Department of Agriculture-Cooperative Economic Insect Reports and specimens maintained at the K.C. Emerson Entomology Museum, Oklahoma State University, were reviewed. In addition, dry ice traps and tick drags were used to collect adult and nymphal A. americanum from throughout the state. Review of published USDA reports and the local museum collection documented A. americanum in 49 total counties (35 and 35, respectively). Active surveillance efforts confirmed the presence of this tick in 50 counties from which this species had not been previously reported to be established, documenting A. americanum is established in 68 of the 77 (88.3%) counties in Oklahoma. Taken together, these data verify that A. americanum ticks are much more widespread in Oklahoma than reflected in the literature, a phenomenon likely repeated throughout the geographic range of this tick in the eastern half of North America.

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