Wait a month before testing for lymes?

[catpat1230]

found a tiny deer tick behind my cats ear. ~7 year old male, always been healthy, he's outdoors for a few hours about 4 nights a week in warmer months.
I saved the tick in a bag and called the vet but receptionist said wait about a months before testing.
With myself, in past few years I found 3-4 tiny deer ticks on me from doing landscaping and in the 90s etc when I used to play in the woods a lot etc I found several larger wood ticks that don't carry lymes but more recently have found deer ticks on me and the doctor didn't say anything about waiting a month, instead they drew my blood and tested the tick for lymes and rocky mountain spider fever and luckily never had anything.

All these ticks including the one I found on my cat (can't believe I felt it), were removed within probably 18-24 hours of being bitten, so that's good.

thanks

 

[FeebysOwner]

It would seem that a single tick might not be a problem, especially if you found it and removed it in the time period you denoted above. I am not sure I understand the logic in waiting a month, but I can only guess the vet's office is suspecting that your cat was not exposed to a tick long enough to cause lyme disease.

Any chance you have some friends/family members/co-workers who have cats and use different vets that would be willing to call and ask their vets what the protocol is for them?

Lyme Disease: A Potential, But Unlikely, Problem for Cats | Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine