It’s not many farms in the country that do not have a companion animal strutting about, whether it’s the champion cattle dog, the pampered pooch, the semi-feral rodent-killing cat or the sofa-loving Garfield who only wanders out to relieve himself.

The management of these dogs or cats should be considered as important as herd/flock management, as the health of one directly affects the health and performance of the other.

Are you dishing out large amounts of euro to worm your cattle, but perhaps failing to worm the dog or cat seasonally? And if so, what is the impact?

Dogs and cats act as hosts to several different species of parasites which can have a detrimental affect on livestock production.

Tapeworm

Dogs feeding on raw meat can become infected with tapeworm by ingesting cysts, which develop into tapeworm in the dog’s intestine. Eggs from these tapeworm are then passed by the dog on to farmyards and pasture, where they may be ingested by the livestock.

The subsequent development of cysts within their new hosts can cause considerable losses including ill thrift, loss of appetite and perhaps immune suppression.

Tapeworm can also lead to a nasty disease in humans resulting in hydatid cysts in liver and brain. If you need advice on worming your dog, consult your vet.

Neosporosis

This protozoa is one of the top three causes of late abortion in cattle in Ireland. It is very difficult to treat and the dog is the definitive host.

Clinical signs include stillborn or premature calves, calves with brain disease at birth and repeat abortions in the same cow.

Diagnosis is based on post mortem results on aborted foetuses or positive antibodies in the mother’s blood.

As dogs are potentially a source of disease, prevention must include keeping cattle’s food and water away from dogs and disposal of afterbirth before dogs can get at it.

Toxoplasmosis

Toxoplasma is transmitted to livestock through spores in infected cats’ faeces, when livestock ingest contaminated feed.

Toxoplasmosis can cause abortion in sheep and humans, and remains in the sheep as cysts in the muscle tissue, contaminating their meat, leading to abattoir trimming.

Deworming cats does not have a direct affect. However, general cat health does. Cats will only shed toxoplasma eggs in their faeces in two different instances. Firstly, they will shed for approximately two weeks after they first become infected; and, secondly, they may shed if they are immune-compromised. So, in general, healthy cats do not shed oocytes.

General vaccination, worming and neutering of any on-farm cats are essential in order to help avoid them becoming immuno-compromised.

Neutering feral cats will reduce their population, keep them healthier and help keep away other wandering feral cats from your farm.

Neutering female cats will obviously prevent them from having litters in hay/straw barns, thus preventing them from contaminating potential feed.

Catherine O’Roarke works at All Creatures Veterinary Clinic, Roscommon, part of XLVets, a group of progressive practices working to achieve a better future for agriculture and veterinary in Ireland. See www.xlvets.ie.