It’s Foxtail Season! - 6-26-08

The coming of warm temperatures, early summer flowers and outdoor activities makes this a wonderful time of year.  However, early summer is also the time when grasses are maturing, drying out and developing seed heads.  “Foxtails” or “grass awns” have evolved with multiple stiff tails on the seed pods and miniscule barbed edges that allow the seeds to catch a ride on passing animals and thus help spread the seeds far and wide.  This seemingly clever natural design can wreak havoc on our pets.  Foxtails will work their way in between toes, down into ear canals, up nostrils, get stuck in the tonsils and can even burrow into the skin.  The result is usually pain, swelling, redness, violent sneezing, bloody nasal discharge, or abscess formation with draining tracts.  Once imbedded the foxtail will continue to migrate deeper unless removed.  Often times the only way to take care of these little devilish seeds is with anesthesia and surgical extraction.

So how do we prevent this from happening?  Pets with longer, thicker hair coats, especially cats that have hair mats or dogs who have not yet lost their winter undercoat, tend to have greater problems with foxtails.  Keeping your pet’s haircoat short and well groomed can help significantly.  Also, check between your pets toes regularly (daily, in fact) for foxtails that may have gotten stuck there and remove them before they puncture the skin.  Shaving the hair between toes can be of benefit as well.  In your own yard it helps to mow and water frequently to keep the seed heads from developing or delaying maturation; the goal is to reduce the environmental load of foxtails. 

If you suspect your pet has a foxtail, please call us immediately.  The sooner we take care of the problem the less complicated it will be.  We hope you have a pleasant, safe, foxtail free summer!

The Crater Animal Clinic Team