Dogs and cats are capable of contracting many of the same illnesses we are, and dog owners will tell you that mosquito bites are regular occurrences during the warmer months here. Those same anopheles mosquitoes will be biting humans and creating the risk of malaria for them, and considering they bite animals equally as readily then it becomes legit to ask can a dog get malaria. Finding a pet pharmacy that’s dispensed hydroxychloroquine in the past would provide an answer for that, but we don’t need to do that. 

Turns out we wouldn’t even need to do that, because canine malaria is an actual diagnosis and for dogs living in equatorial regions of the world it’s as much a part of their reality as malaria is for people there. Can dogs get malaria? They can, and they do in exactly the same way we do – but via a bite from a tick and not a mosquito. And specifically a tick carrying the babesia virus that causes canine malaria.  

That’s a very fundamental difference with can a dog get malaria. As we’ve stated they can get canine malaria and it leads to asking if it’s also possible for pets of other types. It’s highly unlikely a goldfish is going to get a tick bite given they’re submerged in water, but what about cats, hamsters, or even ferrets. Can they get malaria too? The answer is yes, and any mammal can get malaria if they’re bitten by a tick carrying the babesia larvae of the parasite.  

Localized Risk Here  

The issue here is in the fact that ticks are found here in North America and not in those equatorial regions where malaria is a more real risk. So pet owners can’t assume that because their dogs live and spend their time outdoors here means their pooch won’t get malaria because it’s not found here. But as we’ve already made clear here with can a dog get malaria it’s true that canine malaria is a different infection. The reason it’s still referred to as a type of malaria is because the symptoms are similar 

• Bloody urine  

• Skin hemorrhages  

• Weight loss  

• Appetite loss  

• Edema (fluid retention) 

• Jaundice (yellowing of mucus membranes) 

We should also stress that losing red blood cells because of canine malaria is what can cause this infection to be fatal for pets, and that can also apply for humans who might get bitten by the same ticks and that will come alongside the risk of Lyme disease. There isn’t much good news in all of this considering how it’s hard to avoid tick bites for dogs and especially in certain parts of the USA. But what pet owners can take some reassurance from with can a dog get malaria is that antibiotics like Doxycycline (Doryx) work well to treat canine malaria and be prescribed as pet medication too.