How serious are common pet illnesses and health conditions in pets?
Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach:
Very Severe: parvovirus, distemper, leptospirosis, poisoning, respiratory tract infection, tumor on urinary tract
The other listed conditions can be either mild or very severe depending on how bad they are. A very back tick infestation can be fatal, especially if there are paralysis ticks, but 1 tick can just be removed. UTIs can lead to sepsis, or can clear on their own. Kennel cough can clear on it's own or lead to fatal pneumonia.
I hope that answers your question.
Best of luck!
Updated on September 23rd, 2025