wield a tick on your cat may make your cutis front crawl , but these pesky parasite are preventable and manageable when handled with care .
Creepy crawlies are nobody ’s cup of tea , but sure species can cause more than just the heebie jeebies ; some may in reality cause harm to you and your cat . One such culprit hides in plain tidy sum before finding its target and feast on its blood . Sound like a revulsion movie ? The Terrible Tick — coming to an unsuspicious feline near you .
In all earnestness , tick on cats are nothing to be too disturbed about — you likely have even come into contact with one yourself after a hike in the Ellen Price Wood .
Photo: Luca Nichetti / EyeEm / Getty
Members of the arachnid family , tick typically are lowly and oval - shaped . gratefully , these midget bother - makers can not leap or wing , but simply creep up a host in striking with it on the tips of grasses or shrubs .
" It is a myth that tick ' fell out of a tree ' and landed on you , " saysSerenity Animal Hospital ’s Michelle Meyer , DVM , theAmerican Association of Feline PractitionersPresident - Elect andSoutheastern Michigan Veterinary Medical AssociationVice President . " They attach at the ground level after hanging off a blade of grass or shrub and cringe up your body . "
Do Cats Get Ticks?
unluckily for cat proprietor , this means that your low - to - the - ground companions are at risk , as well . Yes , cats can get ticks .
" Ticks sequester to cats with their back talk parts , " Meyer says . " Their spittle moderate a numbing agent and anti - clotting heart and soul . They can attach to cats anywhere , but they tend to attach in strong , protected area such as between paw diggings , in ears , and armpits . "
Thankfully , tick on cats are preventable and doable with the right-hand care .
Signs Your Cat Has a Tick
While indoor cats can still acquire a tick , bozo with outdoor accessare at much more risk . Cats in rural areas are especially susceptible to tick , Meyer says . tick are most prominent April through September but some coinage are active year - round .
If your computed axial tomography goes outside , Meyer recommends checking day by day for tick .
" Ticks can be gruelling to find on hombre and can often look like a little hide lout , " Meyer says . " Ticks can feel like small round gibbosity on the Earth’s surface of the African tea ’s peel . If you front closely , you should see some petite peg sticking out of the body . "
Long - haired catsmay demand to becombedfor a thorough examination .
The typical tick run anywhere from 3 to 10 days and will come away itself once satiated . It only ingest 24 to 48 hour for atick to transmit disease to your deary , so act immediately . If you do n’t remove and dispose of the check on your Arabian tea , you are also place yourself at risk , as it may come off from her and afterward attach to you or put down eggs , adding more tick to the environment .
Do n’t worry , it is n’t all bad news . Of the 800species of tick , only a dozen are be intimate to potentially make significant disease in cats , Meyer says . While Lyme disease may come to top of intellect , cats are resistant to the bacterium and seldom develop symptom ofLyme diseasefrom ticking .
symptom ofcat check mark - borne diseasemay let in :
Check with your vet if you ’re worried your cat is infect .
How to Remove a Tick from a Cat
Do n’t attempt to extract the check mark off with your naked hand . or else , atick hookwill guarantee the full tick is remove with the least harm done to your khat . Tweezers may be used as a substitute , according to theCornell Feline Health Center , but you must be careful to remove the entire body of the tick by grab it by its header .
" If you do not finger comfortableremoving the tickyourself , please take your big cat to the veterinary to get rid of the tick , " Meyer says . " If you choose todo it yourself , compass the tick with a tick remotion dick as close to the skin as potential . dispatch the ticking and dispose of it in a small , sealed container . "
A deal of home cure that may come to heed , such as lighting a match or applying Vaseline , can end up have more harm to your big cat . Meyer monish against such remedy you may find online ; your vet should always be look up before attempting tick removal .
Tick Prevention for Cats
If this whole procedure has your cutis crawl , it ’s possible to be proactive by protecting your cat from check andother parasite ; many medicinesprevent fleasand ticks . Meyer recommend asking your veterinarian for the best flea and mark medical specialty for your cat .
Notably , the Seresto flea and tick collar for cats islinked to multiple death and injury . Daily Pawsspoke with multiple licensed veterinariansfor their takeaway on these and other similar collar . Ultimately , you should always consult with your own veterinary surgeon who knows the demand of your pet — don’t worry about being a plague .
