Ticks?!

[rhea]

Ok, I tried to find this in the search but couldn't really find the info I needed. We have a VERY VERY long-haired cat, and yesterday I was petting him while watching tv and felt a bump on his head. Long story short he's got TICKS and LOTS of them. My mom pulled some out (well a couple fell out heads and all) but don't think we got them all and have no idea what to do. We've never had ticks. We've never even known anyone who's dealt with them (I think they're reasonably rare out here). Is there anything we can put on the cat to get rid of them? We're probably going to shave him for the summer anyways so at least we'll be able to see them better but what else can we do?? I haven't seen any on our other animals but will keep checking them

 

[Steph_D]

You'll probably get lots of different opinions on this, but I like to use Frontline Plus on my dogs and cats. There's also Advantix and other "spot-on" treatments that work well. I've used Bio Spot before and it never worked for us and neither have the cheaper brands from stores like Wal Mart.

Good luck!

 

[MyBarakah]

Hi,

I would use Frontline Plus.... That seems to work the best. But you NEED to get the ticks off your cat. The ticks can make a animal VERY sick if you don't! And the Frontline needs to put on every 30 days...

 

[mininik]

Check out http://www.OnlyNatuarlPet.com for some natural alternatives to chemical pesticides.

 

[Cara]

umm i just pull them off. just take pluckers like eyebrow ones and pull them off it wil hurt the cat and it will prob bleed but i have had them on me and my dog and my cats . my mom has a major in animal husbandry(sp) and she said to pull it off and if it rely wont come off go to a pet store and but tick remover. good luck

 

[White Socks Miniature]

Frontline!!! Advantix I believe is not labeled for use in cats. Also be wary of the ones you get at pet stores, grocery stores ect. Some can actually do more harm than good - renal disease, toxicity effects ect. or they just plain old dont work.

Cheers

Masako

 

[Pepipony]

Do be carefull when removing ticks. Dont just pull them off. For one, if they have any bacterium/viruses in them, you may in fact, inject that gook into the pet and two, if you have an open wound, while rare, it is possible to infect yourself with that gook. Ticks need to be removed properly, by grasping their head, as close to the skin as possible and then pull back, you may need to give a little twist. Do try and get the entire tick in one grasp. If tick is engorged, watch for any signs of illness and get pet to the Vet asap and tell them the pet had ticks.

 

[rhea]

Thanks very much for the help, guys!

Minik - definately gonna check out that natural site...

We also have a call into the vet

And we'll probably have to shave poor Gideon (the cat) because his hair is soooo long. He's a Maine Coone/Himalayan cross and it's so difficult to find the little beggers on him! The only reason I found the first one was because it was beside his ear

Also, thanks for the advice taking them off. I was worried that I was going to do it wrong so I'll feel better now...

 

[Izzyantheminis]

I was told that you can put liquid soap on a cotton ball and place it over the tick for a few seconds.The tick releases it's hold and gets stuck to the soap.I've never tried it myself.

 

[Pepipony]

I was told that you can put liquid soap on a cotton ball and place it over the tick for a few seconds.The tick releases it's hold and gets stuck to the soap.I've never tried it myself.

NO!! Do not ever make a tick let go and back out. When in trouble a tick will regurgitate, if they have anything bad, Lyme bacterium , Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, even just plain ol bacterium, they will spit this stuff into the host. Never ever ever make a tick let loose, either by oil or cig butt or whathaveyou. They must be removed properly to lessen the risk of infection.

 

[White Socks Miniature]

Are you going to give your cat a lion cut? If so dont worry about it looking bad! It actually looks really cute on long haired kitties!

Cheers

Masako