How to remove a tick from your cat ?
Like fleas, ticks are external parasites that feed on your cat's blood. Apart from inflammatory reactions and abscesses, they can indirectly transmit dangerous and potentially fatal diseases to your little feline, including hemobartonellosis.
This is why removing a tick from your cat is an urgent operation!
However, since the tick attaches itself securely to your cat's skin using its screw-shaped mouth (the rostrum), any manual removal is a particularly delicate and even dangerous operation.
In the following, you will find all the advice on how toremove a tick from your catsafely.
What is a tick?
External parasite of many species, including horses, rodents, dogs and of course cats, the tick is a hematophagous mite (which feeds on blood). Thanks to its rostrum, it attaches to your cat in order to consume its blood. Although they are found throughout the year in nature (forest, scrub and even garden), ticks are particularly present and active in periods when the climate is mild, especially in spring and fall.
Are ticks dangerous?
Absolutely, the tick does not represent a real danger for the cat, apart from inflammatory reactions or an abscess, caused by the perforation of the cat's skin by the rostrum of the parasite. But sometimes ticks carry pathogenic microbes and can therefore indirectly transmit them to cats.
Among the most serious and potentially fatal pathologies that ticks can transmit to cats, we can mainly mention hemobartonellosis, a disease that attacks and destroys red blood cells in kittens or feline borreliosis (Lyme disease) that it attacks to the cat's vital organs.
Why is it important to remove ticks from your cat?
As you will have understood, as ticks can directly or indirectly transmit diseases to your cat, it is important and strongly recommended to remove them within 24 hours of fixing. Also note that if you use the wrong technique to remove the tick, you will only make it release its contaminated saliva in your little feline's body, and hello the damage!
How to remove the tick from the cat?
To manually remove a tick from your hairball body, you have two methods: you can use your fingers by pinching the tick between your thumb and forefinger, or you can use a specialized instrument, a tick hook (or hook puller). tick). However, because of the risks of contamination of the cat linked to improper tick removal, you are strongly advised to use the tick hook rather than your fingers.
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The right actions: What to do
- Once you have located the tick to eliminate from your little feline's body, remove the hair well all around.
- Then, arrange the tick hook so that its legs surround the parasite.
- Then, turn the hook as if you want to “unscrew” the tick, until it comes off your cat's body.
Once it falls, get rid of the tick immediately by killing it, not just throwing it in the trash or in the wild. Finally, using a cotton ball soaked in an antiseptic product suitable for cats, disinfect the area where the parasite was attached.
During the next 15 days, you will have to monitor the general health of your little animal. If you see a problem, see your vet immediately.
What you absolutely must not do
As mentioned earlier, improperly removing a tick can lead to contamination of your pet. Thus, do not rely on alcohol or ether or other similar product to remove a tick by simple application. In addition, never pull on the tick to remove it, let alone press on its body.
Prevent the return of ticks on the cat
To be sure that your hairball is not infested with ticks, check its skin regularly, especially after its walks outside. You can do this when brushing for example.
But the simplest, the most reliable and the most effective method to protect your cat against ticks remains the use ofa good antiparasitic anti tick and anti flea, non toxic and with residual action (effect of about 1 month) .
You will find several types of external parasiticides on the market, including collars, pipettes, sprays.
