Ticks ugh

[thereinmadnesslies]

I've just found what I think is a tick on my cats neck vom.

[thereinmadnesslies]

Posted too soon ...

Why does this stuff always happen at the weekend when the vets is shut?

Is there anything I could do now? I'm not feeling brave enough to remove the tick myself. My usual vet is closed on a Sunday but I'm planning to call the vets within pets at home as soon as they open.

[BibiBlocksbergv2]

They are truly disgusting, I remember my first encounter with them well so entirely sympathise with how you feel OP.

Sadly, this time of year means you will encounter them multiple times.

The mere thought of going near the critters used to make me feel like vomiting but figured it was something i had to learn to deal with as hate the stress of taking kitty to vet even more than the tick(s)

Best thing i've found is a tick pen - looks like a pen, you click the end & a plastic lassoo comes out of the end.

Push lassoo around tick, quick twist, put tick on toilet paper/kitchen roll & flush down toilet.

Don't do what i did & listen to internet search advice & try to squash the tick or burn the buggers, the liquid that comes out of them has to be seen to be believed & is not healthy for humans to touch to put it mildly.

I've tried various tick hooks they sell in pet shops & vet's but they are a pain to use plus you need a different size hook for small/big/medium critters.

Doesn't matter what size with the pen as the lassoo adjusts automatically iyswim?

Found mine in a local farm shop, having lost the first one I had.

I"ll have a look for a link for online order in a minute.

Not particulary helpful to you right now i realise but dealing with the critters does get easier with practice & now its just a routine 'oh, its that time of year again' job.

Hard to believe given the level of revulsion i used to feel, amazing what an aversion to a vet trip can do :)

If you can't face going near it til you can get the vet to take it off then there's no immediate danger to you or your cat. If the tick is really swollen & big then best to keep kitty off your bed for the night in case it drops off (eventually they just let go when full enough with blood)

Revolting, i know, sorry :(

[BibiBlocksbergv2]

www.amazon.co.uk/TRIX-TICK-LASSO-REMOVER-HUMANS/dp/B001QC34LS?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

Here it is, hope link works!

[CheeseFlavouredDiscs]

We used to get a lot of ticks as children (camping) and my mum always put a splodge of vaseline over them for about 5-10 mins (enough to cover them completely) because they breathe through their bottoms, so it kills them. Once they are dead their jaws relax and they come out really easily.

You have to be careful though, if they don't come out easily you need to stick the vaseline back on for a bit longer and then try again. If you pull to hard the mouth is left behind in the skin and can cause some nasty infections.

[thereinmadnesslies]

Thanks for the link, I will order one. Amazingly I've had the cats for 10 years but this is the first time I've found a tick. I'd like the vet to show me how to do it the first time, but I think I will be ok to do it myself after that. I just feel daunted by all the horror stories of incomplete removal.

Is frontline the only flea treatment that works for ticks? Ironically, we stopped using frontline because the fleas got resistant.

[BibiBlocksbergv2]

I've found frontline to be ineffective for a while.

My two are on Advocate & Advantage respectively (top up wormer needed as well as doesn't cover all worn types)

Frontline was great for ages but convinced fleas have become resistant to it.

Bizarrely, I've found that the more religiously I flea treated the more of the buggers i had around my ankles/cats/home.

Now I just treat when necessary (i.e when i see the cats doing too much scratching & licking on themselves) which is roughly once or twice a year (around now & again around August time)

Anyone else found this or just me being delusional :)

You won't regret buying that tick pen OP, it really is a piece of cake to deal with the horrid specimens with that. I get called out by the neighbours to take care of ticks on their cats nowadays & people are always amazed how quick & painless it is with that thing.

:)

[thereinmadnesslies]

Good point about shutting the cat downstairs, she normally sleeps wrapped around my neck but I really don't want that tonight

Tick pen ordered. Fingers crossed I can get an apt at pets at home tomorrow

[BibiBlocksbergv2]

Pets at home are usually pretty good with this sort of thing.

Let us know how you get on OP, although you realise you'll likely never see another tick on your cat again now you've ordered that pen :) :)

[Mylittlepotofjoy]

Another vote for Vaseline . Tick hooks are good too.

[frazzledbutcalm]

Vaseline .... it suffocates them. My kitten had a tick (which he caught at the vets!) right next to his eye so the vet had to remove it. Horrible things they are.

[Isyourclockorange]

Ticks are indeed dreadful. Worse than fleas, I think, but at least they move slowly and can be caught!

We are using a Seresto collar on one of our cats and Broadline (quite new, does fleas, ticks and other stuff) on the other and all is quiet so far.

[ragged]

I pull them out, like pulling out a plug. This is mine from other day.