Anyone know anything about ticks?

[Psammead]

So, cat came in and he had a tick on his neck.

I phoned the vet to make an appointment for it to get got rid of and got one for later today. I know you can get rid of them yourself but I have never done it and wasn't feeling confident enough, and also I wanted to talk to him about starting some kind of frontline treatment.

Just had a look at the cat and the tick has gone. Cat not been out.

Where the heck is the tick now? What do they do once they have eaten? Do they hide in specific places( i.e. plants etc)?

Help - it's lurking somewhere!!

Some good info here

If the tick was quite large and greyish it probably just fell off because it was finished its meal. In which case it may die or go off and lay eggs somewhere. Don't worry, we have loads of ticks round here and I've never known them take up residence in someone's house!

Worth boning up on them if you have a lot local to you though - for your own and your pets' health.

careful they don't jump onto you though.
When we lived near Thetford forest, DD got one in her scalp and me in my knee. Then after walking in Somerset through a deer area, DD and DS got ones - DS got two in his back and DD on her arm. We carefull used tick removers to get them out (from a pet shop).
Euggghhh - not nice.
You defo don't want to get Lyme's Disease though.

My mum was diagnosed with Lymes disease recently. She had been to the cairngorms last august and never saw the tick on her but one must have bitten her.

Gosh fransan - so is she still having treatment? You have to antibiotics for a long while don't you?

My friend's dog used to get ticks occasionally, he used to smear the tick liberally with petroleum jelly. Apparently, it blocks their breathing pores and they suffocate, letting go with their mouthparts. Then you can destroy them. If you aren't confident about removing them yourself, this might be a good alternative. If you twist the tick in the wrong direction some of the mouthparts might be left in the skin and it will become infected he said.

Although I see the tick removal info doesn't recommend it.

Aaaaaargh how many times do I have to say this on here?!

PLEASE do not remove ticks by suffocating them in Vaseline/putting alcohol on them/using lit cigarettes etc. These methods traumatise the tick and leads to them regurgitating their blood meal and thus increases the risk of local and systemic infection.

For advice on how to safely remove a tick look here.

Lecture over

Sorry girlywhirly, i see you spotted it yourself. Most people worry about leaving the mouthparts in but it's more important to remove the whole tick without trauma. Which direction they're removed in is unimportant.

Even easier use a tom twister. Carry one in your car and keep one at home.- dead easy to do here

Alternatively check your dog over when you come back from walks etc and remove the tics before the manage to attach. They look like little black spiders. Combing through your dog regularly or after walks prevents them attaching.

I googled this when dear, sweet puppychops had one the other day.
Worked a charm on him in under 10 secs!!

REcommend the tick twister for removing them from humans too! THey seem to be a lot more common now. After holidaying in North Scotland at Easter, dd ended uo with 3 - one around her eye, one on her tummy and one in her ear. After a walk near us on Monday ds ended up with 2 - even after wearing thick long trousers!

OhExpletive Thanks for the link. It's a relief to know that they don't lay eggs in houses - that's what I was really worried about.

So, it's fed and dropped off - is it likely that it will just die?

I wish I could find it

I found it. Thank frak for that.