Ticks on cat

[TheChip]

I've got a big fluffy cat who prefers the outdoor world to the indoor one.
Hes regularly treat with frontline, only he has a big tick on his head.
He was due frontline so I shoved that on, hoping it would remove it in a day or so but it hasn't.

I have tried for hours to remove it, but it causes him so much stress. I had pinned my hopes on the frontline after my first battle with him.

It has been a couple of days and when I was once again trying to remove it, I have spotted another one near his neck.

Is there anything I can do or give him that will help remove them? I am going to call the vets tomorrow but in the meantime if anyone has any help or advice on what I could try right now that would be great.

He gets quite aggressive when stressed and attacks. He is massive as well, so it's not like just tiny little bats from him.

I cant even do a full body search on him because he hates being fussed over. He likes attention on his demands only.

Ticks need to be removed carefully so I wouldn’t try to remove yourself, especially if he’s becoming stressed. This is from my local vets website...

“ Ticks are frequently found on dogs and cats, more so on those which have access to areas of countryside and hill pasture. The most commonly found species is Ixodes ricinus. This tick feeds once annually as a larvae, nymph, and then adult. Its period of greatest activity is in the spring and autumn. When adult they will mate and lay several thousand eggs on the ground. It is only a temporary parasite, since once it has eaten it leaves the host.

The typically presentation is that the owner will have noticed the sudden appearance of one or more lumps on the skin, the feeding tick is easily identified on close examination, there may be an inflammatory reaction in the skin surrounding the tick. Tick removal must be done with care to ensure that the mouthparts are not broken off and remain in the skin, this is easiest done with the aid of forceps or tweezers. Should any part of the tick remain attached a foreign body reaction may occur in the skin.

Following removal your pet should be treated with an anti parasitic drug. effective against ticks.”

Get one of those tick removers from Amazon, they're easy to remove

Thank you. I think I will just leave it for the vet. Hopefully they can offer better prevention medication other than frontline as well as it seems to be ineffective.
I've always used it and this is the first tick issue for him, which happens to be more than one! Maybe he has developed a resistance to it if that is even possible?

I've got a tick remover but he's just freaking out. He's fine until he realises what I'm doing. I've got a nice wee cut on my arm off him. I'd hate to think of how it would have been if I wasn't wearing a thick jumper. There are cat scratches and then there are big fluffy butt scratches!

Frontline is totally shit, i never bothered with it again after seeing the biggest flea i have ever seen in my life crawling around happy as larry on my old cat the day after i treated him with it. ask the vet for something else.

You need a tick twister, it's a sort of two prong fork that you slide around the base of the tick, then turn anti-clickwise to "unscrew" it.
Ask your vey about products like Bravecto that do fleas, (some) worms and ticks.

I've never had any issues with frontline for the cats up until now. I did switch the dogs over years ago though to nexgard as I didn't find it very good for them. The other cats are more indoor though. So maybe thats the difference. The fluffer has probably been chilling with hedgehogs in the bushes or something!

I will ask about bravecto, thank you. I'm sure they will have something suited to his lifestyle

They don't multiply like fleas do they? I really do not want an infestation of any kind! All the other animals are up to date with treatment and no signs as of yet on any of them.
The thought of them just stuck on him is creepy.

The vet will have it off in seconds. They’ve had more practice at it.