How to remove a tick from a cat yourself: available methods

How to detect a tick

If your cat often walks outside, then when returning home you need to carefully examine it for parasites. To do this, the wool is combed in different directions.

The parasite can be detected by the following distinctive features:

1. The body is round in shape and brownish, gray or black.
2. When suctioned to the skin, only the body remains on the outside; it looks like a brown flat drop. A well-fed parasite is much easier to detect. When it is saturated with blood, the body becomes pinkish and increases in size. Upon closer examination, a small head and several pairs of legs (3-4) are revealed.

Most often, ticks attach themselves to areas with thin skin: behind the ears, on the stomach, in the armpits. The cat itself does not feel the bite because the parasite secretes saliva, which contains painkillers.

What to do with a tick after removal?

You shouldn’t flush it down the toilet, much less throw it out the window. It is necessary to ensure that the dangerous insect is destroyed. There are two options: put it in alcohol or burn it.

Of course, you should remove it as soon as possible. The ixodid tick itself does not pose a serious problem, but the infection it can carry can have dangerous consequences. Of course, not all insects are carriers of infections, but still, treatment should not be delayed.

There are different types of mites, with different symptoms, however, the treatment methods for all of them are almost the same. It is important to understand that before you try to remove a tick from a cat, you need to get all the necessary information about how to do it. Self-indulgence in treatment can cause serious harm!

It is quite difficult to confuse a tick with other insects, but if you have never encountered one before, here are their distinctive features:

1. Their body looks like a drop, which can have the following colors: black, gray or brown. It is especially easy to detect a parasite that has drunk blood; its body grows several times and it is not difficult to notice the parasite.
2. Three or four pairs of legs protrude from their body.
3. The parasite has a proboscis on its head. Ticks bury their heads down and it is impossible to notice them in this state. If the tick has just landed on the cat’s body, is tangled in the fur, or has not yet had time to attach itself, then you can easily understand what you managed to protect your pet from.

Before the parasite drinks blood, the parasite's body will be small in size, which will significantly complicate its search on the pet's body. Some characteristic signs of a tick bite, such as itching, can help.

It would be a good idea to check other parts of the body, such as the back. Just because a tick prefers soft places doesn’t mean it can’t attach itself to other places. However, in soft places, as close to bare skin as possible, it is much more common.

A more effective detection method is to comb the cat's fur. Run the comb through the fur, but very carefully and slowly so as not to accidentally disturb the tick and not give it a reason to crawl deeper.

What not to do

The Internet is full of “helpful” tips on methods for removing ticks, and sorting through them all would take forever. But this is not necessary, if the cat was bitten by a tick, then first you need to understand a few simple points:

1. Do not let your cat scratch or bite you in the affected area. The insect may burrow even deeper into the cat's skin, making it more difficult to remove the parasite.
2. Do not try to reach the tick with your hands. This is pointless and will lead to deeper burying.
3. A very popular folk method of getting rid of a tick is to drip an oil solution into the parasite so that it dies without oxygen. The tick will indeed die, however, the process of getting it out will not become any easier. In addition, the tick will not die immediately, and will continue to secrete infected saliva until its death.
4. Do not try to remove a tick with a needle. By piercing an insect with a needle, you are unlikely to be able to kill it with one hit, but you will help it begin to burrow deeper.
5. It is a very bad idea to try to squash a parasite. By squashing a tick, you can encourage the remains of its body to fall into the open wound after the bite, which can cause infection. In addition, if you crush a tick, its head will remain in the cat's body.

After removing the tick, you need to properly treat the bite site. Since the treatment is being done at home, you can get by with the remedies that are available in every home: iodine, brilliant green, hydrogen peroxide, alcohol. It is important to treat around the wound, and not the wound itself, so that there is no burn or tissue damaged by the bite.

Prevention of bites

Anti-tick medications for cats in the form of sprays are considered the safest, but their duration of action is very short. Collars that use truly effective products are not recommended for long-term wear.

The most effective tick repellent for cats is drops. The best brands of drops sold by veterinary pharmacies include: “Clandestine”, “Stronghold”, “Bars”, “Inspector”.

As an additional precaution, you can get vaccinated. If your cat has been bitten by a tick and has contracted the infection, vaccination will help develop immunity against the disease.

Many people mistakenly believe that the parasite can simply be pulled out. But in this case, the head with the proboscis almost always comes off, remaining under the skin. In addition, there are many other mistakes that should not be made:

• do not crush the swollen body of the tick on your pet’s skin;
• do not burn the parasite with a cigarette;
• do not pick out the tick with a needle;
• do not water the insect with caustic liquids;
• do not pull out the tick.

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Having seen a tick on his cat, the owner immediately begins to remove it. Often the cat twitches and escapes, which leads to sloppy work and crushing the parasite. It is recommended to calm the animal here. The cat will feel itching and pain at the site of the bite. To eliminate discomfort, it is recommended to treat the affected area with a spray that contains hydrocortisone. It would also be a good idea to use the help of a second person to hold your pet during the procedure.

Do not pour oil on the tick, blocking its respiratory tract. This will scare the parasite and cause it to release the contents of its stomach into the cat's blood.

After removing the tick, a small but open wound remains on the cat’s body. To prevent infection from getting here, it must be treated. Of course, the animal will react negatively to iodine or alcohol. In addition, such treatment can injure tissue, cause chemical burns, and cause unpleasant consequences. It is better to use solutions of furatsilin, chlorhexidine or other similar products.

As for the tick itself, you need to make sure that it is not infected with dangerous viruses. This can only be determined in laboratory conditions. Moreover, only live parasites are accepted for analysis. If the tick is dead, there is no point in taking it to the laboratory. To prevent the bloodsucker from dying during transportation, place it in a jar with a tight lid and place a piece of moistened paper there.

If the result is negative, you will have peace of mind that your pet will not become infected. But at the same time, pay attention to the state of his health for some time. If the results are positive, you should immediately contact a veterinarian, even if there are no symptoms of the disease. The specialist will prescribe the most appropriate treatment.

After removing the tick, you should carefully examine the animal's skin. If the head of the parasite remains, you will immediately see it. The severed head of a tick looks like a small black dot. You can remove it in two ways:

• Lubricate the bite site with 5% iodine. Wait until the head or proboscis falls out of the wound. Treat the affected area of ​​skin with a disinfectant again.
• Treat the bite site with alcohol. Hold the sewing needle over the fire until it becomes sterile. Wipe the needle with alcohol and gently pry the head of the tick with it. Act carefully and carefully: as if you were removing a splinter.

It is necessary to remove the tick's head from the wound as quickly as possible, since the salivary glands of the insect contain the main concentration of the virus.

For several days after the cat has been attacked by the parasite, you should monitor its well-being. If your pet becomes lethargic or refuses to eat, take her to the veterinarian to be tested for dangerous pathogens. The sooner you contact a specialist, the sooner the animal will “get back on its feet.”

If the tick's head remains in the wound, you will definitely notice it when you carefully examine the bite site. When it remains, you will see a small black dot on the skin. To get rid of it, you can resort to two methods:

• lubricate the wound with iodine solution. Now you need to wait until the remaining fragment of the parasite falls out on its own and disinfect the wound again;
• The head remaining in the skin can also be removed using a needle - for this, an ordinary sewing needle is heated over a fire, and a piece of the remaining head of the parasite is used to pry it off, as is usually done with a splinter.

When you finish removing all the elements remaining in the scalp, all you have to do is destroy the insect. And if there are several answers to the question of how to remove the parasite, then with its destruction everything is much more clear - the tick must be burned. These insects demonstrate amazing vitality, and by flushing them down the toilet, you unwittingly contribute to the spread of a possible infection.

To prevent your cat from getting a lump, be sure to treat the bite site with any available remedy - iodine or brilliant green. Over the next few weeks, carefully monitor the animal’s condition: at the slightest sign of malaise or increase in body temperature, contact the clinic immediately.

Now you know how to remove a tick from a cat with the least risk to your pet’s health.

How to remove a tick correctly

If you find a parasite in your pet, you need to remove it quickly. To carry out the procedure, it is better to wear rubber gloves to protect yourself from accidental infection. In addition, this will reduce the risk of damage to the animal's skin.

Step-by-step instruction:

• secure the cat;
• treat the bite site, tools and hands with an antiseptic;
• begin to pull out the tick using gentle circular movements in a clockwise direction.

There are two methods for removing ticks from a cat. Let's look at each of them in more detail:

1. Using your hands or tweezers. The body is covered with fingers or an instrument in close proximity to the proboscis. When stretching, the movements should be slow, swaying from side to side. The instrument is always kept parallel to the skin. Next, the bite site is treated with any antiseptic (brilliant green solution, iodine, chlorhexidine).
2. Using a syringe. This method is used less frequently. A part of the syringe is cut off (from the needle side) and pressed tightly to the place where the parasite sits. Next, the air is slowly pumped out. The tick comes out due to the difference in pressure. The bite site is treated.

After extraction, the parasite is always destroyed. The tick can be sealed and taken to a laboratory for testing. This must be done within the first 48 hours after the bite. Statistics say that every fifth parasite is a carrier of infection.

What is prohibited to do:

1. Do not use lubricants (oil, petroleum jelly, etc.). The tick suffocates and dies, making the extraction process more difficult.
2. Do not put pressure on the tick; it is better to place it in alcohol or burn it. If you crush the parasite, the risk of infection will increase.
3. Do not make sudden movements. The head left under the skin contributes to the development of the inflammatory process.

If you are afraid to get a tick yourself, then it is better to seek help from a specialist at a veterinary clinic. The doctor will perform the procedure quickly and professionally.

Removal at home: step-by-step instructions

Knowing how to remove a tick from a cat, you can carry out the manipulation with a minimum of discomfort for your pet.

Recommendations to use vegetable oil, dripping it onto the embedded parasite, are incorrect, since they extremely rarely lead to a positive result and take too much time, during which the tick’s saliva continues to enter the animal’s body.

The tick must be removed immediately after detection and the matter cannot be put off until a trip to the veterinary clinic. This reduces the risk of your cat contracting diseases.

You can remove the parasite using 3 devices. It is optimal to have special lasso handles or tick twisters, but if they are not available, tweezers will do. To ensure that the tick's head does not remain in the skin, it must be pulled out carefully.

A special veterinary lasso is a plastic stick with a tightening loop at the end. The principle of use is as follows:

• the lasso is thrown over the parasite extremely close to the victim’s skin and, after pulling it up, it is fixed;
• Having brought the device into a vertical position, it is turned clockwise, unscrewing the attached parasite.

It is not enough to have a tick-twister - you also need to know how to properly remove a tick using this tool. It looks like a curved stick, one of the ends of which has a slot (similar to a small nail puller). The device makes it easy to pull out even a deeply embedded tick without tearing it into two parts. Manipulations must be carried out in the following sequence:

• a tick-twister on the skin is placed under the head of the tick;
• then pull it out with rotating movements directed upward.

Tweezers are used as a last resort. It often crushes the parasite rather than removing it completely. The remaining head has to be pulled out separately at the veterinary clinic to prevent suppuration. The sequence of actions is as follows:

• Use tweezers to clamp the tick tightly, but not too tightly, so as not to damage its body;
• then the bloodsucker is twisted out. The parasite can only be removed using rotational movements. It is strictly forbidden to pull it out, as otherwise the tick will leave a detached head in the skin. After the death of the bloodsucker, saliva from its head continues to be released for some time, poisoning the victim’s body. Also, a foreign object in the skin causes a purulent process, which is dangerous with serious consequences.

The best solution if you find a tick is a trip to the veterinarian. An experienced specialist will be able to quickly and efficiently remove the parasite, send its body for testing and prevent possible diseases of the animal.

If you still decide to remove the tick yourself, this can be done at home using several methods.

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There are several options for removing the parasite:

• Using thread. Take a coarse thread and make a loop out of it, then wrap it around the tick’s body as close to the animal’s body as possible. You need to squeeze the thread and carefully unscrew the tick by turning it counterclockwise.
• Special hook. In pet stores you can purchase special hooks designed to remove pests. Outwardly, it looks like a curved fork with 2 prongs. The tick needs to be secured between them, then also begin to unscrew.
• Removal with tweezers. Thanks to its convenient shape, the tweezers allow you to grab the animal as close to the trunk as possible. You need to pinch it and then pull it out of the skin with rotational movements.

What is the most effective way to remove ticks from a cat? Using a hook gives good results even for beginners, thanks to the well-thought-out shape of this tool, but not everyone may have such an item in their household, so after using it, tweezers will be the most convenient way to remove it.

Previously, we listed the main methods of removal, each of which is based on the same principle - grab the pest as close to the cat’s body as possible and reach it with rotational movements. Using the example of removal with tweezers, let’s take a closer look at how to remove a tick from a cat:

1. Preparation. Take the tool, calm the animal and secure it so that it cannot escape during removal. Be sure to wear protective gloves to prevent infection from coming into contact with a tick.
2. Take tweezers and grab them near the head, as close as possible to the point of penetration into the skin. Under no circumstances grab this parasite by the body!
3. Using gentle rotational movements, begin to twist the parasite out of the body. Usually after three turns you can remove the tick.
4. Be sure to wipe the bite area with an antiseptic. Monitor your pet's condition for several weeks after the bite. If you notice alarming symptoms, take your cat to the vet immediately.
5. The removed tick should be burned or placed in a container with alcohol. In the second case, you can also take him to the laboratory and find out whether he was a carrier of infections.

What not to do:

• On the Internet you can find a lot of advice that the tick needs to be lubricated with alcohol, oil, and sometimes gasoline before being pulled out. Experienced veterinarians do not recommend doing this. The parasite will definitely begin to experience discomfort from this, but in addition to weakening its grip, this will lead to increased salivation, which increases the chances of infection.
• Do not crush ticks on your cat's body.
• Pick out the tick with a needle or simply pull it out with your fingers.

If you were unable to remove the tick completely and its proboscis broke off, the remaining part of the body must be carefully removed from the body using the same tweezers or a pin. Be sure to wipe the tools with alcohol.

Now you know how to remove a tick from a cat and can perform this operation yourself!

Now you know how to remove a tick from a cat. But after removing the parasite, do not forget to additionally treat the bite site with an antiseptic. Carefully monitor your pet’s condition for several days, check to see if swelling has appeared at the site of the removed tick, or if there is a rash on the skin. If there is a reason, consult a doctor, not forgetting to tell him about the tick you removed. And follow the recommendations exactly when giving your cat the prescribed medication.

Ears should be cleaned regularly with cotton swabs containing hydrogen peroxide.

If the head remains

The head left under the skin is almost always clearly visible. Removing it will not be difficult. You should arm yourself with a sewing needle, disinfect it, and pick out the rest of the insect. After this, treat the wound with an antiseptic. If it does become inflamed later, you can use a hydrocortisone spray.

The animal is not given

If the cat’s character is such that it cannot be immobilized on its own or placed in a carrier for a trip to the veterinary hospital, there is only one option left: to let everything take its course. If you don't remove a tick from a cat, usually nothing bad happens. The parasite either falls off on its own after drinking blood, or the cat scratches it off. In this case, scratching is possible at the site of the bite. But the cat’s immune system most often copes with this problem on its own.

Since the arthropod will fall off onto the floor of the apartment, you must be prepared for the fact that the house will soon be filled with hordes of larvae.

Prevention of infection

In the first month after a tick bite, you need to carefully monitor the animal’s condition, tracking any changes in its behavior. This is how long the incubation period of infectious diseases carried by ixodid parasites lasts. In addition, allergies may develop. The following signs should alert you:

• poor appetite;
• lethargy;
• weight loss;
• dull coat;
• presence of itching;
• heat;
• change in urine color;
• problems with stool.

Cats are vaccinated against encephalitis - preventive immunoglobulin is administered. The vaccine is paid, but the safety and health of your beloved pet is worth it.

Vet

If you can’t remove a tick from a cat yourself at home, and the owner himself needs medical help, there is only one way out: a visit to specialists. How much it costs depends on the region and level of the clinic. In Moscow you can get a tick for 150 rubles, in Dzerzhinsk for 50 rubles.

At the veterinary clinic, the cat will be immobilized in a “sleeve” and the parasite will be pulled out, using industrial tools to extract the arachnids. At the owner's request, the parasite can be analyzed for the presence of infectious diseases. If the ixodus has been infected, it is better to start treating the cat as early as possible.

Prevention of bites

Cats that live and walk near the forest (for example, in the country) are at risk. To protect them, there are numerous antiparasitic agents sold in veterinary pharmacies. They are designed to repel insects and ticks. Here are the suitable options:

1. Sprays and drops on the withers. The most effective, but are toxic and act for a short period of time. Animals should not be allowed to lick them from their fur.
2. Collars. Thin rubber straps are impregnated with a special compound. Less toxic, but due to prolonged contact with skin, allergic reactions or irritation may occur. It is better to wear them only when walking and take them off at home.

Any owner wants his pet to be healthy. This means that in the warm season you need to pay increased attention to the cat’s safety and use preventative agents against ticks.

Preventive measures

It is always better to prevent a situation than to look for solutions later. To do this, you need to be careful about protecting your cat. You can purchase a spray or collar at any pet store or veterinary pharmacy; they will protect your pet from insect attacks. You can consult your doctor before purchasing.

In order to avoid complications, you should take vaccination responsibly, that is, do all vaccinations in a timely manner. This attitude of the owner towards his animal will protect him from sad consequences. And even with a tick bite, from which no one is protected, the risks of infection are reduced to zero.

Syringe

The syringe is used very rarely. The fact is that it will be ineffective when the blood sucker is sucked very tightly, the vacuum created will not be able to remove it. Also, the syringe is rarely used, due to the wool, which prevents the creation of that same vacuum. If you decide to try this method, you will need to trim the hair at the site of the bite.

You need to take the syringe and cut it off from the needle side. This needs to be done as carefully as possible to get the smoothest edges possible. Next, place the syringe against the skin at the site of the bite and pull the plunger several times, thus creating a vacuum, which pushes the bloodsucker out of the wound. After the procedure, do not forget to treat the wound.