Cat Tick
In my opinion, any parasite that sucks your own or your pet’s blood lays approximately 5,000 eggs, and transmits fatal diseases to humans (Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Lyme disease) is not a good citizen of the world!
These disgusting creatures bury their heads in the skin and suck blood until they look like fat, brown beans. At this point, probably because it is so fat that it can’t hold on anymore, the tick falls off the host and lays 5,000 or more eggs. The eggs hatch one or two months later. The next two phases in the development of the tick are called the larval and nymph stages. These stages may last quite a long time because different ticks need different hosts to feed on. In the dormant stages, the ticks can patiently wait for months – or even hibernate during the winter under bushes, in the ground, or in your own home until a suitable host comes along.
Ticks seem to be more common in dogs than in cats. This may be due either to a distinct chemical attraction for the dog or to the cat’s fastidious grooming habits.
Ticks can be found anywhere on the skin, but they prefer ear flaps, interdigital areas(between the toes), and head, neck, and shoulder areas.
Cat Tick Treatment
Tick removal is surrounded by many myths and old wives’ tales. Some of the popular methods using a match to burn off the tick or using gasoline or kerosene are overkill: they will get rid of the tick, but they may also injure your cat! Instead, just use tweezers and grasp the tick close to where it is embedded (by the way, a tick does not get its whole body under the skin!) and firmly pull it out. Don’t pull a tick off with your fingers. Ticks can carry Lyme disease or Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Soaking the tick with alcohol or nail-polish remover (acetone) will plug up its breathing holes and make removal easier.
Burn the tick with a match after removal. Please do not flush one tick down the toilet; ecologically, it makes no sense to waste several gallons of water on one tiny insect.
After a tick is pulled out, a scab will form over the area. (This is not the tick growing back!) Occasionally, a tick bite may get infected not from the bite, but from your cat’s scratching or biting the area where the tick was embedded.
Since female ticks can lay 5,000 or more eggs, you can see that if those eggs are laid in your home or kennel, a serious infestation will occur. (The sight of thousands of ticks crawling up the walls is enough to tick anybody off!) Your veterinarian can dispense products to use in the home environment.
An exterminator may be necessary to get rid of heavy tick infestations because ticks can live for a long time in the cracks and crevices of floors, woodwork, and walls without having a blood meal.
“Chiggers” is the popular name for the red or harvest mite. In its larval stage, it is orange or red, the size of a pinhead, and parasitic to most mammals (dogs, cats, humans). The larvae hitch a ride on your leg or your pet’s leg in the woods. Their bite causes severe redness and itching. Chiggers can be found anywhere on the body, but their favorite hangouts are the head, neck, ear canals and flaps, and abdomen. After getting a good blood meal, the larvae drop off and become nymphs. Later they develop into adult chiggers, which feed on plants. The adult chigger lays eggs that develop into larvae. which are the only parasitic form.
If only the ears are affected, use the same treatment for ear discharges. Your veterinarian will dispense a safe insecticidal preparation if a generalized infestation is present. An antibiotic-steroid cream will control the itching.
You can prevent chigger problems on your cat by using an insecticidal preparation
Follow-home treatment during warns weather.
The white mite known as “walking dandruff” is large enough to see. This mite causes itching and can affect cats. humans, and dogs. The same insecticides were administered for fleas. used for about three weeks are effective.
The adult fly and its larvae (maggots) occasionally cause skin problems. Maggots develop from eggs that are laid by flies. If they are in wounds, remove them with tweezers. Clean the area with Phisohex and apply an antibiotic ointment to the wound.
Lice look like very small white oval specks and are seen best with a magnifying glass. They are spread by direct contact and cause severe itching. They spend their whole life cycle on the pet. Fortunately, lice are not seen very often on cats. A bath is an effective treatment. After drying, an insecticide can be used.
See more: Cat Third Eyelid Problems
