CAT FLEAS - merged

gingercordial

Vaseline or surgical spirit are best for pets as it doesn't matter if they wriggle around. Cigarettes work but there's far too much risk of burning your cat.

Don't try the tweezer methods because if the cat moves then the tick's head might come off and stay in the cat, and get infected.

Kimberley

I know cats don't like water but nor do ticks/fleas so why not put your cat in water up to her neck Seriously Fronline is great.

claireandella

DO NOT try the surgical spirit/white spirit/any other flammable liquid followed by the lit cigarette technique if that doesn't work...

tallullahbelle

The plastic tick removers you buy at the vets are fab. I used to love pulling ticks out of our cats...you just hook it round and pull. Then put them on a tissue to get a good look! Tweezers dangerous as you can pull the body off but the head gets left behind.

Eels100

NONONONONONONONO!

PLEASE don't ever apply anything to the tick in order to make it suffocate/release its grip. This will cause the tick to regurgitate its blood meal, along with any horrible diseases it happens to be carrying, back into your pet. It is FAR more likely to cause serious problems if you try any of these techniques.

The best thing to do is get a tick hook (O'Tom is the brand, available at most vets) which allows you to twist the tick out in once piece without compressing its body or distressing it. If you can't get one, then either use your fingers if it is fully engorged (pea-sized) or use fine tweezers to grasp it near the skin, and slowly but firmly twist while pulling.

Leaving a bit of the tick in the skin might lead to a minor local infection but this is rarely significant and can often be prevented by bathing the area in warm saltwater a couple of times daily after removing the parasite. If it worries you then see your vet. Of far greater concern is the potential for disease transmission or pyaemia if ticks are not removed properly. If in doubt about your ability to remove it, just leave it alone and either see a vet or let it drop off by itself when it's full in a day or two.

Incidentally, if you use Frontline for tick prevention you'd be better off using it monthly during the tick season - the exact period will depend on where you are, but up here in the Highlands we're removing them almost all year!

eira

Can give a 100% recommendation for a device that's a few quid in a pet shop. It has a plastic handle and a thin wire loop on the end. It was suggested to me by a friend who has free ranging country cats. I was dubious as it looked so flimsy-but it's utterly brilliant. It worked a treat on our little free-range ferret even. The loop goes over the tick's head (this is really easy to do ) and you just pull (doesn't seem to bother the animal attached to the tick at all ) . No head left behind- brilliant ! One warning , you can get infections from the tick so it's as well to do it over the bath or a piece of paper - or anywhere where you can dispose of the tick without touching it.
This little device cost about £2.50 and is totally awesome value for money.

ailuro2

To keep a wriggling cat's claws away from you, wrap the cat's body and legs in a towel( very firmly,)then remember to keep out of the way of the teeth end.

Moon~Shadow

There is a spray called Nuvon Top which you can spray onto the tick, it will die and drop off in less than 24 hours.

Some interesting info here

http://www.ajvs.co.uk/page6.html

catshouskeeper

Please be careful if your cat is coming in with ticks that any which have not attached themselves and a crawling on the cat may attach themselves to you or your family - ticks in this country even in urban areas are now known to carry a serious illness called Lyme Disease -it can cause permanent damage to people and has initial flu like symptoms. Use a flea collar or drops like Frontline to stop ticks attaching or kills them off if they try.

jess1974

Hello, i am being driven crazy as i am covered in bites, all over my tummy and backs of my legs, they must be fleas but i don't understand it as i frontline my cat every 5 weeks. I found a flea in my sons bedroom, and one dead one on the cat yesterday after i frontlined her. I've just ordered some acclaim online but is there anything else i can do? My hubby has got 1 or 2 bites but they are really going for me and they look awful, i must have about 20 bites in clusters of 3 or 4 all over me. Is frontline the best stuff to use or is there anything else?