The most common type of tick is the so-called ixodid tick - a forest tick, very familiar to us from its spring-summer aggressions, which are also dangerous for humans.
This type of tick is now widespread almost everywhere, even in city parks and courtyards; they are very hardy and prolific. Their sizes can vary from 0.5 cm (in a hungry state) to 1.5 cm - in a state of saturation.
The color changes from black - dark brown (in a hungry state) to red, with a pinkish or grayish tint - in a state of saturation. Ticks are most active in spring, early summer and autumn.
These ticks are the most dangerous variety, as they can be carriers of many deadly diseases in cats, such as hemobartonellosis (otherwise known as infectious anemia), piroplasmosis, theileriosis - all these diseases are difficult to diagnose, and, in a neglected state, lead to deaths .
At risk, of course, are primarily cats that have free range outside, but you can also bring this danger on your clothes after a walk in the forest or park.
How to detect ticks on a cat at home?
To do this, you need to carefully examine the animal - the muzzle, neck, behind the ears, and stroke it, gently running your palms over the entire body against the fur. If the tick has not yet attached itself, you will see a dark brown insect moving quickly along the hairs.
Cat tick symptoms:
A cat has a tick, what should I do? Of course, you need to immediately get rid of the tick and destroy it. Indeed, over time, in the process of saturation, more and more enzymes are injected into the cat’s blood, increasing the level of risk of infection of the animal, so you cannot wait for the tick to get enough and fall off on its own. The incubation period for tick-borne diseases is about two to three weeks. Throughout this period, you must carefully monitor your pet’s condition, and if there are any symptoms of illness, immediately contact a veterinarian.
How to remove a tick from a cat?
Treatment of ticks in cats at home. The first step is to assess how long it has been sitting on the cat and how deep it has penetrated the skin. If the tick has been attached for a long time, it has eaten away until large sizes and a swelling has already formed around it, it is better to consult a doctor, since by carelessly pulling the bloodsucker you can damage it, and the remaining tick fragments under the skin will increase the risk of the cat contracting one of the diseases.
The wound on the cat’s body will need to be treated with brilliant green and monitor the condition of the skin around it to see if there is inflammation, redness, itching - all these are alarming symptoms that will indicate to you that you definitely need to see a veterinarian.
How to protect a cat from ticks?
It is almost impossible to completely protect a cat from tick bites, especially if it is walking outside. However, there are now several modern means which can significantly reduce risk. These means include:
For animals, spring is not only an opportunity to bask in the sun, but also a time when new dangers arise. Tick bites often turn around terrible disease– hemobartonellosis.
First, it should be clarified that we are talking about a species of ixodid tick - Ixodes Ricinus. It is also called the European forest tick. And in everyday life, such a tick is called encephalitis for its ability to transmit this disease to people.
The ixodid tick is one of the ancient arthropods that feeds on the blood of animals. European forest ticks can usually be found in deciduous forests or forests mixed with dense grass cover. But they are often found in the city, in places where deciduous trees are planted. Thus, you can bring a tick home, even if your apartment is located tens of kilometers from the forest.
The tick has a “gift” in store for each of its victims: for humans – encephalitis, for dogs – piroplasmosis, for cats – hemobartonellosis.
Not all cat owners soberly assess the danger posed by ticks and are captured by the following misconceptions:
1. If I live in an apartment in the city, then ticks cannot get into it.
2. Ticks are only dangerous for dogs.
The tick is dangerous not only for dogs, it also carries hemobartonellosis, which is dangerous for cats.
3. Tick repellents are toxic, and from them the cat has a greater risk of contracting hemobartonellosis.
Hemobartonellosis can be fatal if this disease is not noticed in time and not treated. The consequences of the disease are so severe that the toxicity of a protective agent against ticks will be simply negligible. In addition, hemobartonellosis is treated with antibiotics, which take a very long time. A side effect medications can also have serious consequences.
The first portion of saliva secreted by the tick instantly hardens in air and sticks the proboscis to the wound, thereby forming the so-called cement secretion. This cement secretion may contain half the total amount of virus contained in the tick. So infection does not depend on the duration of the tick’s presence on the animal’s body, but on the tick bite itself.
5. You cannot get infected from a male tick, because Unlike the female, the males remain in the wound for a short time.
Is it possible to protect a cat from a tick bite?
There is no guarantee that a tick will not enter your apartment and reach your pet. Therefore, you need to make the potential tick victim as tasteless and unattractive as possible.
To do this, you need to use special products that are applied to the cat’s fur and skin. The active ingredient of such a product, upon contact with the skin, begins to be absorbed into the subcutaneous tissue and accumulate in the sebaceous follicles. Ticks can attach to the fur of a treated cat, but under the influence of this drug they will lose their activity and die after some time. Tick protection can be purchased in the form of drops, sprays or a collar.
They differ from each other in the duration of action, method of application and concentration of the active substance. If you apply a spray or drops, then active substance It will be absorbed into the skin within a day and will retain its properties for about 2-4 weeks. When using a tick collar, the active substance gradually penetrates the skin and remains effective during the wearing period, approximately 3 months.
It should also be taken into account that the highest concentration of active substances is created in those places where the drug is directly applied. If you use drops against ticks, then in this case the product is applied to the withers, and it will be more protected than, say, groin area. The spray is applied more evenly: the number of presses will depend on the size and weight of the animal.
If your cat spends time outside the city with you all the time, then you should remember that ticks become most active in spring and autumn. During this period, you can use drops as a basic treatment, and also treat the animal with a spray weekly, thereby adding additional protection. The most important thing is that both drugs were of the same brand and contained the same active substance. Using products from different manufacturers risks an allergic reaction and can also become toxic to the animal.
Remember! No matter what reliable tick repellent you use, still inspect your cat after every walk.
My cat was bitten by a tick, what should I do?
If you see a tick clinging to your pet, then it must be removed and destroyed, adhering to the following rules:
NEED TO:
IT IS FORBIDDEN:
4. crush the removed tick, i.e. there is a risk of contracting an infection through contact with mucous membranes or skin.
After removing the tick, be sure to observe the condition and behavior of the pet. Refusal to eat, lethargy, increased body temperature, change in urine color are symptoms that require an immediate visit to the veterinarian and testing for hemobartonellosis.
What to do if your cat is bitten by a tick
Ear mites in cats are considered one of the most common diseases.
According to statistics, every second animal is infected with it. And the ixodid bloodsucker tick, previously found only in wildlife, has now become a permanent inhabitant of city squares and parks. Therefore, the question of how to remove a tick from a cat is very relevant among their owners.
What types of ticks are there and where do they live?
The tick's main food is blood and lymph.
- Ixodidae (free-living);
- subcutaneous, or scabies (microscopic), including ear.
Everything you need to know about hypodermic mites
By feeding on dead skin cells, scabies mites can live unnoticed on cats for years without causing disease.
Diseases caused by subcutaneous mites:
- Notoedrosis, or cat scabies. Its symptoms: itching, baldness, the formation of huge ulcers and fistulas, the disease is localized from the head, spreading through the lower abdomen and further throughout the body, is extremely contagious and easily transmitted to humans and other animals.
- Cheyletiellosis, or walking dandruff, is characterized by an abundance of dandruff containing a huge mass of mites, which is why the dandruff moves (hence the name), scaly thickening of the skin, hair loss, most often localized on the back, contagious to humans.
- Demodicosis is not a fatal, but very problematic disease, inherited by offspring, can lie dormant in the body for years asymptomatically, when it is localized, the upper layers of the epithelium are affected, causing degeneration and scarring of the skin tissue, allergic reactions, constant itching.
- Sarcoptic mange (pruritic scabies) ─ the primary symptoms of the disease are similar to food allergies, is localized on the face, quickly affecting the entire body, causing unbearable itching, the disease is not contagious for humans, but can cause a short-term allergic reaction.
Injured skin is highly susceptible to bacterial and fungal infections, and blood poisoning can also occur. Therefore, without timely help, a heavily infected animal dies.
Treatment methods for subcutaneous mites
Mild forms of subcutaneous mite infestation are capable of self-healing. To do this, it is enough for your pet to establish proper nutrition and good care.
If you manage to start treatment at the very beginning of the disease, then a positive outcome of treatment is much more likely.
Therefore, the disease is considered finally cured not when the symptoms of the disease cease, but when confirmed after repeated laboratory research for the absence of tick infestation.
The apartment, including furniture and other household items, must be treated with an acaricidal disinfectant solution, for example, Delta Zone. Cat beds, toys, and bowls must be sterilized with insectoacaricidal agents or even disposed of.
How to cure ear scabies?
On initial stages ear mite drops and vitamins will help cats
In the initial stages of infection, otodecosis can be successfully treated ear drops in combination with immunomodulators and vitamins. Mechanical removal of crusts from the auricle is performed using cotton swabs, moistened with special lotions or disinfectants (Furacilin solution, weak hydrogen peroxide solution).
After the cleaning procedure, a few drops of medicine are instilled into the ear according to the instructions and, folding the ear lengthwise, gently massage for better distribution of the medicine throughout. auricle.
Advanced stages, when the ear shell and eardrum are affected, right up to the meninges, require a serious approach. At neglected form otodecosis develops externally and internal otitis. A purulent, foul-smelling discharge oozes from the ear. Left untreated, hearing loss may result and fatal outcome. Here, as in the case of subcutaneous mite infection, antibiotics or antibacterial drugs, which will be prescribed by the attending physician.
Preventing infection is easier than taking a long time to remove ear mites from a cat. Prevention against ear mite infestation involves maintaining good hygiene. Weekly mechanical cleaning of the ears with special cleansing lotions is not a 100% panacea, but an extremely serious chance to prevent the development of the disease.
Everything you need to know about ixodid ticks
It looks like a small spider of gray or gray-brown color. The time of its activity is from the first warming to the first frost, but even at zero temperatures, cases of tick attacks on animals have been recorded in the city.
You can pick up an ixodus wherever there is vegetation. It can be brought home unnoticed on clothes, shoes, or a bag. Here is a simple solution to where a tick can come from on a cat that does not have free access to the street. 
The tick attaches itself in secluded places where it is difficult for a cat to reach it on its own: this is the neck, area behind the ears, stomach, withers, groin and armpits.
It happens that a tick bite goes unnoticed and is asymptomatic.
What kind of infections are at risk from a tick bite?
The Ixodid tick is the most dangerous as a potential carrier infectious diseases. Having sucked on, it secretes saliva into the cat’s blood, resulting in infection with such dangerous infections, How:
- hemobartonellosis ─ this form of infectious anemia causes chronic damage to internal organs;
- piroplasmosis ─ is characterized by the death of red blood cells, subsequent severe intoxication of the body, the disease manifests itself with general lethargy, high fever, refusal of water and food, death without timely treatment;
- tularemia ─ damage to lymphoid tissue, resulting in intoxication, sepsis and death of the animal;
- theileriosis ─ hemosporidiosis, when the general blood flow is affected, numerous hemorrhages lead to blockage of blood vessels and death.
How to remove an ixodid tick?
Grasping the embedded tick at the base, carefully twist it out. It is important not to damage its integrity.
It is convenient to remove ticks using a special device
If, nevertheless, it was not possible to remove the tick without damaging it, then the head must be removed from the cat’s body, just as one removes a splinter ─ using a sterilized needle and tweezers.
The bite site is treated with alcohol or another disinfectant. You need to carefully monitor the cat’s condition for several weeks, taking into account the incubation period of possible infection, and at the slightest alarming symptoms contact the clinic immediately.
Methods for controlling ticks
Despite the fact that there is no anti-tick vaccination, dealing with ticks is not difficult. Timely prevention of tick infestation is the use of insectoacaricidal agents.
To avoid tick attacks, sprays and drops are used on the withers, as well as collars impregnated with a special acaricidal substance.
Collars have a shelf life of up to six months, while drops are limited in effectiveness to 1 month. In areas of increased danger or during the season when ticks are most active, it is best to combine several methods of protection, for example, wearing a collar and a drop on the withers. If your cat has free access to the outdoors, it is a good idea to additionally treat its fur with a spray before going out, avoiding contact with the eyes. 
It is important to remember that you should purchase insectoacaricidal products for your pet in specialized pet stores or veterinary pharmacies, where all conditions for proper storage of the drugs are met.
Many people wonder, are ticks dangerous for cats? There are more than 650 species of ixodid ticks. Selected species are a source of infection such dangerous diseases such as encephalitis, borreliosis, tularemia, piroplasmosis, hemorrhagic fever and others. An animal becomes infected through a bite - the virus is transmitted through salivary glands and arthropod ovaries.
Diseases from tick bites are less common in cats than in dogs, but this does not make them any less dangerous. Cat ticks can infect an animal dangerous diseases, which at untimely treatment can lead to the death of the animal:
Entering the body through the blood, pathogens penetrate into internal organs, lymph nodes and bone marrow. Ticks in a kitten are more dangerous than in an adult cat due to their weaker immune system. For a pregnant cat, a bite is also very dangerous.
Does a tick always infect a cat?
Main symptoms of a tick bite
If a cat is bitten by a tick, then at first it may not cause the animal discomfort. Immediately after the bite, the cat may not show any concern about this. More often, symptoms appear when the embedded tick has already sucked blood and fallen off:
- the cat scratches the bite site;
- inflammation and swelling appear on the body;
- the animal refuses food and behaves lethargically.
All of these symptoms can be a signal of other diseases, so an accurate diagnosis of the cause of the disease should be carried out by a veterinarian.
Diagnosis of the disease
Since diagnosing the disease from a tick bite is extremely difficult, it is recommended to take preventive measures from the bites themselves. There is no vaccination against this scourge. Therefore, starting in spring, you need to prepare your pet for a meeting with bloodsuckers. Special drops on the withers or anti-tick collars will help prevent tick bites. When purchasing them, please note that for little kitten they are contraindicated. Dog anti-tick medications are not suitable for cats.
The best prevention is to inspect the animal's fur and skin. If the animal is walking outside, then after the walk you need to comb it with a fine brush. So there is a high chance that you will get rid of the tick before the bite occurs. What should you do if your cat is bitten by a tick? When it was not possible to avoid a bite, it is necessary to get rid of it and carefully monitor the pet’s condition. If the symptoms described above occur, contact your veterinarian. To clarify the diagnosis, you will need to do a blood test, which will determine what kind of disease the animal has become infected with.
First aid for a tick bite
If a cat is bitten by a tick, it must be removed as quickly as possible. Before starting the manipulation, be sure to wear medical gloves, since ixodid ticks are also contagious to humans. It is better to carry out the procedure together - one person holds the animal, and the second carries out the manipulation.
It is a mistaken belief that before removing a clinging tick, the bite site needs to be generously lubricated. sunflower oil. This should not be done to avoid the spread of pathogenic substances throughout the body.
To remove an embedded tick from a cat, it is better to use tweezers. Try to grab the entire torso as close to the skin as possible. At the same time, try not to squeeze it too hard, as this is dangerous by squeezing infected fluid into the wound. Then, with a confident, but not sharp movement, pull it out of the skin. Do not pull out the tick sharply, as this may cause the body to come off and the head to remain in the wound.
Video “How to remove a tick from a cat”
From this video you will learn how to remove a tick from a cat at home.
(Acari – lat.) belong to small arthropods of the arachnid subclass. Their main diet: decaying organic matter, plant juices and small fellows. : grass, leaves of bushes and trees, buds, skin covering animals and birds, where they find food in the form of blood, lymph and epithelial particles.
Interesting!
Not all pet owners know that cats have ticks not only those that can cling to fur in the forest or on the street, but also subcutaneous ticks that live in the upper layers of the epidermis or in the ear canal. Therefore, it is necessary to talk about all the diversity of species, of which there are more than 1000 in the world.
The most common types of ticks on cats and kittens are:
- or, which may be dangerous for both people and animals;
- subcutaneous or causing various diseases epidermis;
- ear, settling in the ear canal of a cat or cat.
Ways of infection by ticks
- while walking on the street, in a park or forest;
- when communicating with a sick animal;
- through contaminated objects: dishes, rugs, etc.;
- from his own owner, who can bring the “bloodsucker” into the house on his clothes.
The danger for an animal after an attack by “bloodsuckers” is that they not only cause trouble by clinging to the skin and sucking blood, but are also often carriers of infections, causing serious illnesses in pets.
Subcutaneous mites
Signs of the disease appear only during the period of decreased immunity in the pet in the form of the following symptoms:
- the animal is nervous about severe itching, constantly tries to itch;
- in the affected areas, the coat becomes thin, and baldness is possible;
- Scratching until it bleeds, crusts, and blisters with pus appear on the skin.
Diseases caused and their symptoms:
On a note!
Treatment depends on the severity of the disease: milder forms often self-heal by improving the pet’s immunity after establishing proper nutrition and caring care.
If the disease is advanced, the following procedures are used to cure:
- Baths with keratological shampoos.
- They trim the hair in damaged areas, and then treat with acaricidal preparations: Fungin ointments and drops (cost of solution is 150-160 rubles, spray about 300 rubles), Iruksovetin (price 370-400 rubles), Saphroderm, Amitrazine.
- Bacterial complications must be treated with a course of antibiotics prescribed by a doctor.
- Vitamin preparations and supplements: Ligfol is a drug for stimulating regenerative processes in the body of animals, improving immunity, accelerating wound healing (price per 100 ml is about 1800 rubles).
- To treat fungal infections, Ivermectin is prescribed subcutaneously. The price of the medicine and its analogues depends on the volume of liquid for injection and ranges from 200 to 1500 rubles.
- It is imperative to treat all animals that have been in contact with the sick person.
- The quarantine of a sick cat lasts 30 days.
- The room and care items are disinfected using disinfection of the room and care items using (Delta Zone, etc.)
Ear mites in a cat
Otodecosis or ear scabies is caused by the colonization of microscopic mites Notoedres cati in the ear canal of a cat. The main symptoms of the disease: the animal feels discomfort, anxiety, shakes its head and scratches its ears.
On a note!
When examining the ear canal, dried brown crusts are noticeable, which are a waste product large quantity, and also has a characteristic odor.
If the disease is detected early, treatment for ticks in cats at home is as follows:
- Mechanical cleaning and removal of crusts from your pet’s ears using disinfectant solutions: Furacilin, Camphor alcohol, diluted Hydrogen Peroxide.
- Immunomodulatory drugs and vitamins.
- Instillation into the cat's ear canal followed by massaging to distribute them throughout the auricle: Tsipam (price 140-150 rubles), Otoferonol (90-110 rubles).
- Some veterinarians prescribe a one-time injection for cats against ticks in the form of an injection of the drug Ivermek (the price depends on the packaging of the medicine - from 90 rubles), which has an anthelmintic and arachno-entomocidal effect, causing a rapid therapeutic effect. For cats, the dosage should be selected based on weight: 0.1 ml per 5 kg.
- Treating the skin with Wilkinson's ointment (price about 40 rubles) on an acaricidal basis.
The fight against ear mites is usually long-term and lasts about a month, but even if the main symptoms disappear, the procedures should be continued for another week.
For the entire period of treatment, to facilitate care and to prevent scratching of the ears, you should put a special collar on the cat, which will help speed up the healing process.
When the disease is advanced, not only the concha and eardrum can be affected, but also the meninges, otitis media progresses with purulent discharge what will have Negative influence audibly and can cause the death of the animal.
Traditional methods of treating ear mites in cats are used to initial stage illness in the absence of severe scratching. To cleanse the ear canals, you can use herbal infusions according to the following recipes:
- green tea tincture is prepared from 2 tsp. large-leaf dry mass per glass of boiling water, after cooling, instill 2-3 drops. in both ears for 30-45 days;
- almond oil – used after cleansing: drop in and massage each ear;
- ointment from 3 tbsp. l. vegetable oil and ½ clove of garlic is used to lubricate the cat's ear canals daily, but in rare cases this can cause allergies.
Ixodid tick: what it looks like and how to remove
On a note!
Maximum: spring and autumn, it is during this period that they are hungry and angry.
Danger of bites ixodid ticks for animals is their ability to endure heavy viral infections, penetrating through saliva injected under the skin.
Dangerous infections and possible consequences:
- – causes a decrease in red blood cells in the blood, which leads to intoxication of the sick pet’s body, which manifests itself in increased temperature, lethargy, refusal to eat, and without timely treatment, death is possible.
- Hemobartonellosis is a form of infectious anemia that causes chronic illness internal organs.
- Theileriosis or hemosporidiosis – affects circulatory system, causing hemorrhages, which can lead to blockage of blood vessels and the death of the pet.
- Tularemia - leads to lymph damage, intoxication and blood poisoning, which can be fatal.
- Ticks also spread worm eggs, which enter the animal's body through saliva.
What to do if your cat has a tick
Find among cat hair It is easiest for the “bloodsucker” when the tick has attached itself to the skin and. It should then be removed as quickly as possible to try to avoid infection.
Probability of infection pet after a tick bite is much lower than in dogs. Symptoms of the onset of tick disease in cats can appear within 2-3 weeks, so it is necessary to incubation period Closely monitor your pet and its condition.
Particular attention should be paid if mites are found on a kitten that may have severe negative reaction organism from immature immunity.
Negative symptoms include: heat body of a cat, apathy, loss of appetite, emaciation, diarrhea or vomiting, cough, shortness of breath, pink urine.
If signs indicating infection appear, you should immediately contact a veterinary clinic, where, after diagnosis and tests, the doctor will prescribe appropriate treatment. Its effectiveness depends on early diagnosis, the severity of the disease, the condition of the cat’s body, the effectiveness of the medications.
Prevention and protection of cats from ticks
Although such products do not provide a 100% guarantee, their use in cats and kittens for the period from late spring to early autumn will avoid attacks by “bloodsuckers”, and therefore possible infection infectious diseases.
