Feline Illness - Cat Ticks Problems and Treatment

The tick is an ectoparasite, i.e. it lives exteriorly to its host. Ticks commonly inhabit long grass and rambling hedges and any collection of garden waste such as fallen leaves. Cats are liable to attract them in gardens, parks and if it lives in the countryside is likely to pick them up when crossing fields grazed by cattle and sheep,

It has three stages of development during which it needs to suck blood in order to continue to the next phase of its life cycle - the adult female burrows her head into the skin and sucks blood to lay eggs which then hatch in to larvae. These larvae then bury their heads into the skin of the cat as they also need blood meals to develop into nymphs, or young ticks. These again need a blood meal to develop into adults. Once the tick has drawn off enough blood it then drops off to wait for another host.

They are usually most prevalent during spring and autumn, and if the weather conditions are favorable they may also be found in summer too.

The signs of your cat having picked up ticks is that he will bite or chew an area of his skin, and if you part the fur you will see a swollen tick engorged with blood. However these should not be removed by hand. If the head is left behind it is likely to set up an abscess and a localised infection. You can swab the area with surgical alcohol, and then either using a pair of tweezers or a special tick picker, you can remove both the tick and the head. You should then dust the area with a topical antiseptic such as bacitracin so that infection does not take hold in the wound left by the tick's head, and then keep a careful eye on the area to make sure that it remains infection free,

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If you cat starts to develop symptoms such as fever, lameness, loss of appetite, cat diarrhea or lethargy it might be that he has also contracted Lyme disease, a bacterial infection spread by ticks that may prove fatal unless he is given immediate veterinary care.

There are flea and tick collars available for a cat to wear, and your veterinary surgeon will be able to supply preparations suitable against both fleas and ticks so that he does not pick them up. Prevention is better than cure and as you can never stop cats from exploring everywhere it is best to protect them from tick infestation in the first place.