Ticks in Cats: How to Remove and Prevent Them

As soon as the temperatures permanently exceed the mark of seven degrees, annoying parasites also reappear. Ticks are particularly unpleasant in cats. You can read in our guide why you should remove the pests as quickly as possible and how to do it best.

Regular Tick Control is a Must

It is best to thoroughly examine your cat for ticks at least once a day. In conjunction with a cuddle unit, you can take a close look at your cat’s entire body.

Pay particular attention to the areas with little hair that are preferred by ticks. Ticks particularly like to settle down at home in the head area, neck, ears, stomach, and inner thighs.

Depending on how much blood the tick has already ingested, its size varies from a few millimeters to the size of a cherry stone.

Observe the bite site for some time even after it has been removed. Redness, fever, or loss of appetite could indicate a possible illness in your cat.

How Do I Properly Remove Ticks from Cats?

If your cat comes home from one of its forays with a tick, remove it as soon as possible. The best way to do this is as follows:

• Use tick tongs or a tick hook
• Apply the forceps as close to the tick’s skin as possible, taking care not to crush the tick’s body.
• Grab the tick’s head. Then pull it slowly, evenly, and straight out of the puncture site.
• Check that you have completely removed the tick from the cat’s skin.
• Dispose of the tick carefully so that it cannot infect a new host.
• Disinfect the wound and check it regularly.
• Keep the tick bite in mind for the near future. If your cat looks sick, dull, or has a fever, see a veterinarian quickly

Which diseases do ticks transmit?

Ticks in cats are not only annoying but suck the blood off our fur noses. They also transmit dangerous diseases. Depending on the region, between 15 and 30 percent of ticks in Germany are infected with pathogens.

Fortunately, compared to dogs, these are much less often transmitted to cats – or cats get sick significantly less often for reasons that have not yet been clarified. Nevertheless, with every tick bite, there is a possibility that your cat will become infected with a pathogen. Borreliosis, anaplasmosis, and babesiosis are among the most common infectious diseases.

Removing ticks in cats: the sooner the better

The pathogens are located in the tick’s intestines and migrate to the salivary glands during the act of sucking. It takes an average of twelve to 24 hours until they get there.

So the longer the tick sucks your cat’s blood, the more likely it is to transmit pathogens. However, by removing ticks from cats quickly after they have been bitten, you can easily minimize this risk.

Prevention: Prevention of Ticks in Cats

It is always better to be safe than sorry, especially when it comes to ticks in cats. You should therefore protect your cat from tick bites and the risk of disease transmission in advance.

There are various preparations (antiparasitics) that kill the ticks or prevent them from attaching themselves. There are these variants:

• Spot-on preparations are applied between the cat’s shoulder blades and then spread over the entire body. Depending on the duration of the action (between four and twelve weeks), you will have to treat your cat several times a year.
• Sprays work just like spot-on preparations.
• Tablets against ticks in cats are only available from the vet.
• Collars release their active ingredients continuously. They usually repel ticks and other parasites over a longer period of time (around five to six months). However, they also pose a risk of injury, as cats can get caught with the collar.

Are Antiparasitics Harmful to My Cat?

There are many reservations about anti-tick products. Above all, the question arises as to whether they are not harmful to humans and animals, since they are actually neurotoxins.

Most antiparasitic drugs are actually neurotoxins. In contrast to insects, humans and cats have what is known as a blood-brain barrier. The active ingredient does not even reach them where it could cause damage.

Of course, there can still be intolerance to anti-tick products. In addition to an effect, every drug also has side effects. The range of means is now so wide that you are sure to find something that your cat can handle better.

However, there are also problematic active ingredients: permethrin, flumethrin, and deltamethrin, for example, are toxic to cats. So always make sure that the product is approved for cats.

Are There Home Remedies for Ticks in Cats?

In various sources, home remedies such as coconut oil, black cumin oil, garlic, or amber chains are touted against ticks in cats. But do these home remedies really help?

So far, only slight effectiveness of coconut oil has been scientifically proven – and that only when used externally. To do this, however, the cat must be treated with it all over its body every day. For our naturally very clean cats, this is certainly anything but pleasant.

Important: Home remedies such as garlic or black cumin are toxic to cats. You should not use these to repel ticks under any circumstances.

Despite all the euphoria about natural remedies, which can be quite effective in individual cases, there is one more point to consider: If the cat does not bring ticks home, other reasons may also have to be considered. Not all cats are equally attractive to parasites. Some are real tick magnets, others are only bitten very rarely.

Ticks in Cats: The Three Most Famous Myths

When it comes to ticks on cats, there are still many legends. We have taken a close look at the three most important ones for you.

1. Ticks mainly sit in tall grass or bushes. So you don’t let yourself fall from trees onto cats or humans.
2. It is not strictly necessary to twist the tongs to remove a tick from your cat. After all, the parasites have no thread. But if you find it easier with a slight twisting movement, that is of course allowed.
3. If you can’t remove a tick whole, it’s not the end of the world. The tick’s head is usually wrapped in scabs by the cat’s body and eventually falls off with it. But check the bite site regularly. If you discover any signs of inflammation, you should see your veterinarian.

   Nevertheless: Since a stuck head theoretically still poses the risk of transmission of pathogens, you should always ensure that it is completely removed.