Ticks in cats: important tips for cat owners
Ticks are unfortunately a common problem for cats with outdoor access in the warmer months of the year. The small ectoparasites sit in trees and bushes and wait patiently for a potential host to pass by.
If the ticks get onto your cat's body, they will look for a suitable place to bite and feed on the blood.
Which ticks bite cats?
Ticks are spread all over the world. They belong to the group of mites and thus to the arachnids. There are more than 900 known species of ticks, but not all cats use them as hosts.
If your cat is bitten by a tick, it’s most likely a coloured tick or the common wood tick. Furthermore, there is also the possibility that a brown dog tick will find your cat as its victim. However, this type of tick is mainly common in the Mediterranean region, while it is still quite rare in our country.
What makes ticks dangerous for cats?
Ticks are only a few millimetres in size. The amount of blood they take in during a sucking process is correspondingly small. Ticks in themselves are therefore completely harmless for your cat.
However, in many cases these small parasites carry dangerous pathogens. These can get into your cat's organism during the blood meal. Even though the risk of infection is considered to be lower compared to dogs, you should not underestimate the danger of ticks in cats.
Among the diseases that are transmitted from ticks to cats are
- Lyme borreliosis
- Anaplasmosis
- Babesiosis
Lyme borreliosis is caused by bacteria (borrelia). The disease often manifests itself in recognizable symptoms weeks after the tick bite. Sick cats can then suffer from loss of appetite and fever. If left untreated, the infectious disease can cause permanent damage to the joints or the central nervous system.
Anaplasmosis is primarily a problem for dogs. In individual cases, however, the bacterial infection from ticks can also be transmitted to cats. Anaplasmosis attacks the white blood cells and leads to lethargy, fever, weight loss and pain in the joints.
Babesiosis is caused by babesia. These are unicellular parasites that attack the red blood cells. Although the disease is often called dog malaria, it can also be transmitted to cats by ticks. Symptoms include refusal to feed, weight loss, fever and dark coloured urine.
Where do ticks bite cats?
Ticks in cats prefer to find places that they cannot easily reach as part of their personal hygiene. Accordingly, they bite mainly in the neck, on the chin, near the ears or even on the chest of the quadruped.
Basically ticks can bite cats everywhere. Especially in the warmer months from March to October it is therefore advisable to regularly search the whole coat for the small parasites.
It’s true that cats can remove some ticks themselves. However, the head of the parasites often gets stuck, which can lead to unpleasant inflammations. Apart from that, the parasites can still get into the cat's body from the severed head.
Removing ticks from cats correctly
In order to protect your quadruped from diseases, you cannot avoid removing existing ticks from your cat professionally. Do not use your fingernail for this purpose, but instead get a suitable tick tweezers.
Tighten the skin at the puncture site a little with your fingers and place the tweezers or tick forceps as close as possible to the body of your quadruped. Now remove the tick carefully by pulling it out slowly.
Make sure that you remove the tick completely from your cat and that the head of the bloodsucker does not get stuck. A twisting motion is not necessary, but may help you keep a steady hand.
If your cat resists removing the tick, you should have a helper hold him down. If you don't think you can do this at all, you can of course consult a vet.
Risky tick repellents for cats
In addition to removing the ticks manually, it makes sense to protect your cat with a suitable tick repellent. These are available, for example, in the form of spot-ons, which are usually drizzled into the cat's neck and are intended to protect against ticks for several weeks.
However, many conventional means against ticks contain poisonous agents that not only kill the parasites but can also harm your cat. In addition, dead ticks that are stuck in the skin continue to transmit pathogens.
The use of some classic tick repellents can therefore even increase the risk of infection for your cat. For this reason we recommend that you protect your cat against ticks with natural products.
Effective and Natural: Marsavet Tick and Flea Protection
If you want to protect your cat from ticks naturally, you're on the right track with Marsavet Tick and Flea Protection. This spot-on treatment contains no chemical ingredients. Instead, natural components like insect fat and coconut oil reliably provide a deterrent effect on ticks in cats.
Ticks in cats are also a risk for humans
Remember that ticks in your cat are also a danger to yourself. Because the parasites can get onto you or family members quite unnoticed by your four-legged friend.
Apart from the health risk for the animal, this is without doubt another reason why you should treat the topic of ticks in your cat with the necessary care.
Ticks in cats - our conclusion
Although dogs are much more likely to be infected with diseases from ticks, there is also a risk for cats that should not be underestimated. A regular coat check and the use of a natural tick repellent for cats should therefore be an integral part of your everyday life during the tick season.
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