2 Ticks In The Exact Same Place, Why?

mike5361

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as far as i know my 9 month old cat has only had one tick before, a month ago. this morning i saw a tick on his neck, and when i went to get it out with tweezers i noticed there were two ticks right next to each other a quarter of an inch away from each other, what is that about?
 

rubysmama

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I don't know much about ticks, except that I am terrified of them getting on me! So poor you, and your poor cat having 2 at the same time. Glad you found them, though.
 

Norachan

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My cats often get them on their face and neck. I guess as they walk through long grass that's the first thing the ticks grab.

If you put a tiny drop of the liquid flea and worm meds, such as Profender or Frontline, directly onto the ticks they drop off and die.

It's less painful than trying to pull them off with tweezers.
 

epona

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I think they go for places that have the best blood supply and are warm, so tend to head for the neck.

I once had a tortoise with a tick, had to take it to a vet for removal because it was really tricky to reach as it was attached to the tortoise neck inside the shell - vet had to use some medical instruments to remove it
 

Brian007

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When I lived in Highland Scotland the cats (and people) were forever getting ticks, and, yes, they do tend to cluster around the neck as that's the first juicy spot they get to when catching onto the face and ears.

DON'T USE TWEEZERS!!!! You will pull the body away from the head, which will remain in your cat and become infected.

It's best to leave them until they're fat enough with blood that you can gently grab hold of the body between finger and thumb near your cat's skin, and then simply unscrew the tick anticlockwise until it comes out head, feet, and all. This is because they screw in clockwise. Then dispose of as you feel fit.

Unscrewing them in this way is easypeasy, and once you've got the hang of it ticks are simply a nuisance more than anything to panic about. If you kill the ticks it situ or pull the body away from the head, you're likely to be left dealing with infection and nastiness as the head remains inside the cat's body.
 
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mike5361

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DON'T USE TWEEZERS!!!! You will pull the body away from the head, which will remain in your cat and become infected.
i was wondering about that. i bet he probably has one of the ticks head in him.

but why does the first thing that comes up in google when i search "how to remove tick from cat" is use tweezers.
 
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mike5361

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If you put a tiny drop of the liquid flea and worm meds, such as Profender or Frontline, directly onto the ticks they drop off and die.
that would be great. how long does it take for them to drop off?
 

Brian007

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Probably because the good people of Google don't live surrounded by swarms of ticks, latching onto anyone who happens by.
 

epona

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i was wondering about that. i bet he probably has one of the ticks head in him.

but why does the first thing that comes up in google when i search "how to remove tick from cat" is use tweezers.
Because anyone can put stuff on the internet, and google ranks it based on how many people look at it. It doesn't mean it is the best advice.
 

Antonio65

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I once had a tortoise with a tick, had to take it to a vet for removal because it was really tricky to reach as it was attached to the tortoise neck inside the shell - vet had to use some medical instruments to remove it
Just out of curiosity... Is climate in London good enough for a tortoise?
 

epona

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Just out of curiosity... Is climate in London good enough for a tortoise?
I haven't always lived in London - but yeah the climate here tends to be quite mild. They hibernate during winter, and it is now thankfully recognised that they require quite specific care - unlike when I was young and you could buy a juvenile one for £1 at any pet shop :( I did research how to care for them at the library though, internet did not exist back then, but I made sure I was as knowledgeable as possible.

We had 2 tortoises (this was nearly 50 years ago btw) - the one who had the tick that I mentioned above unfortunately passed away. The other one thrived and survived for many years and was then stolen (the ban on import of tortoises for sale made them valuable, and some complete lowlife took my pet to make some cash). :(
 
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Antonio65

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I'm sorry for your tortoises... I think they are lovely.
I have one, so I know something about the level of care that they need. And I know that they need a minimum temperature to perform their basic things like eating and moving. That's why I asked about the climate
 

epona

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It gets warm enough here in summer - I know people think England is cold and wet but it's not unusual for it to hit 30 Celsius in summer and it rarely reaches an extreme level of cold in winter.
 
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