How to Remove a Tick From a Cat

Knowing how to remove a tick from your cat is important for their health—and also for yours.

Tick-borne diseases can spread to your cat as soon as 24 hours after the tick attaches. Some of these diseases, such as Lyme disease, can also affect humans. So, if you find a tick on your cat, removing the tick promptly and properly is important.

Here’s how to remove a tick from a cat.

Tools You’ll Need to Remove a Tick From a Cat

• Pair of tweezers or tick-removing tool

• Latex gloves

• Isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol)

• Feline-friendly antiseptic containing chlorhexidine or povidone-iodine

• Jar or container with a lid

• Someone to help restrain your cat

• Treats

If you can’t remove the tick because you do not have one of these items, or if you are unable to handle your cat, bring your cat to the vet to have the tick safely removed.

Steps for Removing Ticks From Cats

Follow these steps for pulling the tick off your cat by using tweezers or a tick-removing tool.

Removing the Tick With a Pair of Tweezers

1. Fill a container with rubbing alcohol.

2. Gently restrain your cat and distract her with a treat.

3. Separate the fur and make sure that it’s actually a tick and not a skin tag or other skin disorder.

4. Grasp the tick with the tweezers as close to your cat’s skin as possible. Try not to squeeze the tick. If the tick’s body is squeezed too hard, you may inadvertently push disease-causing microorganisms into your cat’s body.

5. Pull firmly to remove the tick.

6. Drop the tick into the isopropyl alcohol.

7. If available, use a feline-friendly antiseptic on your cat’s skin where the tick bit.

Steps for Using a Tick-Removing Tool

1. Fill a container with isopropyl alcohol.

2. Gently restrain your cat and distract her with a treat.

3. Separate the fur and make sure that it’s actually a tick and not a skin tag or other skin disorder.

4. Hook the tool under the tick, close to your cat’s skin (like you would hook the head of a nail with a hammer to remove the nail).

5. Rotate the tool until the tick separates from your cat’s skin.

6. Lift the tick and put it into the isopropyl alcohol.

7. If available, put a feline-friendly antiseptic on the tick bite area on your cat’s skin.

How To Remove a Tick Head

If the tick’s head gets stuck in your cat’s skin, it should be treated in the same way as a splinter that is difficult to remove. Don’t keep trying to remove it, or you’re more likely to delay healing and create an infection. The body will most likely push it out or dissolve it on its own.

The risk of disease transmission is very low once the body of the tick has been safely removed.

Monitor the site for infection and take your cat to the veterinarian if there is significant swelling. It’s normal for there to temporarily be a small amount of redness and a scab where the tick was attached.

How to Kill the Tick

It’s important to properly dispose of a tick, as they can still bite your cat (or you!) if they are still alive. Once you’ve placed the tick in isopropyl alcohol to kill it, it’s a good idea to flush it down the toilet or dispose of the closed container in the trash.

Preventing Tick Bites on Cats

There are many options for tick control in cats. It’s important to use only products made specifically for cats. Some products marketed for dogs may contain ingredients that are not safe for cats.

Topical Tick Control

This comes in a tube that you squeeze to dispense the solution between your cat’s shoulder blades so she can’t lick it off. The topical solution must be allowed to dry or be absorbed before your cat comes into contact with other pets and before petting your cat.

Commonly used forms of topical tick control in cats are:

• Frontline^® Gold

• Frontline^® Plus

• Revolution^® Plus

• Bravecto^® Plus

• Nexgard^® Combo

Oral Tick Control

Tick control pills may not be the best option for cats. One flea and tick product, Credilio^®, is labeled for the treatment and control of black-legged ticks. It may also help with other types of ticks, but that can’t be guaranteed.

Also, consider how easily your cat will take a pill when choosing this type of prevention. Giving your cat a pill, even one that is supposed to be chewable, can be a challenge.

Tick-Control Collars

Newer flea and tick collars, like Seresto^® Flea & Tick Collar for Cats, can be effective in repelling ticks. Care must be taken to ensure that the collar fits correctly and that your cat (or other animals in the household) do not chew on it.

Tick-Control Sprays

Some sprays offer just a short period of tick-repellent activity, while others, like Martin's Flea Plus IGR Trigger Cat & Dog Spray, offer a longer solution, similar to topical treatments.

Tick-Control Shampoo

Shampoos can be helpful for getting rid of an infestation of fleas or ticks, but they do not have the same long-lasting effects as some of the other options.

The option you choose for your cat depends on many factors, including their age, size, health status, and how tolerant your cat is to sprays, taking pills, or wearing a collar.

Even cats that spend the majority of their lives indoors can benefit from tick prevention, because ticks can be carried into your home on other pets or people. If you have questions about which form of tick prevention is best for your cat, contact your veterinarian.

Featured Image: iStock.com/Ruslan Sitarchuk

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