does my cat have a tick?

[liltaff]

Just noticed a small white blob on the back of my cats ear, was wondering if this is a tick, if it is how to i get it off and how do i kill it? Also how do you know if there is a tick on yourself?
Thankyou for any help

[Jules001]

my son picked up a tick when he went camping in the New Forest, we didn't notice it until he had been home two days, it was on his leg and just looked a bit like a little red scab, but when we looked closely and touched it we could see it move.

[B00]

See the question 9 posts down from this one, very similar question.

[Ebbs]

when i was a kid our dogs used to pick them up all the time, my mum used to cover them in vaseline to kill them and make them fall off, but sorry can't remember how long this took.
I would think it would be best to if you were going to try it to put one of those head things on the cat to try and stop the cat washing it off.

[bensmum]

You can get a special tool for getting ticks off but sometimes you need to wait until the tick is a little bigger before doing it. I generally manage to pinch them off but you have to make sure you don't leave the head in as it can become infected. When the tick season starts I use the Frontline flea and tick treatment on my cats which means that any they pick up will die and drop before they get too big.

[liltaff]

Well i only noticed it today and i went to pull it off with tweezers, i didnt see it move or anything but i didnt manage to pull it off as cat was wriggling too much and it was tuff to pull. I have no idea what ticks look like but it is white and small. does this sound like one?

[liltaff]

Also I put that frontline stuff on my cat less then a month ago.

[mycats]

Ticks arent white, if it wasatick it would be dark cause its filled with blood. If you do remove a tick though make sure you twist it dont just pull it straight off

[paddywak]

Please be very careful removing ticks,as stated in the previous post on this subject if any of the tick is left it can cause a nasty ulcer.

[liltaff]

so what can it be if it is white?

[kita1]

Picture of a tick on a dog:

http://www.thepetcenter.com/gen/itchtick_Ameri canDogTick_2.jpg

[liltaff]

well it definatly dont look like that kita

[Ebbs]

holy cow thats a big one, i remember them as being about the size of a piece of sweetcorn.

[wiggy35]

A small white blob doesnt sound like a tick to me. They are usually greyish and about 5mm diameter. If it looks like one dont try to pull it off, burn it etc. Try a drop of methelated spirit and wait for it to drop off by its own accord. Ticks have little things that bury into the skin which are very delicate and will be left in and become infected if you try to pull it off or touch it with a hot match which makes them exlode!! I have had ticks on my gundogs, cats, ferrets, myself and even an old girlfriend!

[liltaff]

think i will take him to a vet to get itchecked as it still hasnt gone a grey colour and it looks nothing like the pic above. thankyou for all your help! least i know what they look like now anyway.

[amonty1144]

Doesn't sound like a tick but for future reference, you might want to get one of these.

http://www.bds.org.uk/product57.html

it's a tick remover

Also frontline and similar products repel ticks, they don't necessarily stop them attaching or kill them

[B00]

could it possibly be just a skin tag? If so i really dont recommend trying to remove it!

[liltaff]

Boo, that is what my sister said when she seen it today, I think I will take him to the vet jsut to get it checked over.
Once again thank you all for your help.