What is this on the kitten? :o please help (picture included)

my guess is Tick.

Eww it does look like a tic.  

oh good; i wasn't totally wrong.  i'd suggest how to remove it, but all the ways i know how to do it....i just heard that none of those ways should be used.  you have to make sure the head isn't left inside/under the skin.  and i also think you want to avoid having the blood that's currently in the tick, from getting back in the cat.

i know when i had one a few years back, my mom used tweezers to pull it out.  she said she just grabbed it as close as she could get to my skin, and pulled it out.  but i've heard that you risk breaking the head off that way.  maybe there are more/better ways online.

good luck.

I only found this online that i will list below only for general purpose information.  But before you do anything I'd make an appt with the vet today to have him or her remove it.  There are some useful tips in that link, for instance keep an eye on your kitty for at least a few days to make sure symptoms of lethargy or anorexia don't develop from the tic bite.  

There was a long-haired dog who got bit by a tic and suddenly lost the ability to walk and began declining.  The owner and vet tried everything to no avail.  So she elected to put the dog to sleep.  As the vet tech (or intern) was comforting the dog in preparation, she noticed a lump behind the dogs ear.  It was the tic.  They stopped and switched gears.  The tic was removed, and within a day the dog began recovering and walking again.  

I would be hesitant to follow any online advice such as that link I listed below without the advice of a vet who is very knowledgeable in how to remove them safely.  

http://www.petmd.com/dog/parasites/how-to-remove-a-tick-from-dog-cat

You can also spread a thick layer of vasaline all over the tick (try to cover the area where the head is) with a q-tip/cotton swab. This suffocates the tick and it will let go on its own. Then you can grab it with tweezers and put it in a (lidded) container with rubbing alcohol.

i've heard horror stories about pets and ticks, too.  not THAT bad, but....they can get lyme disease, too, so you need to watch kitty for awhile.

i read the linked page, Ginny, and that sounds like what my mom did (step 4).  that she pulled it straight out without twisting, then checked it to make sure all the tick parts were there.  (then my dad took it, wrapped it in toilet paper, and flushed it.  which seemed kinda horrible, but...they are almost impossible to crush, so killing them quickly that way is out.)

saving the tick sounds good.  i was actually just wondering about that, after i wrote my last comment--"i wonder if one should save a tick?  can they test the tick itself for diseases??"  kinda like rabies, i guess i was thinking.

i'm thinking if you can just get the kitty to your vet or ANY nearby vet, that even for a walk-in, they'd be able to find a few minute to remove a tick.  no idea what the charge would be for something like that.

It looks like a tic. My dog once came back with one after we had her at a doggie hotel. I would take the kitty to the vet to make sure they remove it completely.

Raina21 said:

You can also spread a thick layer of vasaline all over the tick (try to cover the area where the head is) with a q-tip/cotton swab. This suffocates the tick and it will let go on its own. Then you can grab it with tweezers and put it in a (lidded) container with rubbing alcohol.

Click to expand...

Yes, this works.

You can take a cotton ball, put a big glob of hand sanitizer on it, and hold it on the tick for many minutes, smothers the tick and it backs out, and will be stuck in the cotton ball. Done deal.

That IS a tick. Gross.

UGH! I would not want to deal with this, I'd take the cat to the vet immediately and let them deal with it. I'm not squeamish when it comes to people and routine stuff with cats, but this is just too gross for me. No chance of getting a tick here, indoor only cats, second floor and not an area where ticks hang out 

any update??

it was the vaseline trick, and the one about using a match, that i heard recently one shouldn't ever do.  i can't remember why not, though.

but i also heard both of those tricks for years.