Parasite- what is this bug?

I have a male cat (Michael) who is about 10 years old and goes outdoors frequently. Recently I have been petting him and I have noticed these large tag-like skin flaps on him. They're usually around his neck and they're a dark brown color. I never thought anything of them before, because they would just fall off on their own. Today, however, I found a new one, but this time, I noticed it has legs!!!! This is the first time I've ever seen this before on any of my cats, and he's the only one that gets them out of my three cats. It appears to have a small black head and is connected by some sort of mouth. I tried to pull it off with tweasers, but it's definately stuck there! And there's dried blood all around the area. I'm sure it'll fall of on its own like the rest of them did, but I'm afraid that it may be harming him, because it looks pretty painful to me. Have any suggestions?

-FutureVet (Bridget)

Tick. Probably.

Get tick tweezers and you should be able to remove it. If it looks irritated, a vet visit is very important.

Also goto your vet and get a prescription for Frontline Plus, it will kill ticks and prevent him from this problem again.

Also, consider the possibility of converting to an indoor kitty if possible.

If you could get some pictures we could be sure on the tick situation.

Spotz

It sounds like your cat has ticks. This can be very dangerous to both you and your pet. Here is an article that describes the tick and associated diseases:

Cats and Ticks

And here is a link to some flea and tick products for your pet:

Products to prevent fleas and ticks

Please take your pet to your vet to discuss the above products.

Just a footnote, the links Russian Blue posted goes much more indepth.

Originally Posted by Frontline/Merial Website

Full Site

Click to expand...

So basically you have a choice of either Frontline Plus, or Revolution for the tick problem. Definately discuss your options with your vet, and do some research of your own. Each product has a target pet, and some cases a vet will choose one product over another, and in another case, choose a completely different product.

Spotz

The only product for cats that will kill all ticks is Frontline. The most dangerous is the deer tick, and revolution doesn't kill them. In some states, deer ticks aren't common, but NY happens to have deer ticks.

I consulted a friend who hunts a lot around this area and he says it's definately a deer tick. I'm bringing him to the vet pretty soon (luckily, he was already due for boosters so he was already scheduled for an appointment) and asking about Frontline Plus. I was going to take a picture and post it on here, but the tick fell off yesterday.

I want to thank everyone for their help. I'm sure if Mike could type he would say thanks too!

FutureVet