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Argh -- Tick removal for uncooperative cat?

post #1 of 4
4/8/05 at 7:19pm
Thread Starter 
So, I'm animal-sitting this week, and I was petting my mother's cat tonight (she's finally warming up) and I find a bloated tick.

Well, I spent an hour with this cat and I locked in the bathroom together, trying to get her to stand still for about 4 seconds to remove it.

No way, Jose.

It didn't mind if I tried to scratch her nicely under the chin or tried the "hey, let's see if you like to sit in a towel" approach -- she's going to remove my arm before she ever lets me remove this thing. It's up near her neck, on her shoulder.

My mother gets home tomorrow -- other than just leaving it, I've got no idea what to do. Any attempt to get in close is met with about 1 second of love, and then slashing/hissing.

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post #2 of 4
4/8/05 at 8:52pm
Thread Starter 
OK, I've probably made it worse....I got her to sit still long enough to get a good grab on the tick, but the head broke off -- it's probably been in there a week (she hasn't been out for a week). I tried to dab some alcohol on the spot, but now I'm not going to be able to dig out the head...
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post #3 of 4
4/8/05 at 9:09pm
No it was not a good thing Scott. The head staying inside of the cat is going to cause some major problems. How deep is the head buried? Can you get a pair to sharp tweezers and get the head out? It will otherwise rot and fester and carry poison to the wound-
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post #4 of 4
4/9/05 at 6:08am
Thread Starter 
I don't think that head is coming out without a trip to the vet or putting her under. She hasn't been outside for a week, so unless the dogs dropped a tick in the house, it's probably been in there awhile. Add that to her fidgeting while I was trying to remove it, and the tick probably buried in.

The main problem is that she won't sit still for 2 seconds (I tried the friendly approach for the first hour -- then tried to scruff her neck to get her to stay still), and if you try to hold her still, that's when the claws and the teeth come out. She's a nice cat, but like many, she doesn't like anyone telling her what to do.

I can call the vet this morning (though I'm not sure if they keep Saturday hours)....my mother is back this afternoon, and knows the cat better....*sigh*
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