How to protect your cat against ticks

Ticks are small parasites that feed on the blood of other animals, like fleas do. Ticks are well-known for their ability to pick up certain diseases and spread them from one animal to another. In the UK, the two most serious tick-borne diseases are canine babesiosis and Lyme disease. Canine babesiosis only affects dogs, and Lyme disease is very rare in cats, so it’s unlikely that your cat will contract a tick-borne disease.

However, it’s still important to know how to protect your cat against ticks. Ticks can be uncomfortable and irritating for cats, and their bites can even cause a local infection, inflammation, and even abscesses.

Ticks find a new host by sitting at the tips of grasses and plants, waving their forelimbs in the air. This is called ‘questing’. When your cat brushes past, ticks will grab hold of their hair, climb on, and attach themselves to your cat by biting through the skin.

Your cat’s most likely to pick up ticks while exploring and climbing in grassy and wooded areas – but ticks could even be in your garden. The temperature and humidity conditions are most favourable for ticks from spring until the end of autumn, but your cat could come across ticks at any time of the year.

Pet parents often ask us how to prevent ticks on cats. There are two things you regularly need to do:

1. use an effective tick treatment, such as FRONTLINE PLUS^®
2. check your cat for ticks and remove any you spot.

There are many tick treatments available. The safest and most effective product for your cat will be one which is:

• suitable for cats
  It’s very important to check that the product you’re using is safe for cats. The active ingredient in some flea and tick treatments for dogs can be toxic to cats.
• thoroughly tested
  Many pet parents will be tempted to use folk remedies to prevent and remove ticks on cats. However, some of these remedies are dangerous for cats – such as essential oils, some of which can be very harmful to pets. We recommend only using a tick treatment that has been thoroughly tested, so you can rest assured that it is safe and effective.
• kills ticks fast
  Not every flea treatment for cats kills ticks too, so check that you’re using a product that does. FRONTLINE PLUS^® and FRONTLINE^® SPOT ON kill both fleas and ticks on cats. Ticks are killed within 48 hours, reducing the risk of tick-borne diseases.
• tackles all main species of ticks
  In Europe, there are three main species of tick – Ixodes, Dermacentor and Rhipicephalus – so you’ll want to use a treatment that is effective against all of them. Both FRONTLINE PLUS^® and FRONTLINE^® SPOT ON have been proven to kill these three species of tick.
• applied regularly
  Ticks aren’t just a risk in the warmer months, but year-round. To keep your cat protected, don’t skip treatments. Flea treatment should be applied every 4 weeks for best results.

FRONTLINE PLUS^® and FRONTLINE^® SPOT ON are easy to use. Simply:

1. Hold the pipette upright, away from face and body.
2. Snap off the tip along the scored line.
3. Part the cat’s fur at the base of the neck in front of the shoulder blades until the skin is visible.
4. Place the tip of the pipette on the skin and squeeze to empty the contents completely onto the skin.
5. Do not bathe the cat for 2 days after application and no more than once a week thereafter.

Once applied, the treatment will be stored in the sebaceous glands in your cat’s skin and will naturally spread over their whole body. Both fleas and ticks will be killed after making contact with your cat’s skin and coat – they don’t have to bite your cat to be killed, which is the way some other products work.

Don’t stroke or cuddle your cat until the application site is dry, and don’t let children play with them. To make sure the treatment is as effective as possible, don’t bathe your cat and keep them out of the rain for the next 48 hours.

Ticks are very small, which can make them tricky to spot. When they first climb on your cat, they’re only about the size of a sesame seed – but they can grow up to 200 times after they’ve been feeding. Your cat might not even feel anything when they’re first bitten, as ticks secrete enzymes in their saliva which have an anaesthetic effect.

The best way to check your cat for ticks is by carefully combing through their fur with your fingers, feeling for bumps on their skin. Remember to check your cat’s ears, face, elbows and between their toes – these are some of the favourite spots where ticks like to hide.

As cats can pick ticks up whenever they go outside, it’s best to check for them regularly. A good time is when you’re giving them their daily groom, which can also be a good bonding activity! You might not spot all of the ticks on your cat, so use a tick treatment as well: it’ll get to work killing ticks before you even notice them.

It’s important that you know how to remove ticks on cats safely, as the wrong technique may:

• leave the head or mouthpart behind, which can cause discomfort or an infection
• make the tick stressed, which may increase the risk of disease transmission.

How to remove ticks on cats:

Do not:

• use rubbing alcohol, oil, or butter
• pull or squeeze the tick
• freeze or burn the tick
• use tweezers

Do:

• use a specially designed tool

1. Spread your cat’s fur away from the tick so you can easily reach it
2. Slide the tick remover against the skin to catch the tick in the V shaped section
3. Twist gently in one direction to release the tick’s jaws and pull the tick off

Once you’ve safely removed a tick from your cat, wrap it in a tissue and place it in your bin. Ticks can transmit diseases to humans as well as pets, so thoroughly wash your hands. Even if you’ve removed a tick, there might be more on your cat – including tick larvae and nymphs. If you aren’t already using a tick treatment, it’s a good idea to apply one. FRONTLINE PLUS^® kills ticks within 48 hours, as well as killing fleas on your cat within 24 hours and preventing flea eggs from hatching in your home.

It’s very unlikely that your cat will catch Lyme disease from a tick bite, but it is possible, so seek advice from your vet if your cat is unwell and has, or has had, a tick. Lyme disease does not cause a recognisable rash in cats, as it does in humans. The clinical signs of Lyme disease in cats can include:

• fever
• lameness
• loss of appetite
• lack of energy
• difficulty breathing

We hope that now you know how to prevent ticks in cats, you can feel confident that you’re keeping your pet protected. Check out our cat advice pages for more tips and guidance from our veterinary team.