Ticks - Scarborough,ME

I hope you can take your kitty into the vet soon. They may offer some kind of medication she should be on for several days as well as something like Frontline. It is possible she could have been carrying the tick for two weeks. Ticks I think live up to 1 year.

I once had a tick on my stomach below my belly-button and I had to have someone remove it. I had to also be on medication for 7 days. Don't freak out! Ticks happen and very often especially if you have active kids who love to go outside in the woods!

I found this online, not sure if will help you....

Find Answers for: How Long Do Ticks Live?

A tick for the most have a life span for approximately a year. However, the lifespan of a tick usually depends on the type of species that it is. Their life could be described as four stages, namely, egg stage, Larval or Seed Tick stage, Nymph stage, and lastly Adult stage. At stage they hatch their eggs which later moves into the second stage as 6-legged larvae.

The larva generally feeds on animals fro about 1 week to 8 months. After this stage is complete they move into the next stage that is known as 8-legged nymphs. They feed on animals for around 3 to 11 days and then a month later they molt. From here they go ahead to form a complete adult. After this they move into the next stage, wherein they put in their mouths, connect to their victim, and puff up themselves with a blood mealtime.

Good luck and don't stress too much!

I agree with Kate. if you haven't yet you need to take the cat to the vet ASAP I had a dog pass away from a tick he got lime disease. and we didn't catch it fast enough because he had thick fur the groomer found it and called us to bring him into the vet. He was medicated but they determined the tick was there for months..... Good luck and follow Kate's advice

Kimmie

If you can't pull it out with tweezers, try some frontline. If removing with tweezers, try to get as close to its mouth as possible. This is not that big of a deal. My husband had a couple of weeks where he was outdoors alot on Co. Property and would come home wih several each day. I'd pull them out, crush them(which takes some force) and flush them in the toilet-this is not that huge of a deal, take a deep breath, it will be ok.

The big engorged kind are not lyme disease carriers, so no worries! It's probably been on your cat for at least a week - they will get so engorged they will fall off themselves. (one of my grossest parenting moments was when mydaughter - not even 1 y.o. found one of those engorged ones that fell off and started chewing it! Yuck.)
Your cat could have carried it in weeks ago, or it certainly could have come in on you or your families clothes, so just stay out of long grass and check sleeves and cuffs and neck lines when you come in from woodsy play!

Tics usually stick to the pet they came in on. If it's a big, fat engorged tic it means its been hangin out on your cat probably for at least a week. So she probably did get it when she was out frolicking. Chances are thre are no tics in your house, your awareness is now heightened so that's a good thing. It's pretty much getting too cold to be tic season anyway isnt it?

only certain ticks carry lyme disease, black legged ticks and lone star ticks are two of them. we just call them deer ticks. so google ticks and see if you can recognize the type that kitty had, she probably wont need to go to the vet. if the spot is swollen or irritated, put some neosporin on it for a few days and it should be okay. dont freak, it'll be okay!

Do not worry about it. I live in the middle of the woods, I grew up in the woods, we always had outdoor animals and ticks. If your cat is the only animal, and an indoor cat, this was probably just a rare occurrence. If you had outdoor animals, you might want to look into tick control remedies. Ticks don't lay eggs in homes as far as I know. If your toddler plays outside, just make sure to check for ticks after playtime and at bath time. If you or your kids get a tick bite, make sure to keep an eye on it, but don't fret. These disgusting bugs are a reality of living in New England, unfortunately.

I wouldn't stress too much, but it is wise to check yourself and the kids frequently for ticks.
Just a note about lyme disease: apparently a tick has to be attached for at least 24 hours before it can pass lyme disease. If you check daily, chances are that you will find the tick before that time span is over. If you find a tick on a human, save it after pulling it off. Your Dr. can have some tests done to see if it was infected with the "Borrelia bacteria".
As for taking the cat to the vet.... I would hesitate to put my cat on heavy duty medication with it's own risks to the cat's health to prevent the unlikely event that your cat's tick was infected with Lyme disease. But that is up to you to decide.

The tick could have come in on the cat and been there the whole time. They are tough to see until they are attached and engorged. The tick could also have come in on anyone's pant leg or shoe - they cling to tall grass and other things, and then when you brush by, they get on you. Could have been knocked off in the house and then found its way (happily) onto the cat. Impossible to know. I would just check your kids especially in the hair and around tight spots (e.g. waistbands). Try not to freak out. Not all ticks carry Lyme disease. The deer tick is more of a problem, and this sounds like the common "dog tick". In my experience, ticks are kind of "solitary" and not the type of bug that swarms or multiplies - not like lice, you know?

If it was fully engorged it has probably been attached for at least a few days. It is possible someone in the household brought it in on clothing or in on its own and attached once there. Several people mentioned lyme disease, it is not every where and many animals have it and you don't even realized. There are also other tick borne diseases and all of them take multiple hours or longer to transmit to pets.Dogs are tested for heartworm in most places yearly and some tests include tick diseases also and sometimes it will come up positive and the pet has shown no symptoms, but they will medicate for a short period, but after that the pet will still show up positive since it is a carrier.

Your best bet might be to give the vet a call and ask them if there is anything they recommend doing after tick removal. Cats frequently remove their ticks if they have any during grooming, but not always.