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How to Remove a Tick

Although various methods are used to remove ticks, many of these are not recommeded because they can promote passage of pathogens into the feeding site.  Dousing the tick with alcohol, covering it with Vaseline, or applying a recently extinguised match to the body of the tick will not force the tick to release and back out of the animal.  The mouthparts only release once the tick has taken a meal.

To remove an embedded tick, exam gloves should be worn becasuse diseases can be transmitted by blood,  A pair of tweezers should be used to grab the tick as close to the base of the mouthparts as possible.  Steady pressure should be applied while pulling the tick straight out of the skin (twisting as you pull does not work well because they do not have threaded mouthparts).  It is important to make sure that the head of the tick has been removed.  If it appears that "black lines" are visible in the animal's skin, then the head is most likely still in the skin.  If this happens when a pet owner is removing the tick, the owner should bring the pet into the clinic.  In addition, owners should place the tick in alcohol to kill it.   

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   To trick cats into taking pills, use Easy Cheese(Kraft).  Make a line of cheese, then a dot, then another line.  The dot contains the pill.  Cats eat the cheese quickly, and because there is a second line, they continue to eat very quickly and swallow the pill without noticing they consumed it.  It doesn't work if the pill is just placed in a glob of cheese;  the cat will spit the pill out.  It's the line-dot-line technique that consistently works.

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     Do you have questions about animal health, medications, therapies, surgery, behavior, or safety?  Shasta Lake Veterinary Clinic suggest you visit this site to learn more about a health issue concerning your pet.  www.VeterinaryPartner.com