Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

hedgehog

(36,286 posts)
Wed Apr 16, 2014, 10:20 AM Apr 2014

Q.What's worse than finding a tick on your cat at 3AM?

A. Removing a tick from your cat at 3:15 AM.

Our sweet little cat often comes up to be petted in the middle of the night. I was petting her in the dark and felt a round lump. So, put on my glasses, turn on the light to check, and sure enough, it's a tick.

So I take the cat downstairs to where I keep the tick crowbars. By now, she's getting antsy. Then, I have to find the tick again. Two escapes and 9 scratches later, I had the tick off.

Fortunately, she's very forgiving.

That night gown was getting old, anyways.

33 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Q.What's worse than finding a tick on your cat at 3AM? (Original Post) hedgehog Apr 2014 OP
Finding two ticks on your cat? Sanity Claws Apr 2014 #1
I had fun with the neosporine! hedgehog Apr 2014 #2
Stepping in a seed tick nest. Lars39 Apr 2014 #3
eeeeekkkkkk In_The_Wind Apr 2014 #5
After a few nests, you get so you know every single freckle. Lars39 Apr 2014 #6
I never thought about tick eggs until now. In_The_Wind Apr 2014 #8
Yikes that's nasty! Lars39 Apr 2014 #9
I'd have to take my hairy devil to the vet Skittles Apr 2014 #4
How about your dog rolling in poo during a middle of the night potty break? oregonjen Apr 2014 #7
You win! hedgehog Apr 2014 #10
Let my Golden run on the beach before work... Scruffy Rumbler Apr 2014 #32
Stepping in fresh cat vomit while barefoot in the dark .... kwassa Apr 2014 #11
LOL! oregonjen Apr 2014 #15
I've tried changing my cats. They don't take well to instruction. kwassa Apr 2014 #17
Old and cold... 3catwoman3 Apr 2014 #20
Husky waking you up at 3 a.m. to go outside to catch an intruder, and proceeds to slam his 80-lbs txwhitedove Apr 2014 #12
That must have been an adrenalin rush! marzipanni Apr 2014 #23
Stepping barefooted in cat vomit at 3:00 a.m. The Velveteen Ocelot Apr 2014 #13
we share such an intimate experience. kwassa Apr 2014 #16
Finding a tick on the nape of your husband's neck, in a tent, at 3AM. countryjake Apr 2014 #14
Your cat finding a tick on you at 3AM? pinboy3niner Apr 2014 #18
I think we have a winner! hedgehog Apr 2014 #19
This is truly gross but here we go sharp_stick Apr 2014 #21
I have got to get me a Labador! hedgehog Apr 2014 #22
Sam was a fantastic dog sharp_stick Apr 2014 #27
OMG, that was a great account! I was right there with you, about to barf on the maggots marzipanni Apr 2014 #29
Finding one on yourself. GoCubsGo Apr 2014 #24
We had to remove one from our 11 yr old daughter after benld74 Apr 2014 #25
I'll trade your tick for cat pooping all over my house LynneSin Apr 2014 #26
but stepping in it barefoot at 3am it's happened to me azurnoir Apr 2014 #28
Tips: ticks don't swim so just drop it in the toilet. No neosporin, it clogs pores. n/t UTUSN Apr 2014 #30
cat vomits on your pillow at 3 AM? La Lioness Priyanka Apr 2014 #31
Waking up with a very large tick attached to the crook of your elbow. krispos42 Apr 2014 #33

Sanity Claws

(21,822 posts)
1. Finding two ticks on your cat?
Wed Apr 16, 2014, 10:24 AM
Apr 2014

Make sure you wash any scratches your furbaby gave you while you were saving her from the tick.

In_The_Wind

(72,300 posts)
8. I never thought about tick eggs until now.
Wed Apr 16, 2014, 09:51 PM
Apr 2014


Our Lab is a house dog. We have pulled a few ticks off her before we moved here.

oregonjen

(3,317 posts)
7. How about your dog rolling in poo during a middle of the night potty break?
Wed Apr 16, 2014, 09:41 PM
Apr 2014

To bathe or not to bathe, that is the question. Ended up bathing him, so we weren't smelling poo for the rest of the night and he wasn't sleeping in it. I can laugh now, but when it happened, I wasn't very happy.

Scruffy Rumbler

(961 posts)
32. Let my Golden run on the beach before work...
Sun Apr 20, 2014, 10:19 PM
Apr 2014

rolled in the seal carcass that had been on the beach for 4 months that I know of. Discovering it as a run my hands through his fur to say good bye on my way out the door to work... in a rental home for temp assignment...


Does that count?

txwhitedove

(3,922 posts)
12. Husky waking you up at 3 a.m. to go outside to catch an intruder, and proceeds to slam his 80-lbs
Wed Apr 16, 2014, 10:15 PM
Apr 2014

against the 7-ft. tall wood fence trying to get the raccoon clinging screeching, dog barking, me yelling and trying to push the dog away or push the raccoon over into the neighbors yard. It didn't stop until the raccoon fell off the fence, they tussled and in the dark I saw raccoon with all 4 paws on Husky's face with body arched away from the muzzle, both spinning til raccoon flew off and raced up a tree. Whew!



marzipanni

(6,011 posts)
23. That must have been an adrenalin rush!
Thu Apr 17, 2014, 12:47 PM
Apr 2014

My dog came in from a last yard-outing of the night with ear flap sliced into three ribbons and blood dripping steadily. I rushed him to emergency vet to be stitched up. She said raccoons do that with their claws...consider you and your dog lucky if no wounds were left on Husky's head (and that dog met a raccoon and not a porcupine!)

countryjake

(8,554 posts)
14. Finding a tick on the nape of your husband's neck, in a tent, at 3AM.
Wed Apr 16, 2014, 10:35 PM
Apr 2014

Ever try holding a flashlight while doing the digging?

Of course, he didn't have razor blades for toenails, so I sustained no injuries, but it was still a major pain.

sharp_stick

(14,400 posts)
21. This is truly gross but here we go
Thu Apr 17, 2014, 12:09 PM
Apr 2014

Spoiler, I'm warning you that this is really really disgusting but it's all true.

>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>


I wake up in the middle of the night. My dog (Sam) is in my room napping on the floor at the foot of my bed. He's got a doggy door and we live on a farm so he has the run of the place. I notice that the damned mutt smelled terrible, must have rolled in something gross, so I go to chase him out of the room and close the door. It's late I'll give the disgusting old bugger a bath tomorrow. While I'm up I decide to go to the bathroom and head out into the hall.

It's dark and I step directly on this mushy, furry, wet and obviously gross pile of dead and rotting muskrat right in the middle of the hallway. I'm still half asleep so it's still more of a WTF was that? I turn on the light and see, in addition to said mushy muskrat an old and obviously really happy black lab wagging his tail on the other side of the pile of gross on our nice hallway carpet. Hey hey, look what I found!!! I'll share it with you if you want!!!!

I step a little closer and when the smell hit me I almost added a pile of puke to the carpet right beside it. I manage to hold it down, hop down the hall and wash my foot in the tub. At the same time I toss the mutt in the tub and get him washed off. I then shooed him into the basement so he wouldn't get in the way while I cleaned up and also to avoid the temptation to brain the damned thing with a shovel.

Luckily I was home alone, Mom was working nights as an ER nurse.

I grabbed a spade from outside and scooped up the corpse and chucked it outside, as far as I could possibly heave it. I figure my dog pulled this thing out of a ditch or off the side of the road as it was hardly recognizable as a rodent anymore and was probably a victim of a passing car. When I get back to the hallway I realize that the carpet is completely soiled with gore and maggots, yes maggots...There is very little on Earth that grosses me out more than the sight of maggots. I tossed around the idea of just driving into town and sleeping at a motel until I could hire a decon crew to come out and get to work but there is no way I could leave this.

I used boiling water, detergent, dish soap and everything else short of bleach with a shop broom and hoe to kill and clean up as much of the mess as I could. When I was convinced it was as good as I was going to get it I called Mom at the hospital to warn her about the upstairs hallway and covered the patch with a kitchen chair so neither of us would step in it. I took the hottest shower I ever have, all the while plotting the death of my loyal, friendly and disgusting dog.

I tried to sleep but nah, that wasn't going to happen and the next morning when Mom got home she was laughing her ass off as I described the ordeal, she always did have a warped sense of humor I think it's a must when you spend your life working in an ER.

I called a carpet cleaning company, the guy hadn't even managed to take his jacket off when the phone rang because I called him the second the clock hit 9:00 AM and he came right out. He complimented me on my half ass attempt at cleaning it up and got to work with the big guns. All the while my dog, who managed to survive the night, looked on happily wagging his tail supervising his new friend that was cleaning his floors.

sharp_stick

(14,400 posts)
27. Sam was a fantastic dog
Thu Apr 17, 2014, 03:44 PM
Apr 2014

I grew up with him, he's the first real pet that became mine.

I would never hesitate to take on another Lab. They're smart, loyal, friendly, love kids and love to have fun.

marzipanni

(6,011 posts)
29. OMG, that was a great account! I was right there with you, about to barf on the maggots
Thu Apr 17, 2014, 06:15 PM
Apr 2014
! I was an LVN, and I do think nurses are not phased by much in the way of gross stuff. But, maggots! (even though lab-raised maggots are still used to eat away necrotic tissue, letting a wound heal better/faster)-
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/news-science-shows-how-maggots-heal-wounds/
There is a YouTube video about it , too, which I haven't looked at yet.

Our dog killed a roof (small) rat which died in a corner next to the dishwasher, not visible unless you lean over and look down. I think the rat got into the basement and came through the hole in the wall for the dishwasher's water pipes. When I discovered the rat it wasn't stinky for some reason (maybe because the atmosphere is so dry here in the summer) but maggots were writhing on it. YUCK! So I lean in between the wall and the dishwasher and pick the carcass up with dog-doo tongs, then knock the wiggly maggots onto a piece of newspaper before they move under the dishwasher- I was surprised they were trying to escape! Then clean the floor with dish detergent and hot water.
I did recall hearing a brief scuffle in the kitchen one evening the previous week but thought it was just a rare joust between dog & cat.
Our border collie heeler had lunged at, bitten, and shaken (IOW, swiftly dispatched) roof rats twice before in the yard at night, so I think our dog killed that rat.

GoCubsGo

(32,061 posts)
24. Finding one on yourself.
Thu Apr 17, 2014, 02:17 PM
Apr 2014

It doesn't matter if it's 3 AM or 3 PM. Even worse if it has a bull's eye rash around it.

benld74

(9,889 posts)
25. We had to remove one from our 11 yr old daughter after
Thu Apr 17, 2014, 02:27 PM
Apr 2014

her return from GS camp last summer. Only a 2 nite camp out, but involved horseback riding. They did the check on the kids after their breakfast on the last day, but then went on one more ride afterwards. We figure it dropped from the trees they rode under. She was NOT too pleased, considering where it latched on,,,,,,

LynneSin

(95,337 posts)
26. I'll trade your tick for cat pooping all over my house
Thu Apr 17, 2014, 02:35 PM
Apr 2014

Not sure why she's doing that, she was good for 10 years.

krispos42

(49,445 posts)
33. Waking up with a very large tick attached to the crook of your elbow.
Mon Apr 21, 2014, 11:33 PM
Apr 2014

Been there, done that, ewwwwwww...

Latest Discussions»The DU Lounge»Q.What's worse than findi...