What are these small brown bugs on my cat?

Question

I hope you guys can help:

Day 1

Four days ago, I took a look at my cat's face and I noticed a small brown thing on his face. At first I thought it was only some dirt or something, but when I got closer, I noticed it was a tiny bug about the size of a pencil lead. Not thinking about what it might be, I tried to flick it off with my fingernail, however it wouldn't budge. I kept trying to remove it and went to get a tissue to pull it out with, but when I returned it was gone! I thought that perhaps it might have just fallen out, so I just shrugged it off.

Day 2

I noticed the small brown bug again in the same place on my cats face and completely freaked out. I assumed that instead of falling off the day before that it must have gone inside of his face, under his skin. I looked around a bit on-line and thought maybe it was a tick. My mom and I went out and bought some Frontline Plus, which supposedly kills fleas and ticks for cats. We applied it to my cat and figured that would solve the problem.

Day 3

The bug returned! In the same spot on my cat's face. This time, I immediately went and grabbed some tweezers and pulled it out of my cats face and killed it in a tissue and threw it away.

Day 4 (today)

I woke up this morning, looked at my cat and noticed a small brown bug just like the other(s). I got the tweezers once again, only my cat wouldn't hold still and the bug ran across his fur and disappeared! I just can't figure this out. When I did some research online, multiple articles said that ticks only bury their heads into the skin and not their entire bodies and this sort of leads me to believe they're not ticks...? My cat doesn't seemed bothered at all by these bugs, and he doesn't seem to notice they're there.

Once again, these bugs are about the size of a pencil lead and are very thin and brown and seem to be going completely under my cat's skin. Can anyone identify these for me? Also, could they be a problem for humans? And how could I remove them from my cat and prevent them from living in my home?

Thanks to anyone who answers. =]

Answer 1

Take your cat to the vet. Yes they can be a problem for humans, and YOU can't remove or prevent them. The vet has to figure what they are and the appropriate cure/prevention as there are too many parasites it could be to guess.  

Answer 2

Those are fleas, not ticks.. no tick can run away that fast and they don't go under the skin. Neither do fleas.. but it may appear that way since they move very fast and disappear into the fur like magic. The flea maeds should take care of it.. I prefer Advantage as it kills fleas in 12-24 hours. Frontline may take a while longer I'm not sure. However I am sure you are describing fleas. The flea was probably biting your cat at the time when you couldn't get it off, they kinda latch on and are hard to kill.

You need to get flea products for your home and cat.. wash all bedding the cat sleeps on in hot water and dry on hot in the dryer. Vaccuum all the carpets in your house and put a flea collar in your vaccuum bag to kill the fleas when you suck them up. DO NOT use multiple flea products on your cat.. the Frontline should take care of it as long as you follow the directions. Cleaning and treating your house will help prevent re infestations. I find Zodiac house spray for fleas works.. we sold alot when I worked at the pet store and everyone said it worked great.. Hartz doesn't work so don't waste your money on that!

Answer 3

ticks or chiggers. But what you are describing it is a chigger. Place nail polish over the site where it went under the skin. Also if you take it to a vet they can give you cream for it. Also cream that works on humans OTC will work on the dog. If you can take it off with tweezers then take it to a vet. Why havent you tried to take it off when you first seen it on day one?

Answer 4

Your cat has FLEAS! Talk to a vet. Frontline Plus is good, but takes 24 hours to spread through the skin and kill the fleas. Furthermore, as with any spot-on flea treatment, the fleas have to bite the animals to die. You've got fleas in your house - by the time you see them on the animal, they've already laid a zillion eggs in your house that are hatching out. You're going to have to get a housespray.

Fleas can bury themselves pretty deep in the skin, and they can be hard to get rid of. Talk to a vet.

By the way that was NOT the same flea you saw on Day 2 as Day 1!! Trust me when I say there are millions of the buggers about!

Chalice

Answer 5

i first though it was a tick, but could be fleas, take it to your vet would be the best bet

Answer 6

most likely fleas

see below

IF YOUR HOUSE / cat HAS FLEAS….

I have a NATURAL remedy for getting rid of fleas in your house.

Go to the Store and buy some 20 Mule Team BORAX.

Then sprinkle it all over. Carpets, couch, bedding, pillows, pet beds, car, even wood floors. (NOT ON YOUR PET!)

THEN VACCUME IT UP.

What Boax does is coats the eggs ... The eggs hatch deformed or unable to reproduce.

You will have to do this 2 or 3x about a week apart in order to get all the egg cycles.

FOR YOUR PET. Use the flea killer that is on the market or use a flea comb (this is also a head lice comb) especially for kittens or puppys who are too young to have insecticide put on them.

Kill the fleas that you find on the comb with soap or alcohol

Answer 7

could be mites or fleas. i would take him to the vet asap for a skin treatment

http://www.peteducation.com/category_sum...

Answer 8

um maybe fleas

Answer 9

Mites or more than likely fleas... call your vet and go and get flea medicine, it will take about 24-48 hours and they will all die