Is this lump on my cat's head a tick, blood clot, or something else?

It's a tick ! You need to remove it carefully in order to avoid leaving the tick's head in. Which is what would happen if you just pull it. You put some spirit on top of it and then with a pair of tweezers twist it to the right three times and to the left for three times, then pull gently.

Unfortunately, it's impossible to tell what is going on with a skin problem by just looking at the skin since most skin problems look very similar. My best recommendation would be to have your veterinarian perform some simple skin tests to get a sample of the area to examine under the microscope. They will be able to evaluate for bacteria, yeast, mites, fungus and abnormal cells. Hopefully that will determine what is causing the problem and how to treat it. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hello. Your picture did not come through, but I would definitely err on the side of safety & have your vet look at the tick bite as soon as possible. Just based on what you have written, I would be inclined to prophylactically start Rocky on antibiotics. Continue to topically treat the area until you can have him seen. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Unfortunately it is very hard to see exactly what is going on with the pictures you have posted. It does however look like there are little blood clots present, which suggests small little wounds or scratches present underneath. Possible causes of scratches/wounds on the skin would be fleas, fights with other cats/animals, mange and self-trauma scratching, tick bite craters, etc. I recommend you give her a bath and get it all cleaned up, and see if more are appearing or if they are healing up after a few days. They don't look infected so medications for the wounds themselves are likely not required. I would treat for fleas/mange if you are not already. Best of luck with Freckie!

This looks like an engorged tick. You can look with a magnifying glass to see if you see legs at the area of attachment. Take tweezers at the place it’s attached at the skin to firmly pull back to remove it. Then clean the wound with hydrogen peroxide and apply a thin film of antibacterial ointment on it. He may have a scab or sore in that area for several days after removing the tick. I use a Seresto collar on my barn cat to prevent fleas and ticks. You can purchase one at PetCo. Dog tick products are toxic to cats so please read labels very carefully before applying any product on your cat. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Carbon.

YEs this is quite likely a tick bite reaction and there may be part of the tick still there causing irritation. Bathing with warm saline soaked cotton wool will help to keep the area clean if she allows you, monitor closely for increasing redness, pain, lameness or fever which may indicate a widespread infection which would require additional treatment. I recommend using a tick prevention such as bravecto every 3months to prevent further incidents

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Based on the images provided, it appears that there is a cyst / wart like skin mass on the head. If this keeps bleeding and opening up, I would recommend having it removed by a veterinarian in the near future. I would schedule an appointment with a veterinarian and have an exam done to evaluate this problem to plan appropriately. I hope this helps!