How much blood does a tick drink from a cat? - briefly
A single adult tick feeding on a cat typically extracts between 0.1 mL and 0.2 mL of blood over the course of several days. This volume represents a minute fraction of the cat’s total blood volume.
How much blood does a tick drink from a cat? - in detail
A tick attached to a domestic cat extracts a minute quantity of blood, measured in microliters for immature stages and in fractions of a milliliter for adults. The volume depends on species, life stage, and feeding duration.
- Larvae: ingest 0.2–0.5 µL after 2–3 days of attachment.
- Nymphs: ingest 1–5 µL after 3–5 days.
- Adult females: reach full engorgement after 5–7 days, holding 0.2–0.5 mL (200–500 µL). Males feed minimally, often less than 0.1 mL.
Key factors influencing blood intake:
- Tick species – Ixodes ricinus and Dermacentor variabilis, common on cats, have similar engorgement capacities; Rhipicephalus sanguineus may ingest slightly more due to larger body size.
- Attachment site – areas with thin skin (ears, neck) allow quicker penetration, but overall volume remains governed by tick physiology.
- Host size and health – a healthy adult cat provides ample circulatory volume, but the tick’s maximal intake is limited by its own cuticle elasticity, not by host blood supply.
- Feeding duration – incomplete engorgement yields proportionally lower volumes; early removal reduces blood loss dramatically.
Even at maximum adult intake, the blood removed represents less than 0.01 % of a typical cat’s total blood volume (≈60 mL kg⁻¹). Consequently, direct hematologic impact is negligible, though prolonged attachment can introduce pathogens or cause localized inflammation. Prompt inspection and removal prevent these secondary risks.