Natural Tick Repellent for Cats

Tired of your cat always being infested with ticks? Not too happy about putting poison on you pet to keep the pests away? Then, keep on reading!

Af couple of weeks ago, my cat started having lots of ticks on his head when he came inside in the morning. And it was only March in Denmark! That's a bit early to have lots of ticks. However, I don't like the idea of having a cat full of ticks lying on my bed, so I started looking for something I could do.

I was a bit hesitant to use a chemical treatment. The warnings say you shouldn't even get the treatment on your hands, and if you do, you mush was very well. And you want me to put that on my cat!?

I had seen the Spot'n Go natural tick repellent for cats on the internet, but I thought it was a bit expensive compared to just buying the margosa/neem oil itself, which is the active ingredient anyway. So I bought a bottle of neem oil, diluted it with plain rapeseed oil in a ratio approximately the same as Spot'n Go, and applied it to my cat.

Keep on reading to see how I did it and what happened!

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Spot'n Go or any seller of margosa/neem oil. This is an honest review of how this natural product worked for me.

Use this treatment at your own risk. I am not a veterinarian or anything like it. I can only tell what I have done and what worked for me. Please read the warnings at the end of the instructable.

The neem oil is the active ingredient in this treatment. It is an all-natural vegetabe oil pressed from the seeds and fruit of the neem tree. It works as an insect repellent by disturbing the insects' hormonal system so they cannot eat. The bad smell also helps deter the insects.

The oil has a garlicy/spring onion smell, which is only slight after applying the treatment to the cat. I can only smell it when I stick my head down to my cat, and I think it is worth it to prevent ticks in a natural way. Do not add essential oils to the treatment, as most of them are harmful to cats.

Neem oil should not be applied concentrated to the skin; however, it is very potent, so a little goes a long way. I diluted it with some rapeseed oil just like the Spot'n Go treatment.

The Spot'n Go treatment contains 16% neem oil, so I used a ratio of 1:5 of respectively neem and rapeseed oil. In practical terms, I took 4 drops neem oil with a teaspoon and mixed them with 20 drops rapeseed oil. This results in about 2 mL, which is plenty for one treatment.

Tip: If the neem oil is solid, melt it in a warm water bath.

The treatment is applied to the neck of the cat to prevent ingestion. Neem oil should not be harmful if ingested in small quantities, but do your own research! This site suggests using neem leaf tea, which is not harmful. I used oil because I wanted to make an inexpensive replica of the Spot'n Go treatment for cats.

To apply the treatment, separate the hairs on the cat's neck and between his shoulders and pour the oil mixture in several different places. You want the oil to hit the skin and not the fur as much as possible, as it will otherwise make the fur very greasy. If necessary, you can spread the oil with your finger or massage it onto the skin.

Tip: Remove all ticks before applying the treatment.

So far, my cat has been completely tick free for a week! This is just wonderful! The Spot'n Go treatment says to renew the treatment every 4 weeks, but I will report back how long this homemade treatment lasts.

This treatment leaves a greasy spot on the cat's neck, but the greasiness should be completely gone after five days. Also, the treatment has a slight garlicy/spring onion smell, but I can only smell it if I stick my nose down to the cat. And I think these small disadvantages are worth it to have a tick free cat compared to the other two options -- a tick-infested cat or a poisoned cat!

Now I can pet my cat and snuggle with him without having to pick ticks all the time. I don't want to share him with them!

Neem oil has a garlicy/spring onion smell, but do not add any essential oils to the treatment, as most of them are harmful to cats.

Neem oil should not be applied concentrated to the skin.

Neem oil could be toxic if ingested in larger quantities. That is why it is applied to the neck, where the cat has a hard time licking itself. But do your own research and use your own good judgment.

Some users of the Spot'n Go treatment have reported itching and hairloss on the neck. However, my cat did not have any bad reaktion after this homemade treatment. He scratched a little bit in the beginning, but I think that was mainly due to the old tick bites.

Please share in the comments!