Where ticks hide on dogs and cats

Ticks do not wander over a pet’s whole body looking for somewhere to bite. They climb onto fur or paws from grass or brush, then move to skin that is thin, warm, and hard for the animal to reach with a paw or a jaw. That is why the same handful of spots turn up a tick again and again, on dogs and cats alike.

Check these first

• Inside and behind the ears
• Under the collar
• Armpits and groin
• Between the toes and pads
• Around the eyelids and muzzle
• Under the tail

These six spots share a pattern: sparse fur, close contact with the ground or undergrowth, and skin your pet cannot easily scratch or lick clean. A tick that lands on the back or flank is often groomed off within a few hours. One that reaches the ear canal or the webbing between the toes can sit undisturbed for days.

Why fur and body shape matter

A long-haired dog can carry a tick for longer before you notice it, simply because there is more coat for a small bump to hide under. Short-haired breeds tend to show a tick sooner, but the hiding spots themselves do not change. Cats groom far more often than dogs, which is one reason cats turn up ticks less often. See do cats get ticks for what that means in practice, and why the ears and chin still catch a cat out.

Puppies, kittens, and older or arthritic pets are worth extra attention. They cannot always reach every part of their own body to scratch at an itch, so a tick that would bother a fit adult dog into pawing at itself can go unnoticed on a pet with limited mobility.

How to check

1. Work in good light. Daylight or a bright lamp. A tick can be the size of a pinhead before it feeds, and poor light is the most common reason one gets missed.
2. Use your fingertips. Feel for a small bump: you will often find one before you see it, especially under thick fur.
3. Part the fur in sections. Work from head to tail in overlapping strips so nothing is skipped, the same way each time.
4. Finish at the paws. Between the toes is the most commonly missed spot, partly because it is fiddly and partly because most people check it last, if at all.
5. Do not forget the tail base and under the collar. A collar can hide a tick from view for its entire attachment.

How often to check, and what a full check does not replace

A full check takes two or three minutes once it is a habit. Do it after every walk through long grass, leaf litter, or woodland edges, and again at the end of the day if your pet has been outdoors for long stretches. Ticks can take a little while to settle after climbing on, so an evening check catches ones that were missed earlier in the day.

A hands-on check is about finding a tick that has already attached, not preventing one from climbing on in the first place. Prevention (a vet-recommended collar, spot-on, or oral product) and a physical check are complementary, not substitutes for each other. See pet tick repellents for how those products fit alongside a check routine, and signs of tick disease in pets for what to watch for afterwards.

TickSentry’s guided tick checker walks through these sections one at a time, so you check the same spots in the same order every time rather than relying on memory.