Tick alert

'Mammaaaa, Phiny has a tick, a HUGE one.' A commotion, kids rush in. I need to take it out right away, Dad can't manage - he can't see well anymore (get some glasses finally 🤪!). Okay, let's take a look. Iiiii, that's really big. Is that really a tick?!?!?! With some disgust, I try to grab the thing, but fail miserably. I slip, Phiny screams, Dad is bleeding through his white shirt from the strong claws. Phiny runs away. Empathic Mamma feels it in her own body, Aya becomes hysterical (crying, wants to go to the vet IMMEDIATELY, yelling at everyone, gasping for air), Wiwi has many questions, Lala wants to go catch Phiny, and Dad tries to be pragmatic 'Heyy girls, it's just a tick!!!!!' No one is listening to him. I need knowledge, Google. One learns that there are various species of ticks, and our specimen is a brown dog tick. Consequences for cats can be suboptimal (we'll keep that a secret) and so the tick should be removed as soon as possible. At some point, Nana comes out of the shower and asks, 'What’s going on?!' Tick alert, jumbled responses from all sides. She: 'Aha.' and disappears into her room 😜 😂. Dad's child... With treats, we lured Phiny back, tried 1x, 2x, 3x, and temporarily gave up. Phiny is gone right away, disappearing into the dark night. With a bad feeling, I go to sleep; the Googled consequences leave me somewhat unsettled 😅🙈.

This morning, the world looks better again. Dad was able to remove the tick while feeding, and Phiny is happily bouncing through the garden again.