Ackbar Has a Hard Week

The most disgusting thing happened today.  It's up there on my top 10 list of most disgusting things I've ever seen.  Possibly the most disgusting...but maybe that's because it's so fresh.  I can't stop thinking about it and repicturing it in my head. 

Ackbar has been acting upset the last few days.  I thought it was his stink following him around.  Today he came up to me and meowed and laid down in the middle of the floor.  His food bowl was full and he rarely meows, so I decided to groom him.  He needed some special attention.  So I was brushing him.  His back, right behind the tail is where he gets dirtiest and gets most of his matts because he can't clean back there.  I was brushing it really good, and some black stuff came out of his fur.  I wasn't sure if it was flea gunk or a scab.  He's had scabs back there before.  So I was brushing it to the side and looking to see if I could see his skin, to make sure it was all okay and I saw something.  It was round and tan and gross.  At first I thought it was a maggot that had hatched/was growing in his skin.  I've seen that in our barn cats growing up.  Gross, but not disgusting.  Then...I saw the legs.  It was like a hard tan shell with little black legs coming out of the side, like they were longer but the brown shell thing was growing over them.  It was about the size of a dime.  I realized it was a giant bloated tick!  Ugh.  I did the gross dance and called for my mom.  Ackbar kept on trying to rub against my legs.  Josh came outside and looked at it and said to pull it out.  No way! I was (and am now) trying not to puke.  I made him go get my mom.  She was reluctant because she was busy filling out a mailing form on the internet, but I was persistent and still doing the gross dance.  She got some tweezers (she, at this point, didn't truly understand the size) and came out and helped get it off him.  UGH. It was disgusting.  He had a big bloody hole on his back, and a giant clump of skin and furr came off with the tick.

I didn't see this part, thank goodness, but Josh stepped on it.  He said it popped and a bunch of black goo blood came out the side.

Ackbar is very thankful.  I am still traumatized.