Common Cat Fleas

The best way to control fleas is to remove them from your cat and your house. Take her to a groomer for the day and have her bathed with a veterinarian-approved flea shampoo. Spraying or dipping her with a residual pesticide has little or no lasting effect and it can be detrimental to her health. While she is out of the house, hire a company that uses a non-toxic product to spray the carpets and the furniture. These companies usually guarantee a flea-free home for one year.

From this point on, it is important for you to vacuum the carpets, the furniture, and the cat's bedding everyday. Place the cut-off end of a flea collar or a moth crystal into your vacuum cleaner bag to kill any vacuumed adult fleas. Vacuum the cat if she will let you! Groom her daily with a flea comb. Do not be surprised if you occasionally find a flea on her. She will bring them in from the outside if she is an indoor-outdoor cat. Remember, you cannot get rid of them, only control them.

Along with the onset of warmer weather comes an explosive increase in the prevalence of Ctenocephalides felis, the Cat flea. These high-jumping, minute creatures (they're about one-tenth of an inch long) thrive in a warm, moist environment, between 60°F and 90°F, with relative humidity ranging from 65% to 85%. In that environment, flea eggs that have been deposited in carpeting, upholstery, cat bedding, cracks in hardwood floors, and other snug places hatch into larvae. A week or so later, a cocoon forms, inside of which the larvae mature into adults whose lives depend on a steady supply of blood meals.

To obtain their nourishment, they hop onto cats, feed on the host's blood in small nips for several months or more, then lay eggs. The cycle is renewed when the eggs eventually drop off the cat onto the same carpeting, the same upholstery, the same cat bedding, and so forth. The extent of a flea-bitten cat's suffering will depend on her sensitivity. She may have constant itching, or she may develop serious skin irritations that lead to infections, often as a result of her scratching and gnawing at the irritated area. Moreover, fleas can transmit tapeworms. To make every effort to protect your feline companion against assault and infestation by this dreadful little flea parasite, you will have to pay attention to the cat's environment as well as to her body.

Some cats are bothered more by the pesticides than they are by the fleas. Flea collars, sprays, powders, and shampoos are all loaded with pesticides. Beware of insecticide poisoning!

There are a lot of products on the market that claim to get rid of fleas. Flea collars, cedar shaving pet beds, garlic and yeast tablets, water/light traps, and ultra-sonic devices are among them. Research, however, has not shown them to be effective in ridding your cat and house of fleas.

Fleas are one of the main causes of cat skin problems.

An adult flea is a pinhead-sized dark insect without wings, that feeds on animal blood. It can multiply quite fast: it lays up to 500 eggs!

If you notice your pet scratching the same area frequently or suspect fleas the best way to check for fleas is to look for flea droppings. This will appear as tiny black strings near the base of the cat's fur. If you have a dark haired cat and can't see if there is dirt or not try brushing or combing your pet. Then check the fur for flea droppings. As flea dropping are rich in blood you can always wet the droppings, if they turn reddish, they are from fleas!

Cats that stay indoors won't catch fleas easily, although there's a small chance you may bring some flea eggs home on your shoes or clothes. Outside cat fleas are easily spread. A flea leaps from animal to animal. Be aware that cat fleas may also infect your pet with a tapeworm.

Flea Allergy or - or miliary eczema - can be recognized by numerous small pimples on the hind part of the back and along the spine. In severe cases your kitty will find it almost impossible to stop licking, scratching and biting. Only a vet can treat such an allergy!

For allergic cats fleas can be dangerous.

Condition: Flea allergy dermatitis (flea bite hypersensitivity).

Descripton: Severe reaction by the cat to the saliva of the flea.

Symptoms: Intense itching, redness, hair loss papules, crusts, and scales; sometimes development of infection or hot spots.

Diagnosis: Presence of fleas; reaction to intradermal testing.

Treatment: Flea Control in the environment and on the cat; steroids and antihistamines for the itching.

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How can you see if your cat or kitten has fleas?

Your pet scratches vigorously.

There are tiny dark spots on the skin. These are droppings of cat fleas.

Sometimes you can even see the parasites run on your kitty's back - that's where they most live.

Groom your pet regularly and watch your kitty's skin. If you notice a flea or droppings, start treatment.

A spray, shampoo or powder with insecticide.

Flea collars. Keep in mind that some collars cause a skin reaction.

Nowadays there are even tabs against cat fleas.

Wash floors, carpets and walls to kill flea eggs.

Thoroughly clean the place where your kitty sleeps. Use disinfectant.