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How Do Kittens Get Fleas

Can You Prevent Fleas On Indoor Cats

How To Spot, Treat and Prevent Fleas On Cats | Vets4Pets

In order to prevent flea infestations among indoor cats, make sure to keep up with your regular flea preventive. Your veterinarian can advise you which flea preventive topical, oral, or collar is best for your cat.

Additionally, check your cat’s fur regularly for fleas or for signs of fleas, such as “flea dirt” flea excrement that resembles black pepper. If you notice your cat scratching a lot, check them carefully using a flea comb, which has much finer teeth than a regular grooming tool.

Fleas are a hassle for cats and their owners, but by taking these precautions, you will greatly decrease the likelihood of a flea infestation. Find more information on how to treat your cat with fleas.

Other Places Cats Visit

Cats can pick up fleas at catteries, shelters/rescues, a vets office, a groomers, a boarding facilityany place where dogs, cats, and other animals congregate.

What you can do:

  • It is extremely important that all cats are on veterinarian-approved and prescribed flea and tick prevention year-round.

  • If your cat has a medical history, discuss with your veterinarian which prevention would be best for their specific needs. Reading all labels on flea prevention is very important to make sure you use the product correctly.

  • Never use prevention formulated for a dog on your cat, and never use a prevention on your cat that is not the correct dose for their body weight. If you are unsure of your cats weight, the vets office can do a weigh-in.

How Do I Know If My Pet Has Fleas

Regular grooming allows you to check whether your pet has fleas. Adult fleas are tiny dark brown insects, about 1-2mm long, that appear flattened sideways and may be seen moving quickly through your pets fur or on their skin. Fleas do not have wings but can move between host animals and the environment by jumping. If you suspect fleas but cannot find them, check for flea dirt , which appears as dark specks on the skin or can be removed from fur using a fine-toothed comb. It is possible to diagnose the presence of fleas on pets by placing flea dirt on a wet tissue, where it will stain red, indicating dried blood that has been digested by fleas. Physical signs that may indicate the presence of fleas include spots, reddening, loss of hair or thickened skin, such as around the ear edges. Your pets behaviour can also be a sign of flea infestation, although this is not a reliable indicator because not all pets will scratch or appear irritated. Some cats will scratch at fleas only when they are not being observed.

IMAGE: Adult fleas in dog hair

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Windows Screens And Doorways:

Fleas are so small and nimble that they can come into your home on their very own.

They can use their legs to leap through screens or coming in through the smallest cracks of windows and doors.

So your kitty that likes to take their cat nap by that sunny window sill, or that observant cat that watches and stalks the squirrels running around outside your front door are all at risk of that one pesky flea marching right on in and causing an itchy uproar in your home.

The Worst Thing You Can Do: Nothing

How To Tell If Your Cat Has Fleas

A flea infestation can cause anemia in kittens.

A flea doesnt actually bite, explains Dr. William Miller Jr., VMD. It sticks its proboscis into the skin and sucks blood. It doesnt take too much of this sucking to cause anemia in a kitten that is carrying innumerable fleas. You dont see this problem very often in adult cats, but its frequently seen in kittens.

  • Make sure your kittens gums are pink since this condition can be deadly, and bring your kitten to the veterinarian if you notice a discoloration.
  • Fleas on kittens can also cause excessive scratching and skin irritation.

Kittens are especially delicate, and some flea treatments are not safe. Follow the advice of your vet. Also, never use medication designed for dogs or adult cats these could be deadly to a kitten.

If you are removing fleas from a newborn kitten: Treat the mother. Then remove the fleas from the kitten. A kittens body is small so there isnt a large area to cover, and you should be able to remove the fleas with your fingers or tweezers easily. Because of newborn kittens young age and fragility, do not apply any type of detergent or medication on them.

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How To Get Rid Of Fleas On Kittens

There are endless ways of getting rid of fleas on kittens, ranging from flea collars for cats to flea spray for cats and flea pills for cats. While these pet supplies brought from a pet store can most certainly help us get rid of fleas on kittens, but there are also many safe and effective home remedies for getting rid of fleas on kittens.

In the lines below, we will discuss some simple but effective home remedies for cat fleas.

Getting Rid Of Fleas On Cats

Products NOT To Use On Cats: We do not recommend the use of flea collars, powder, or dips. Cats groom themselves by licking! They will ingest whatever chemical is in their fur or on their skin. These products are pesticides.

These products are quickly falling out of favor, and are being reported as having dangerous and sometimes deadly results. Whether its a powder, liquid dip, or collar against the skin, these are unsafe chemical pesticides.

When our cats had fleas we learned a lot when it comes to getting rid of fleas on cats. You just need knowledge and a few reliable tools to get the job done.

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Remedies For Itchy Ears

  • The contents of a vitamin E capsule can soothe red or inflamed areas of the ear.
  • A gentle cleaning with a cotton swab or gauze dipped into vegetable oil can help to remove a buildup of wax and dirt.
  • Remember that dog and cat ear canals take a right-angle turn at the base of the ear, and be careful not to jam anything deep into the ear canal.

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I Noticed My Cat Had Fleas After Her Return From Boarding Did She Get Fleas There

Fleas on Kittens. How to safely remove and kill them.

Not necessarily! Pre-adult fleas can survive for up to 140 days within their protective pupa. When you or your pets are absent from home for extended periods of time these adult fleas remain in the pupae because no host is available. As soon as you or your pet returns home, these fleas will emerge in large numbers and jump onto cats, dogs, and even people in the search for a blood meal. Vibrations and/or increased carbon dioxide will trigger the emergence of fleas from their pupae.

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Ways Indoor Cats Can Get Fleas

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Keeping cats indoors protects them from getting lost, getting into scuffles with other animals, and exposure to other harmful issues. But even if youre keeping your cat indoors, its important to not skip flea and tick prevention.

Fleas are tiny but powerful. They use their strong back legs to jump onto petsand humansas they walk by. Fleas also multiply rapidly when feeding on a host animal, a single flea can lay up to 50 eggs a day. Unfortunately, this can happen inside your home, not just outdoors. Indoor cats can get fleas in more ways than you may think.

During A Trip Outdoors

It is impossible to restrict your cats existence to the indoors. There are some activities that will require you to bring your pet outside the home. In such instances, it is possible for the cat to get fleas on its way to your destination.

For example, cats need regular veterinary checkups to help establish their state of health. A trip to the veterinary clinic can also help determine if there are health concerns that you should worry about. This is in addition to the mandatory vaccinations for felines. There will also be instances when your cat needs emergency veterinary services.

During these instances, your cat will be traveling from the house to the clinic. You can put the animal in a pet carrier before you ride in your car. However, fleas can jump onto the crate and get on your cat. For more options, check out our detailed review of the best cat carriers.

At the clinic, it is also possible that one of the animal patients has fleas. While veterinary clinics will do everything they can to sanitize their floors and walls, there is still a chance of an animal getting fleas from other animals in the clinic.

This also happens in pet grooming salons. There may be cats or dogs being groomed that have fleas. These pests can jump onto the different surfaces in the grooming salon, where they will wait for their next host.

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How To Get Rid Of Fleas

It can be tricky to know how to get rid of fleas. But other measures include washing your pets blanket and carrier. You should also take seat cushions off of couches and chairs and vacuum the cushions. Also, vacuum cracks in chairs and couches. Be sure to throw your vacuum bags outside in garbage cans.Although there is a range of different home remedies for fleas they are not 100% effective. Yes, they can potentially help manage a , but they cannot successfully solve one. This is mainly due to the fact that the majority of home remedies for fleas only affect the adults of the , leaving the larvae and eggs behind. This creates a window of opportunity for another flea infestation to arise.

What Are The Risks Of Flea Treatments For Kittens

Can My Pet Still Get Fleas During Winter?

Flea treatments can quickly induce poisoning in kittens if too much product or the wrong product is used. The symptoms of flea control product toxicity in kittens can appear anywhere from one to 12 hours after administration and varies depending on the ingredients and dosage the cat is exposed to.

Flea solutions containing organophosphate, a group of chemicals often used as insecticides in gardening products, can be life-threatening to kittens. Symptoms of toxicity may include:

Permethrin, a chemical found in canine flea treatments, is also very toxic to cats and potentially lethal in kittens. Prevalent symptoms of toxicity include:

  • Excessive salivation

If you notice the clinical signs of toxicity, put your kitten in a bath of lukewarm water and wash the product off using a gentle dish soap like Dawn, then call your veterinarian or local animal hospital for further instructions.

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How To Safely Remove Fleas From Kittens

The dreaded little insects have invaded your kitten! Before you reach for any flea medicine for kittens, read these instructions.

There arent many things cuter than a kitten, but imagine your shock when playing with your new pet and finding fleas.

These little bloodsucking flightless insects can cause major problems for kittens and need to be removed.

Fleas can find their way to a kitten in many ways, even if the kitten is strictly an indoor-only cat. For example, the mom cat may have fleas, other pets may have brought in fleas, and sand tracked indoors can even contain fleas.

As soon as you notice there are fleas either in the house or on a pet, take action.

Prevention Of Fleas And Ticks For Indoor Cats

The best defense against your cat getting fleas is adequate flea prevention given on a regular basis to all pets in the home. The most common veterinarian-approved flea preventions for your cat are:

These preventions require a prescription from your veterinarian, who can also help you determine the best flea and tick preventative medication for your cat depending on their lifestyle, age, and weight.

Fleas can be a big problem for cats, even for those who stay indoors. Some cats can have an allergic reaction to fleas on top of the itching and discomfort. Fleas can especially pose an immediate danger to kittens, as an infestation can cause anemia. Fleas can also transmit parasites, such as tapeworms and Bartonellosis, or cat scratch disease, to humans. Checking for fleas and taking measures to prevent them are important habits to help ensure the health of your cat and your family.

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Fleas And Flea Control In Cats

24th July 2018

The most common flea found on cats and dogs is the cat flea . Occasionally, rabbit, hedgehog and other fleas may be found on cats but these are much less common.While many cats live with fleas and show minimal signs of infestation, control is advisable for several reasons including:

  • The cat flea can carry the larval stage of the tapeworm Dipylidium caninum and cats become infected by eating fleas during grooming
  • Fleas have the potential to transmit other infectious agents between cats
  • Adult fleas feed on cat blood in young kittens, this can cause weakness, anaemia and death
  • Fleas are important in the transmission of cat scratch disease between cats and to humans. This is an infection with the bacterium Bartonella hensellae and is spread when fleas feed on blood.
  • Some dogs and cats develop an allergy to flea bites, which causes them to scratch excessively or develop skin disease
  • Cat fleas can cause itchy bites on sensitive humans, typically around the ankles.
  • Using modern treatments it is now possible to control cat fleas very effectively, but where the fleas are very common this may require considerable effort.

What Are Cat Fleas

How to Give a Kitten a Flea Bath

Cats are excellent groomers, so it might be tough to imagine your preened pet catching parasites! The most obvious sign that your cat has fleas is persistent scratching, or sometimes over-grooming, which can result in bald patches on their coat. If your cat develops a flea allergy they may also have scabs and red, sore areas on their skin. Regularly grooming your cat wont necessarily prevent parasites, but it will at let you have a chance to check their fur for any signs of unwanted visitors, so that you can quickly seek treatment.

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Can Fleas Be Dangerous To Cats

Infection: Cats frequently scratch themselves, and can be seen in most cats on a daily basis no big deal!

However, the kind of scratching prompted by fleas is in a class all of its own.

Ceaseless scratching can lead to open scratches or wounds, that in time, can lead to infected wounds, which can turn into whole-body, deadly complications.

Dermatitis: Flea allergy dermatitis is caused from an allergic reaction from the saliva of the mouthpart of the flea. The animal is allergic to substance in the saliva and a skin reaction takes place. The dermatitis, or inflammation of the skin, from this allergic reaction, can caused red, raised bumps or rashes, red patches of skin, itchy and scratchy skin areas.

Anemia: Another potentially dangerous issue with fleas has to do with their blood-sucking quality. Fleas suck blood through the skin of their host. This poses special risk to cats, and more notably kittens, who can be more likely to develop anemia as a result of the blood loss in extreme flea infestation cases.

Disease Carriers: Fleas are also disease vectors for bacteria. Cats can become disease traffickers after being bitten by carrier fleas.

Cat fleas can carry diseases that affect other cats and humans.

How Can I Treat My Home Environment

A number of products are available to kill the adult and larval stages of fleas and stop the flea life cycle, such as:

adulticide sprays for use in the house sprays containing IGR for use in the house insecticides applied by professional pest control companies

Sprays for use in the house should be used in places where the flea eggs, larvae, and pupae are likely to be. Treat the entire household first and then concentrate on the hot spots – your cat’s favorite napping spots – such as soft furniture, beds, and carpets. Once they hatch from the egg, flea larvae move away from the light and burrow deep into carpets and into other nooks and crannies where they are difficult to reach. Be sure to move cushions, furniture, and beds to spray underneath them. Other places larvae are likely to live include baseboards and the cracks and crevices between floor seams or floorboards.

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What Should I Do If My Cat Gets Fleas

If there are fleas on your cat, swift action is best. Contact your veterinarian for treatment options. Use a flea comb to remove as many fleas as possible, and vacuum frequently to remove the fleas and their eggs from your carpets and floors. Make sure to take the vacuum canister or dust bag outside immediately.

Keep Your Cat Clean And Groomed

Home Remedies For Fleas On Cats

Lastly, make your cats fur an unwelcoming host for fleas. We know just how warm and snuggly our cats are. Unfortunately, so do fleas and ticks. In fact, your cats warm furry body is the perfect home and breeding ground for these little pests. So its important to keep your cat well-groomed and regularly check for evidence of fleas before things get out of hand.

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    provides soothing relief for your cats irritated skin.

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    around her mouth, nose, ears, and eyes. Plus its veterinarian recommended and a great solution for cats with sensitive skin.

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