Fleas

Fleas are a real pain, for your cat and for you.  These tiny little creatures are just plain evil.

What is a flea ? A flea is a small brown wingless insect, with powerful legs for jumping.  They live off animals by biting them and drinking their blood.  If they can't find an animal to bite, your blood will still do nicely.  You are more likely to see more fleas in the summer time, as fleas don't like the cold weather.  Fleas also carry diseases including tapeworm.

How do I know if my cat has fleas ? It is always easier to tell on light furred cats than it is on dark furred ones.  If you see black or brown specks in your cats fur, this is flea dirt, and is a sure sign that your cat has fleas, you may even notice fleas running through your cats coat.  Excessive scratching, licking or chewing is another tale tale sign.  Also after your cat gets up after having a sleep, check where it has been laying, on a dark surface, if your cats has fleas you made find little white flea eggs, on a light surface you may find flea dirt.

Which flea treatment do I buy ?  There are loads of different flea treatments available for cats, ranging in various prices.  We always find though that Frontline or Stronghold is the best.  As far as I know you can only buy them from the vets.  But I imagine that you can probably buy it online.  We buy the ones which come in pipettes all you do is part the fur on the back of the cats neck and drop the solution on to kittys skin.  Frontline treats fleas and ticks and Stronghold treats fleas, ticks, round worm and ear mites.

How can I prevent fleas ?  Many people assume that fleas only live on the animal, so only treat the animal for fleas.  But fleas get everywhere !  Although they do need the cat to live off.  Hoovering everyday is a great way to get rid of fleas and flea eggs, make sure to Hoover in corners of rooms and under beds.  Combing your cat with a flea comb is another good prevention measure.  We always find that if the cats do have fleas we get a bowl of water with washing up liquid in it.  And then when a flea turns up on the comb, you grab it and put it in the water so it drowns, the washing up liquid acts like a glue and traps the fleas so that they can't jump back out.  Wash your pets bedding regularly too.

I have a cat and a dog, my cat has fleas, but i haven't seen any on the dog should i still treat him ? Yes, cat fleas will still bite your dog, so if you treat your cat but not your dog, the fleas will just jump on him and bite him instead.  You will need to buy a flea treatment for dogs though Frontline and Stronghold do make treatments for dogs too.  Never use a dog treatment on a cat though, (unless it says you can do so),  because dog treatments will be too strong for your cat.

My cat doesn't go outside yet she still gets fleas ?  Unfortunately even if your cat doesn't go out fleas can still get in.  They may hop onto you, without you knowing it or just hop in from outside.

Should I buy my cat a flea collar ?  That's up to you, but if you do, buy one which has a safety catch on it, so that if your cat gets caught on something, the collar will come off.  Some people don't like flea collars, because of the smell, or the cat getting caught on something.  Collars aren't as effective as flea treatments, but may help with the controlling of fleas.