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Cat Fleas
Preventing or treating these unwelcomecreatures requires use of insecticidal prepara-tions. Understanding parasites' life cycles willgive you an edge in this battle, and the follow-ing discussion should be beneficial. Ticks andmites are discussed separately. Any cat older than six months of age candevelop an allergy to flea saliva. Fleas are thin,wingless, brown insects that are extraordinaryjumpers and move through the hair coat rap-idly. The flea injects its saliva under the cat'sskin as an aid in retrieving its meal (the cat'sblood). The saliva acts as foreign material thatcan cause your pet to itch and bite itself pro-fusely. Even people may be bitten by hungryfleas: their favorite human areas are ankles andwaists. and the bites are very itchy. Hair loss and skin infection are charac-teristic. especially on the lower back, neck, andinner thighs. favored flea fSeeding sites. Thehair loss usually has a pattern: a triangularpatch on the lower back and patches at the tailbase, on the neck. and on the inner thighs. Youmay even see fleas jumping or moving in theseareas. although often you won't see fleas onyour cat. Flea droppings are the black specks(digested blood , found primarily on the hairsof the lower back. To test. place the droppingson white paper and moisten them with water. If they turn red, they are flea droppings: if not,they are dirt. Before treating for fleas, check to see ifyour cat might have allergic inhalant dermatitis or contact dermatitis.Food allergies may just show scabs on thehead. Cat Fleas Treatment You must control fleas on all animals inthe household and in the environment. A nat-ural control agent that can be tried before yourcat gets fleas is brewer's yeast. Mixing 0.1 gransper pound in the food daily seems to makesome cats "distasteful" to fleas. For flea control on all the animals in thehousehold, you can use flea powders or dips,or flea collars. When using dips, read the directions on it carefully. Sponge your pet with the dip,avoiding the eyes, and repeat as the directionsindicate. Do not apply dips to open sores. If you use a flea collar, use the recom-mended size for your cat. The flea collar mustbe aired for a few days before you place itaround your pet's neck. If the skin underneaththe flea collar becomes red and hair is lost, re-move the collar. Some animals are sensitive tothe chemical. Do not combine flea collarswith other insecticides. For example, don't dipyour cat and then put a flea collar on it. There has recently been some discussionabout the wisdom of animals or their ownersinhaling the vapors in the collars. If your petsleeps on your bed, it might be prudent to re-move the flea collar until the morning. Since fleas spend most of their life cycleoff your cat, controlling or treating the envi-ronment is most important to avoid that frustrating "Where are the fleas coming from? Isprayed my cat a month ago!" routine. Vacuum weekly for a few months, especially rugs, upholstery, cracks and crevices, and closets.Throw the vacuum bags away after vacuuming;otherwise, the fleas will hatch in your vacuum,closets, and so forth. Wash or throw away thecat's bedding. Finally, a commercial insecticideshould be sprayed around your house periodi-cally for a few months. If you think it mightstain something, test by spraying only a smallarea first. Your cat should be treated from the endof the winter through the first frost if you livein a varied climate. If you have tried everything and your cat is still scratching, see your veterinarian. He or she will make sure that none of the "rule-outs"are present. If a flea-bite allergy is suspected,corticosteroids, which can reduce or stop theitching, will be prescribed. If there are open sores, your doctor may give you antibiotics, a medicated shampoo, and a topical ointment to use. Be sure to discuss flea control for the pet and the house to avoid a recurrence of the problem.
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Cat Health
How to Splint a Cat Leg
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Internal parasites aren't the only para-sites your cat has to contend with: there arenumerous insects that would like to call yourpet's skin home. These are called external par-asites and include such dastardly creatures asticks, fleas, mites, lice, and flies. They cancause severe itching, skin infections, and eveninternal problems such as tapeworms, anemia,and a form of paralysis.