Feed Your Pet The Right Food
In order to prevent fleas from biting your pet, try to keep them as healthy as possible. Feeding them healthy food that isnt filled with fillers or chemicals can make them less tempting to fleas and make their skin less sensitive if fleas bite them. Read the labels on the bag and see if the first ingredient is corn or wheat. The first ingredient is the one that is used the most and it should be a meat or protein, rather than a filler like corn or wheat.
S To Get Rid Of Fleas On Cats
Fleas are annoying for both you and your cat, but once you’ve identified the fleas, they are fairly easy to get rid of. Just follow these simple steps to ditch these pests.
1. Treat Your Cat
The first and most important step is to treat your cat to rid them of these nasty little bugs. The sooner you start treating the quicker you can ease your precious kitten’s discomfort.
Comb the Fur
Combing your cats fur with a shedding comb will help remove some of the adult fleas and flea eggs. Keep an eye on any fleas that decide to jump ship! And be sure to rinse the comb in hot water with dish detergent to kill the fleas and eggs left.
Bathe Your Cat
Next, its bath time! Using a flea shampoo thats safe for cats, bathe your cat thoroughly! Let the shampoo sit on her fur for at least 5 minutes. This will reveal and kill all of those stubborn fleas and eggs that the comb couldnt reach!
Your cat might not be a fan of baths, but shell thank you afterwards as a good flea shampoo will offer immediate relief of the itchiness and get to the root of the issue.
Medicate
While bathing your cat may rid your cat of fleas temporarily, its important to give your cat preventative flea medicine to keep them from coming back especially while youre still clearing your home of the present infestation! Well touch more on the best flea medicines and how to prevent fleas on cats below.
2. Treat Your Home
Wash Bedding, Cushions, and Curtains
Vacuum, Vacuum, Vacuum
Bring in a Professional
Does Garlic Prevent Fleas
No, garlic does not prevent fleas. Actually, garlic can make your pet sick but the fleas living on your pet will be just fine.
Healthy pets are not immune to fleas. Although it is true that pets in poor health are more prone to parasites, Ive seen thousands of healthy dogs and cats, fed a superb diet, crawling with fleas.
Fleas are not choosy: They bite the healthy, the young, the old and you.
Fleas can happen to the best of us, the worst of us, the smartest of us, the most informed and uninformed of us. If you are finding fleas, you need a plan to get rid of them.
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Scratching Biting And Licking
Fleas will burrow in and around your cats neck, ears, under their belly and under their arms and start feasting away. If bugs crawling around the body wasnt irritating enough, flea bites on cats cause severe itchiness that will have your cat scratching, biting and licking the affected areas profusely.
Will My Cat Only Have Fleas In The Summer
Its a common myth that fleas are only around when the weather is warm, this isnt necessarily the case. Fleas can be more prevalent in the summer months, but a flea infestation can happen at any time of the year, for example when you switch on your central heating in the colder months. In fact, because flea eggs fall from your pet, they can easily become lodged in carpets and cat beds around the home. The signal to hatch can be when you next turn your heating on.
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Prevent Fleas From Returning
Its important to be proactive when treating cats for fleas in your home, so youll want to do a few things to keep the fleas from returning ever again. If your cat spends time outside, you should treat your yard for fleas, too.
Mow your lawn regularly, remove debris, spread cedar chips in places your cat likes to hang out, and consider buying nematodes, which are small worms that feed on parasite eggs. You could also pick up a few plants that repel fleas, including pennyroyal, chrysanthemum, lavender, or spearmint.
Be sure to vacuum your home frequently and monitor your cat as well! If you spot any fleas, treat them immediately by following the steps weve gone over.
How To Get Rid Of Cat Fleas In The House
Any cat parent who has had to deal with fleas wont argue that fleas are some of the most annoying pests. These tiny bugs move around with ease, and they can find their way into nearly any part of your home.
If your cat is currently experiencing a flea problem, youll want to nip it in the bud as soon as possible in order to minimize their spread. Its important to know that when your feline has fleas, youll need to treat both your cat and your home in order to eliminate the problem.
Were going to cover all of the bases in this article. Learn about what fleas are and how long they can last in your home, and get tips on how to get rid of cat fleas in the house fast and effectively. Most importantly, well also tell you how to keep fleas from returning! Heres what you need to know.
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Natural Home Remedies For Cats With Fleas
Fleas can be a terrible nuisance for you and your pet. They breed extremely quickly, and what can seem like no big deal quickly gets out of hand. Besides flea bites causing pain, redness, and itching, it can cause more serious health problems like tapeworms and anemia. Commercial flea medication can get quite expensive because it usually only lasts about one month before you need to reapply it. In most cases, you will also need to take your cat to the vet to acquire the medication, which adds to the cost significantly.
Its common to look for natural home remedies to keep fleas at bay while reducing cost, and we have assembled a list of ten such remedies that you can try out. You can find most of the items listed here around the home, or you can purchase them for cheap.
Join us while we discuss diatomaceous earth, rosemary, essential oils, and more to help you rid your pet of fleas.
Ensure Your Pet Has Been Treated
When you have worked so hard to treat your home, the last thing you want to do is bring your pet back in when they still potentially have fleas and eggs on them. Your untreated pet will start the flea infestation all over again by dropping eggs in all of the areas you just cleaned and in a couple of weeks, you will see fleas throughout your home again. The full development cycle of a flea can take between 14 and 140 days. There are many ways you can treat fleas on your pet including flea shampoo, sprays, spot on treatment, collars and more.
Once your pet has been treated and your home has been thoroughly cleaned you should have the problem well and truly under control.
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How To Get Rid Of Fleas On Cats
So youve noticed your cat has been extra itchy lately and youre thinking he may be the victim of a tiny, blood-hungry pest. First step: keep calm. Next step: help your cat feel better!
Of course, scheduling a visit to the vet is the best plan of action, but isnt always possible right away. If the next available appointment isnt until the next day and you want to offer your cat some instant relief, here is a play-by-play on how to get rid of treat fleas and which products work best.
Don’t Forget To Treat Your House
A flea attached to a cat produces an average of 50 eggs per day , which spread throughout the house, with the aim of infesting as many people as possible . This is the reason why you must imperatively treat your home against fleas, during or immediately after treating your infested cat, at the risk of seeing your cat again invaded by fleas just shortly after its treatment.
To get rid of fleas in your home, you must prioritize treating the places that the cat frequents the most, such as passageways or sleeping areas. You will only need to vacuum these areas to already eliminate the majority of flea cocoons, and then you will have to use a pest control spray, to eliminate all the remaining eggs and larvae.
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How To Get Rid Of Fleas In Cats
Flea treatment for cats is an ongoing process. Unfortunately, there is no quick fix. The main problem with fleas is that they can live without a host for months.
This means that even the cleanest of homes and the cleanest of cats can soon become hotbeds for infestation. But if you stay vigilant and make an effort to stay on top of things, the occasional case of fleas will never be allowed to break out into a full-on infestation.
Flea Invasion: Remember To Treat Your Home At The Same Time As Your Animals
As mentioned previously, fleas multiply quickly. Indeed, once attached to the skin of your little feline, they begin to lay eggs which spill out wherever the cat passes. These spilled eggs hope to find a new host. So, if you only treat your cat, it is highly likely that it will be recontaminated by flea eggs and larvae spread throughout your habitat.
This is the reason why as soon as you notice that your cat is infested with fleas, in addition to treating it, you should also administer a treatment to all your other animals, not forgetting to disinfect your house .
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How Can I Check My Pet For Fleas
Fleas can be found by combing or brushing your pet properly and checking the brush or comb for adult fleas on a regular basis. When combing your cat, take sure to check for fleas in sparsely haired regions, such as the tummy, that are difficult to see. Fleas are tiny, brown, and easily distinguishable with the naked eye when they are adults. When inspecting your pet for indications of fleas, keep a look out for flea excrement as well as fleas themselves . Flea dirt has a similar appearance to black pepper or little grains of sand that become red when they are moist.
This will make the dark flea filth more visible when it falls onto the cloth when your pet is being groomed, making it easier to identify.
Cleaning Beddings And Carpets
The moment that you find fleas in bed makes sure to wash your sheets, pillowcases, blankets, and comforters with detergent on the hot cycle.
Then, put the bedding in the dryer. Fleas cannot live through the hot cycle in both the washer and dryer.
If the infestation is also on the mattress, then washing the bedding may not suffice.
Next, vacuum the sheets, mattress, and pillows. The rugs should also be vacuumed on a regular basis. Doing this will eliminate the eggs.
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Thoroughly Clean And Treat Your Home
Environmental clean-up and treatment are key to getting rid of fleas on cats. All bedding that your cat has access to must be thoroughly washed on hot and dried on hot. Daily thorough vacuuming of all carpet as well as the nooks and crannies of fabric furniture and wood floors may decrease the number of fleas .
Realistically, calling a pest control to treat your house for fleas is the absolute best way to keep your cat and your home environment flea free. You and your kitty will need to leave the house for a few hours while they use chemicals to kill fleas.
Make Sure Youre Not Bringing Fleas Back In The House
If you want to know how to get rid of cat fleas in the house, then you should really look past your doors. Its entirely possible that you are bringing fleas back into your home. Humans can easily carry pests into the house without knowing it as they are coming or going. This can be especially true if you go somewhere that there are other animals who may not be treated such as the vets office or the dog park. Its impossible to protect yourself 100% from this, but there are a few tricks here.
For starters, make sure to spray your flea treatment near the entryways to keep any offending pests from jumping in when the door is open. It can also help to keep plants trimmed back away from the house if your have planters, as it makes it less attractive for bugs to hand out there.
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Does Your Cat Have Fleas
Even indoor cats can pick up fleas due to the fact that fleas are great at hitch hiking a ride from anything which comes its way. So keeping an eye out for tell tell signs of an infestation is always important.
So how can you tell if your pet does have cat fleas? Sometimes it is very obvious that your cat has fleas, sometimes less so, but the main signs are:
- The first sign is usually noticing your cat repeatedly scratching and being a little edgy and dashing around the room suddenly as if bitten
- You may notice bites on your own ankles, little red itchy marks are the main indication.
- You may see them on your cats fur. They look like little reddish brown pin head size particles on the fur. Most commonly around the neck and tail areas.
If you see any of these symptoms or even if you just want to make sure your cat is flea free, the best thing to do is to buy a special flea comb and stand your cat on paper while you gentle comb through their fur. A couple of fleas may get caught in the comb but you are more likely to find flea droppings. They are black in colour and when squashed will contain little amounts of blood. Yuk!
This short video shows you how to use a flea comb to check your cat.
Should We Use Products As A Preventive Measure
If your cat has access to the outdoors and therefore goes out a lot, it is very likely that he is in contact with animals, or places infested with fleas. And thereafter, he will bring these pests home once again.
In any case, for a cat exposed to a high risk of contamination, you must plan a preventive treatment, using external antiparasitic products with residual action , which will protect it from any potential infestation of fleas.
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You Notice Tiny Pepper
Its possible that these particles are flea dirt. Its one of the most prevalent indicators that your cat has fleas, yet it might be difficult to detect. Once the flea has digested the blood, the faeces will emerge on your cats hair or on a comb or brush that you use to comb or brush it. In the event that you discover these little, pepper-like flecks, take a sample and lay it on a white paper towel or cloth before misting it with water. Flea mud is most likely present if the sample becomes red.
What Is Ringworm In Cats
Ringworm might sound like its caused by a worm or parasite, but its actually a fungal infection that affects your cats skin and hair. Several types of fungi can cause ringworm infections, and these fungi can also infect dogs, humans, and other cats.
Ringworm can be highly contagious, and your cat could get infected through different methods. If your cat comes into direct contact with another cat or person who has the fungus, ringworm can spread. Its also possible for your cat to get ringworm by sleeping on a bed thats contaminated with the fungus, or by coming into contact with surfaces like contaminated combs, food bowls, and furniture.
In many instances, your cat might come into contact with the fungus but not get ringworm. However, factors like a weakened immune system, irritated skin, or the presence of a scratch or wound can increase the chances of your cat becoming infected.
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Why Is My Cat Still Itching After Flea Treatment
Despite the fact that itching and scratching may suggest that your cat is still infected with fleas, it is not necessarily caused by fleas. Its possible that your cat is grooming as usual. Alternatively, its possible that they dont enjoy the sensation of a flea right on the back of their neck and are attempting to groom it off nonetheless, this should pass. If your cat is allergic to one of the active chemicals in the flea treatment, it is possible that your cat will be allergic to another of the active compounds in the flea treatment.
You should also contact our Customer Service Team if this occurs after using a Beaphar flea product.
The VMD is responsible for ensuring that all veterinary drugs remain safe and effective.
Find out more about the Fleas and Beaphar Flea Products
Learn more about BeapharFIPROtec® Spot-On by visiting their website. Learn more about BeapharFIPROtec® COMBO by visiting their website. More blogs regarding fleas in cats and dogs may be found here.