Fleas

A cat’s oldest nemesis is the flea. Fleas have been causing cats discomfort and frustration for as long as they have roamed the earth. The unhappy effects fleas cause our beloved cats are endless. Fleas can cause everything from itching and dermatitis to anemia and even tapeworms. Fortunately, riding your furry pal of fleas can be easy and keeping the fleas away is even easier. First, let’s figure out how to tell if kitty has fleas. Once we know we have fleas, let’s figure out how to banish them. Finally, once the fleas are gone lets, keep them far away from kitty.

How to Tell if Kitty Has Fleas

There are several ways to spot fleas on a cat. Perhaps the most obvious is if kitty seems to be scratching excessively. However, since cats scratch themselves as part of their normal routine, this may not be the best way to tell. The best way to tell is to search for flea dirt and actual fleas on your cat. Flea dirt will look something like salt and pepper flakes on kitty. The “salt” will be white and feel grainy. These are actually flea eggs. Gross! The “pepper” will look like little black or brown flecks. This is flea feces. Gross again! The actual flea will be very small, narrow and brown or black in color.

There are a couple good ways to search for fleas. One way is to roll kitty over onto her back and expose her belly. Then blow gently all around her belly to part the hair while searching for anything suspicious. Another option is to place kitty on a white sheet of paper and stroke her several times against the grain of the fur vigorously. If black specs fall off onto the white sheet of paper mist them with water, if they turn red, then it is flea dirt.

How to Get Rid of the Fleas for Good

Okay, so we’ve found evidence of fleas or actual fleas on kitty. What next? Getting rid of the fleas for good is a two part process. First, we need to get the blood suckers off poor kitty. This means a good bath is in order. You can try giving kitty a bath yourself at home with baby shampoo or leave it to the professionals at The Best Little Cat House. We use an all natural flea shampoo that will be safe for kitty, but curtains for the fleas. The bath alone will get rid of most of the fleas but it will not kill all of them, therefore, you must follow up the bath with a topical flea treatment like Advantage, Frontline or Revolution. Do not use cheaper generic versions of these products; they can contain chemicals that can be harmful to kitty’s health. The topical treatment will proceed to kill 98-100 percent of the fleas on kitty within 24 hours. The treatment will continue to work for up to 4 weeks thereby helping to break the life cycle of the fleas.

Next, it’s imperative to kill any fleas that may have taken up residence in your home. According to the Humane Society Cat Care Guide, only 5 percent of the fleas in your home are on your cat. Scary stuff! So how do we get rid of all those fleas hanging out in kitty’s home? First, all bedding should be washed in hot water. Then, locate all the areas in your home where fleas are likely to nest. These areas include carpet, behind and underneath furniture. These areas should be treated with borax. Sprinkle a small amount of borax on the affected areas and allow to sit for a while. Then vacuum all treated areas thoroughly. Be sure to keep kitty far away during this process since borax is toxic to her.

How to Keep the Fleas Away

Once the fleas on kitty and the fleas in the environment have been eliminated, preventing their return is easy. For most cases, treating kitty every four weeks with a topical flea treatment such as Advantage will do the trick. Also, regular vacuuming, dusting and mopping of your home helps to prevent cozy dust ball hangouts for fleas. If the problem is really bad you may need to look outside of your house. An aerosol type flea “bomb” used in the crawl space under your house is a good idea, just make sure to evacuate for a few hours while it’s working. Pyrethrine based bug killers work well on fleas and break down easily in sunlight for grass and garden spraying. We like to put up a sign out on the grass to keep pets and kids off for a few days especially when it’s wet from dew or sprinklers. Now you and kitty can raise your paws in victory, you have defeated the flea!

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