FLEAS???!!! help?

Question

Hi. my mom mentioned the other day she thinks our cats have fleas. then my brother said yesterday that they do. know they do have scabs and stuff around there neck. but i think its from them fighting because they do fight pretty intensly. but maybe its not. how can you really tell if they have fleas or not? they have a thick long coat so its hard to get down the the roots and skin to see.and when you do its about the size of a pretty sharp pencil.(of skin showing) so Fleas or no fleas. and if they are what treatments are out there that are hightly affective to cats?? any help well be appriciated thanks>!@

Answer 1

Scabs around the neck are a definite sign of fleas. This is known as Flea Allergy Dermatitis. I too thought my female had scabs from my male biting her neck, but the vet told me that if that were the case, the sores would be much bigger.

So fleas it is.

Don't listen to people who say you should be able to see 'em. My female's infestation was so minimal that the vet couldn't even find any. And her hair is neither long nor real dark.

Don't use OTC flea medications (pills, shampoos, sprays, collars ect.) on your cat as this is not necessary....and OTC products can be toxic. Regular cat shampoo works just as well as flea shampoo, but giving the cats a bath isn't necessary if you put them on Frontline Plus.

Don't bathe your cat in Dawn dish soap. This can severely dry out and irritate their skin.

You also may not be able to get them out with a flea comb, so don't assume they don't have fleas just because you can't see them after combing.

And people don't always get bit. In fact, I don't think I've ever had a flea bite in my life, and I've had plenty of pets that ended up with flea problems.

ALSO....cats can get fleas even if they never go outside and you don't have a dog. Fleas can be brought in on your clothes and shoes....and those of visitors. This is the worst time of year for them since the weather is turning cooler, so they're looking for a warm place for the winter.

Your first step should be putting all the cats on Frontline Plus. Advantage might be recommended by some people, but it only kills adult fleas. Frontline Plus kills the adults, larvae, and eggs which is necessary in stopping the flea life cycle.

Then you'll need to treat your home. As the fleas that are (presumably) present in your carpet/furniture jump on your cats and bite them, they will die off, but this doesn't stop the eggs and larvae in your furnishings from maturing into adults, laying more eggs, and jumping on your cats to bite them.

A lot of people recommend bombing the home, but I've seen some people say this is pretty unaffective since fleas are so good at hiding in places where the poison can't get to 'em.

One woman on here recommended putting Dawn dish soap in a steam cleaner and cleaning the carpets and furniture that way. She said it worked wonders. You just have to make sure to rinse really well or the soap will leave a residue.

Here's a website that might offer some help:
http://www.ehow.com/how_16644_rid-home-fleas.html

And since your cats have fleas, it would be a good idea to have them all treated for tapeworm once the fleas are eliminated. Cats get tapeworms from eating fleas, so some medication from the vet is advised. Just make sure the flea problem is under control first or the worming medication won't do much good since they can just get another tapeworm from another flea.

Good luck!

Answer 2

go to the store and get a flea comb.....use this to gently comb the coat and watch for tiny black "pebbles" sometimes a flea comb pulls out a flea or two, not always, fleas are crafty critters and get away quickly, also, does your cat(s) go outside? do you have dogs? If so, more than likely you've got fleas.....Go to your local Vet Clinic and some feline Front-line this product works very well. a little expensive, but worth the cost. too, you can go to almost any feed store and get a large spray bottle of Adams Flea Spray, on mist, spray the cat (s) from the back of the head throughout the rest of the body (if there are any babies, human or other, get them outside until the stuff dries. this Adam's can be used to spray carpet and lightly on the furniture, again, if there are babies, be careful and don't let them get into the stuff, it's pretty strong smelling, but it works well.

Answer 3

When my cats have fleas, I notice them itching a lot with their mouth. Little black specs called flea dirt appear on their bedding, too. Some of the fleas jump on my skin too. You might find little red bumps around your ankles.

Products like Advantage and Frontline Plus work best. I save money by buying them on Ebay. I do try to buy from sources within the US. I've had bad luck with foreign sellers. If fleas are in the carpet, get some powder treatment for the carpet, vacuum it up, then throw away the vac bag. Wash their bedding too.

Answer 4

bathing your pet is not enough. You need to treat our carpet and was all bedding, furniture too. Put some moth balls in your vacuum bag when you vacuum. This will kill the fleas in your vacuum bag. Does not smell the greatest, but better than having your pet and yourselves reinfested again and again. The pet should be on heart guard with flea and tic protection too to prevent reinfestation.
Fleas can lay dormit in a carpet for up to a year. When I was younger, my cat had no fleas, we moved into a new appartment and she was attacked, even though the carpet was said to of been professionally cleaned after the last tennant moved out! Good Luck, still problems? Consult your vet.

Answer 5

Fleas often crawl on the hair and your furniture so if you see in bugs that look like nats that is probably a flea. So look at the places where your cats last layed down.
Console a vet on what produt to use because your cat might have an allergic reaction to a product and it is good to wash them with an anti-flea shampoo even if they don't have fleas.
It is also a good idea to invest in a flea collar.
Good Luck

Answer 6

Run a flea comb over them. You can get one at your local pet store or at WalMart. They are only a few dollars. If fleas come off with that, they have them. If not, they don't. If they do have them, the best treatment is flea medicine from the vet. It does the trick, but it can be expensive if you have several cats. If you have to use an over-the-counter med, DO NOT USE HARTZ. It poisons cats. Use Sargents. My vet said it's the safest, most effective OTC flea med. However, it isn't as effective as the kind you can purchase at the vet.

Answer 7

unless the hair is really dark you should be able to see them ,or the eggs, if you look closely enough! The cats will also be scratching alot! Take them to the vets to be sure ,then get some advantage or frontline from the vets , I'v found this is the best product on the market for pet fleas.

Answer 8

if the scabs aren't in lines (like from scratching) or puncture marks (like from digging in claws or getting bitten hard), then the scabs probably are from fleas (unless they are just itching themselves too much in one spot due to dry skin or possibly (if given baths recently) shampoo that was not washed off enough from their last bath), sometimes pets scratch themselves due to that. either way, it wouldn't hurt to give them a flea bath with a flea shampoo just to make sure, since you can't see down near their skin very well, and if they don't really have fleas a flea bath will not hurt them, it will just get them clean. if they do end up having fleas you may see them in the water while you wash the cats or you may see them in the towel you wrap them in (heat may help the fleas crawl off the cats faster), and if you do see fleas you may want to try a flea comb and bath them again (read the shampoo bottle to see how many days to wait), but depending on how long your cats hair is, you may not want to use the comb, sometimes they don't work well on animals with longer fur.

Answer 9

you might have to give them a "flea dip" to get rid of the ones that they have and then use a flea drop that goes on the back of thier neck to prevent new ones. Get the ones from the vet though, they work alot better than the ones you buy at the store.

Answer 10

definitely bathe them in a filled tub. fleas can't swim and drown in water.

it'd confirm if the cats are infected.

frontline is also great as a preventative treatment!