Seed like looking bugs all over my cat?

Question

A stray has been staying around outside of our house for a few weeks now. It has taken to letting us sit and pet her. I was just brushing her with a wire brush (she loves it) and whenever I do this, it brings these little seed like looking bugs to the surface of her fur. And there are LOTS of them. What are they? They are light in color and don't look like typical fleas and they crawl, they don't jump.

Please, no comments to the effect of "take her to the vet" and "take her to the humane society". I am not on here looking for that kind of info, if you give it I will give you a thumbs down and NO hope of getting a best answer. My husband is allergic to cats and I can't take her in. I am willing however to get her medication to rid the bugs if I knew what they were. Thank you.

Answer 1

Sounds like mites or lice.

Whatever they are, giving her an application of Advantage or Frontline will most likely take care of them.

A vet will sell you a dose, which will de-bug her for a month, without having to examine the cat. A dose costs about $13.00 and you apply it to the skin on the back or her neck.

Don't use a flea collar, flea powder, or any product you can but in a grocery or pet store. They don't work and could harm the cat.

Thanks for trying to help a stray.

Oops...another answerer suggested the objects might be dried-up tapeworm segments...in that case, I'd expect them to be on the suerface of her fur, on the tops of her thight and her belly.

Tapeworms are related to fleas in that fleas spread the worms, so it would be a good idea to get flea medicine for her in any case. If you phone a vet and describe the situation and the "bugs" they may be able to figure out what it is without seeing the cat. Where I work we try to assist people who can't bring a cat in, especially Good Samaritans helping strays. Tapeworms are treated by a specific medicine that is given orally...you could put it in food for her.

Again, don't use stuff you can buy at a pet, feed, or grocery store.

Answer 2

I guess we should ask if they crawl fast, slow, jump at all or what... do they move around a lot? Are they hard bodied? Soft bodied? Can you squish one?

Fleas usually are brown and jump so fast they seem to disappear suddenly. Lice move pretty slow and don't have a hard shell but they're not very large, I've seen dandruff flakes bigger than they are.

Mites are just 'dust' like, I don't think it would be mites.

Whatever it is, it's treatable and probably very easily too. Call the vet and ask about the type of parasite, ask if Revolution or Advantage will take care of it, and go get a dose for her. You put one dose on the back of her neck and let it take care of the problem (don't pet her there for 2 days so you don't get it onto yourself).

On the off chance she was laying on garbage of some kind and picked up the weirdness that way---check her a few days apart and see if those are still in her fur.

It's nothing to freak out over, all parasites can be treated against. But don't get your medicine from anyone other than a vet, there are too many expired ones and bad ones on the market that can hurt the animals they're put on. The dose from the vet will be $8-$10. It should last a good 2 months, too, even though the literature says treat every month during summer.

Answer 3

Thats weird the only thing I can think of is mites. Fleas look like flecks of dirt. I would call a vet just to be sure and have him answer this one. A good vet will give you info like that for free, also there are many great feline sites that will tell you what it is. I hope you don't give me a thumbs down, but try and fix it and find her a home she can live in. I have cleaned many strays and they all get taken in once they're plumped up and debugged. But it's really great that your helping the cat it takes a good person, no great person to do that especially if your husband is allergic.

Answer 4

Although I originally thought fleas, I looked futher into this and it could possibly be chiggers. Chiggers are common skin parasites that are present throughout the central part of the United States. The scientific name for chiggers is Trombicula mites, and they are also known as harvest mites. These mites can infect and bite people, cats, and dogs, and cause severe itching. While they are difficult to prevent, they are relatively easy to treat.

Chiggers are usually found in the highest numbers during the spring and fall in grassy areas, particularly in chalky soils. The chigger mite is a small reddish-orange mite about the size of the head of a pin.

The treatment is relatively simple and consists of either a couple of pyrethrin-based dips spaced a couple of weeks apart, or the application of a topical antiparasite drug like Tresaderm to the ears.
Good Luck with your cat:)

Answer 5

Are they sort of a pinkish white color? Could be tapeworm segments - try worming her once now and again in 6 weeks this will break the worm cycle (even if not worms she probably needs worming anyway).
Revolution or advocate will kill most external parasites, so grap a box and apply one dose each month for 3 months to break the cycle.

Flea powders will not work (even on fleas only last a day and more will be there) and please do not spray with anything unregistered for cats as they are highly sensitive and you will cause lung disease.

If you take a photo and pop it on here I will be able to tell you for sure what they are.

Answer 6

She doesn't have tics on her, does she? I am thinking that it might be an engourged tic. Or, could it be some kind of a "mite." Maybe you should call a vets office and ask them, just to be safe. If it is tics and you don't get rid of them, they will drain her, of her blood, until she dies.

Getting some Frontline from the vet would be a good idea. It would probably kill fleas and tics. The stuff you buy in the store, doesn't work.

Answer 7

Sounds like some type of lice. You should be careful you don't inadvertently bring them inside. Maybe you could try some flea powder or spray. Good Luck.

Answer 8

Here is a picture of lice: http://lancaster.unl.edu/enviro/Images/Insects/lice/louse1a.jpg

here is a pic of ticks in a cats ear: http://frontline.uk.merial.com/images/p19_catear_ticks.jpg

here is a pic of a cat flea: http://www.west-ext.com/pests/cat_flea_picture.jpg

Here is a pic of a cat's ear infected with mites (the white things - sorry if it's graphic!): http://www.allpethospital.com/images/MedRx-Earmites.jpg

Does it look like any of those?

Answer 9

Those bugs are probably ticks. In order to keep ticks off of the cat, it will probably need medication very often to make sure that they stay off for a while in between treatments.

Answer 10

Lice. You need a delousing medication. Should be available at the pet store.