My cat is bringing live rats as present on a weekly basis, he now has fleas (from the rats?), I got bitten by the fleas( not the rats )and lie awake at night pondering if I could get the plague?
Does anyone knows if any plague cases have been reported in the UK lately?
2007-10-11 06:28:24 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Cats
THANKS GUYS!
They are brown and fairly cute really.
Will take all of your advise anout the fleas!
2007-10-12 00:53:54 · update #1
If they were black rats then yes, they can carry plague.
There are only a couple of tiny populations of black rats in the U.K., so it is unlikely you will come across them. Black rats are Black so if you do see one you will know it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Rat
You are more at risk from touching the rats or their urine where they have been. Rats carry a number of potentialy fatal diseases, so handle them carefully.
2007-10-11 06:33:57 · answer #1 · answered by bouncer bobtail 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I work in a pet shop. You need to look at using something like Frontline which actually kills the fleas on the cat not just a prevantative like most. You will also need to treat your house with a flea killer which works over a few months as fleas are only killable when in a flea stage not as an egg (there is no known chemical to kill these yet) so you will need to hover all over regularly (daily if possible) as it disturbs the eggs and wakes them into flea stage, and your flea killer in the house will then kill these immediately. You should do this as soon as possible as each flea produces up to 20 eggs everyday! Good Luck
2007-10-11 10:04:47 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Good old British rats have British fleas - these don't carry plague. It's worth dealing with both the rat and the flea problems, plague or not.
2007-10-11 06:34:39 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your cat is doing a good job, you should be proud of him!
Treat your cat with a product like Advantage, that kills off fleas and ticks for weeks after each treatment. You'll probably need a professional exterminator to treat your house and yard for fleas, too.
The chances of you getting the plague are so tiny you don't need to be losing sleep over them.
I wish I had a cat that would actually catch rodents... my outdoor cats spend their days tormenting my dog...
Modified to add.. Black rats? Doesn't matter what color or breed they are, any type of rat can carry plauge and other diseases...
2007-10-11 06:34:36 · answer #4 · answered by Painter's Polka Dots 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No cases of plague reported in press for ages/years as far as I know. But you could ask on a search engine to make sure. Your cat must be strong to catch rats - but where are they from - local restaurant bins? - There is risk of bacterial infection on the rats being brought into your home, so suggest spray areas affected with disinfectant. good luck.
2007-10-15 05:30:20 · answer #5 · answered by Solusia 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I wouldn't worry about the plague, it's only a danger in countries that don't yet have access to antibiotics!!
More important is to make sure you get your cat some proper flea treatment i.e from a vets not a petshop, like Frontline.
Chalice
2007-10-15 00:34:21 · answer #6 · answered by Chalice 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The fleas from the brown rat do not carry the plague.
The rats urine can do you more harm as it can carry 'weals disease'
2007-10-11 08:23:48 · answer #7 · answered by Gender Bender 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Maybe keep him inside if he would adjust to that. Then no fleas, rat or dieseases for either of you.
2007-10-11 07:36:05 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋