In most cases, fleas in cats belong to one of the most common types of fleas in general - the cat flea or Ctenocephalides felis in Latin. This type of insect actively parasitizes not only on cats, but also on other animals - dogs, rats, rabbits - and just as easily and freely feeds, if possible, on human blood.
At the same time, other types of fleas can be found on cats - dog, rat, human, rabbit. However, for an ordinary owner of a mustachioed pet, all these fleas in a cat look the same - the difference between the species can only be seen under a microscope. But these bloodsuckers differ from other parasitic insects quite strongly, so there should be no doubt that the cat is being pestered by fleas.
It is interesting
In choosing hosts, fleas are generally unpretentious. One species can parasitize dozens or even hundreds of different animal species. The main thing is that the blood is warm. Of the more than 2,000 species of these parasites, there are only about 30 of them, which are very attached to one kind of host and cannot exchange it even for fairly close relatives.As a rule, these species parasitize bats and are very highly specialized in habitats and breeding.
Fleas in cats: appearance and photo
Outwardly, fleas in cats resemble very small, smooth and shiny grains of plants. If not for their mobility, many cat owners would not even suspect insects at such points.
In the photo below, several parasites are clearly visible on the skin of an animal among the wool: even with some magnification, it is difficult to see their paws and head:
A common flea in a cat, regardless of species, has a body length of about 2-3 mm. Different types of fleas differ from each other in the structure of the head and the number of bristles on the legs.
To consider in detail what fleas look like in cats, you can only take the insect in your hands or put it under a microscope. In the photo you can see in detail what a flea looks like in a cat, and study the characteristic features of the body structure of this parasite:
- lack of wings - it is precisely because of this that the insect is very difficult to catch, hold between the fingers and crush
- elongated and laterally flattened body, providing ease of movement between the hair of the host animal
- very long hind legs, allowing you to make gigantic jumps for the size of the insect itself
- body color: all fleas found on cats are dark brown or black.
It was the jumping ability of fleas that became the talk of the town. An insect can make a jump that exceeds the length of its body by 150 times. If a person had such abilities, he could jump up to 300 meters.
The jumps themselves are good signs for flea identification. If a tiny creature found on the body of an animal simply disappears from the place where it was just then, this is definitely a flea.The human eye is not able to see the insect jump itself: we can only detect the parasite within a radius of 20-30 centimeters from its last location.
A flea in a cat is well distinguished from other possible parasites by the following features:
- small size - ordinary ticks are several times larger
- dark color and mobility - fleas and lice in cats are found almost side by side, but the louse has a light body color and is extremely inactive. Jumping distinguishes fleas from withers.
On a note
An additional difference between a flea and a louse will be the placement of parasites on the wool itself: fleas move along the skin without climbing the hairs, and lice, on the contrary, sit mainly on the hairs of the animal.
Biology of the cat flea
All fleas in domestic cats share a broadly similar biology. They are all obligate parasites, able to feed only on the blood of their hosts.
Flea reproduction occurs with complete transformation: the female lays a portion of eggs, from which, after a few days, worm-like larvae that do not look like adult insects hatch. They feed either on organic rotting remains or on the blood left in the excrement of adult insects.
It is interesting:
The word "lays" does not quite accurately characterize the way the eggs are spread by the female flea. Rather, she shoots them: the eggs scatter from the body of the insect in different directions at high speed. This ensures some kind of spread of eggs over a sufficient area, the removal of one larva from another and a decrease in competition between them for food resources.
Photograph of cat flea eggs:
Photo of flea larvae:
The fleas themselves in a domestic cat are constantly present on her body.They jump on the animal to feed and leave it when they are full. The larvae develop in the animal's nest litter or simply in heaps of rubbish. It is impossible to find larvae on the cat itself.
There are many options for where fleas come from in cats:
- Infection from street animals.
- An attack by parasites living in places of rest or walking of an animal: a cat can simply lie down near a mouse hole, from which insects will jump on it.
- The presence of parasites in the house. As a rule, in this case, parasites bite people.
- Accidental introduction of insects into the house by a person - on clothes or with household items.
These reasons alone are enough to understand that not a single animal, even completely domesticated, is immune from infection with parasites.
Review
“My Sonya never went outside at all. Once, two years ago, she was brought together at our house with a cat. I was shocked when I saw fleas on it. Where does a cat get fleas if it does not communicate with other animals? The veterinarian came, looked, and said that our entire loggia was covered in fleas. I couldn't believe it: it's unheated. But nevertheless, the doctor himself began to sweep the garbage out of the corners and showed us the larvae of these vile things.”
Julia, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
Fleas as carriers of dangerous diseases in cats
The most dangerous thing in the biology of fleas is their relationship with other parasites and pathogens of various diseases.
So, fleas and worms in cats always exist side by side: the eggs of worms are carried by jumping parasites on their paws. And in the body of a tiny parasite, pathogens move from one host to another:
- plague
- brucellosis
- typhus
- rickettsiosis
- anthrax
- tularemia
- salmonellosis
- encephalitis
... and about 200 more different diseases, among which are deadly both for the cats themselves and for the people who keep them. Therefore, the state of the pet should always be carefully monitored, and at the first sign of the presence of parasites in it, begin to fight them.
Signs that your pet has fleas
Finding out if a cat has fleas is easy. Even with a small amount of them on the body of animals, they already cause unambiguous symptoms:
- itching - the cat becomes very anxious and constantly itches
- rashes on the skin between the hairs in the form of red dots
- dermatitis in places of especially strong bites. This symptom develops quite rarely and with prolonged parasitism of insects.
- severe anemia
- insect excrement in the form of tiny black dots between the hairs
- and finally, the fleas themselves, subtle but constantly visible visually in the coat.
Usually, just the itching and constant anxiety of the animal makes it clear that the cat has fleas. A veterinarian can definitely determine fleas in a cat after examining the pet.
On a note:
An indirect way to find out that a cat has fleas is to identify helminthiases in it. Among cat worms, there are those whose eggs are carried only by fleas, and therefore the identification of these parasites clearly indicates pulicosis in an animal.
Immediately after identifying fleas in a cat, it is necessary to start fighting small bloodsuckers.
Flea control products
If a domestic cat has fleas, you must first choose the right remedy for their removal and treat the animal with it. And after that, you should clean the room from parasites.
Today, there are many effective anti-flea remedies. All of them can be divided into several main types:
- Flea collars are the most effective for preventing cat infections. It is convenient to wear such a collar on a cat that only occasionally and briefly goes outside. In this case, the tool will effectively repel parasites. The downside of collars is that they can irritate the animal's neck. The most famous collars are Hartz, Beaphar, Bolfo.
- Insecticide drops at the withers are an effective tool for both killing and repelling fleas. Very easy to apply - they just need to be rubbed into the animal's skin to protect it from parasites for several weeks - but can be toxic. Drops Advantix, Stronghold, Hartz are very effective.
- Flea shampoos are the best remedy for cats. They have a very mild effect, non-toxic, effectively destroy parasites already present on the coat. Fleas in a pregnant cat are almost always removed with the help of shampoo. Shampoos Celandine, Phytoelita, Lugovoi are quite popular.
- Flea sprays are the most radical and quite toxic remedies. They are used when there are too many fleas on the animal and they need to be eradicated quickly and immediately. They require very strict adherence to the instructions and have many contraindications. For example, fleas in a lactating cat or kittens should not be removed by any of these remedies.
- Mechanical methods for removing fleas: combing and catching fleas by hand. A very labor intensive and time consuming method. But, for example, in kittens under the age of one month, only with its help you can get rid of parasites.
In general, if a cat has fleas for the first time, choosing a remedy can be quite difficult, because it is not always possible to predict whether it will cause an allergy or not. Here it is not advisable to act by trial and error, but it is better to immediately consult a veterinarian.
How to deal with fleas in cats
It is important to understand that if a cat has fleas, their business will not be limited to breeding alone. The fight against these parasites involves a whole sequence of actions:
- You need to choose the right product, focusing primarily on its safety for the pet.
- The tool itself must be used in full accordance with the instructions.
- After that, it is necessary to carry out measures to remove insects from the premises. For this, special aerosol insecticides are usually used.
- Ensure the prevention of flea infestation of both the pet and the entire room in which it lives: lay out wormwood branches in the room or use insecticidal dusts, put a collar on the animal, and keep the house clean.
In any case, if fleas are found in cats, it is necessary to either change or thoroughly wash its bed, toilet and bedding. It is in these places that parasites are most likely to breed, and they will also become a place of secondary infection after the insects are destroyed only on the animal.
Flea remedies for animals: what every owner needs to know
Useful video: how to properly treat a cat with flea drops
What terrible fleas!
Today I found some white small insects on my cat's fur. They spread all over my pillow! A pillowcase in bleach, a cat in its place, but I can’t sleep! I feel bad, everything seems to me that someone is crawling on me. I've looked all over the internet, but I haven't found any. They are like insects, they do not jump, but just crawl. So many of them! The cat is calm, it does not even itch.
Perhaps these are cat lice, look at the photo on the Internet.
Maybe these are some insects from the street!
Tatyana, these are flea larvae.
In addition to fleas, my cat also has some small insects. At first I thought it was garbage, but when I looked closely, it turned out that they were moving. Tell me who they are and how to get them out ?!
It's lice.
I tried different medicines to get rid of fleas on two cats, and settled on domestic Bars drops. They are not expensive and the action lasts for several months. Shampoos and collars do not give such an effect, they are more like additional protection. We did not make friends with the spray, unfortunately, it is very problematic in application.
Cooking, what do you write, in Bars permethrin, it is very poisonous and many cats are poisoned by it with a fatal outcome.
The same applies to most domestic shampoos, sprays and powders - permethrin in the composition. It has long been abandoned in foreign preparations.
I recommend Advantage drops - without restrictions.
You are advertising the Hartz company here, but in the USA a site has been created against the products of this company, for victims, that is, animals that died or suffered from the use of collars or drops of this company. I advise you to be careful and do not risk your pets.
Help! I took a kitten in the village, the fleas were just swarming. It seems that she brought it out, but in the room it’s just horror, I can’t sleep. I have already bought wormwood, however, in a pharmacy, dry, since it is winter now and there is nowhere to pick it up. What should I do? Save!
We somehow also couldn’t get rid of the fleas in any way, then in the end we diluted a whole bottle of flea shampoo and wet the entire floor. The carpets had to be removed. Two hours later I came home and washed with clean water. And, lo and behold, the fleas disappeared. And so they suffered for about a month, they gnawed all my legs, it was summer, they also tore wormwood, there was no sense from it at all.
Spray frontline can be used from 2 days of age.
They took a cat (kitten), she had fleas, we brought them out with shampoo and it itches anyway. I didn’t think that there would be such problems with the cat, I wanted a cat for a very long time, but now it would be better if we didn’t take it. But we love her very much and therefore no one can throw her away ... She crawls into bed every night, I always shake it off, and now I realized that I was doing the right thing. She sleeps with her brother or with her mother. We had a cat in a private house (now we are in an apartment).So he always walked, every night he left, and nothing - there were no fleas. And no one bit us.
If a cat has lice, I sleep with her: won't they pass on to me? And how to get them out?
How can the issue of throwing a pet outside because of fleas even be raised? Are you out of your mind at all? Throw your child out of the window if he suddenly has a runny nose!
And now her skin is really starting to itch. And so many problems. When they took her, they did not bathe for a long time, for a very long time, and now I understand what a mistake it was. I don't know what to do, how to get them out of the apartment. Tell! When they brought fleas out to her, they jumped all over, and now they have probably spread. I do not know what to do. And I was not so afraid when I thought that they do not bite a person! And now I found out that they can still bite a person, now I can’t walk around the apartment normally at all. Tell me, can they live like lice (human) in the head of the owner and bite in the same way?
Treat the whole apartment with dichlorvos, then go for a walk for a few hours. A cat with flea droplets - and everything is okay. Do not forget to treat the cat after a couple of months.
Throw the hell out of all cats and dogs, especially if you have children. These are constant sources of infection in the house.
Infections within reasonable limits are a source of immunity. You don't have to kick anyone out. Pets need care, that's what.
Go to hell, Vasya. What the hell: throw it out of the house?! If a child has lice from kindergarten or from school, would you recommend throwing him away too? All insects are removed, there is nothing to worry about.
Vasya, shut your mouth and go throw yourself out!
And the owners follow them.
Vasya, I would just throw you away with your evil flayer children. You are the source of a terrible evil contagion.
People! Why do you think that you deserve to live, but animals do not? You need to take care of them, not throw them away! And the infection - yes, you also get sick a lot than yourself. I hate people who hurt animals.
Hello! I'm 10 years old. Our cat has fleas. Do not know how! Either he picked it up on the street, or somewhere else ... The ankles are all in bites, the cat was bought a collar, a week ago they washed all the bedding and sorted out the mattresses. And they reappeared, but there were fewer bites. And thank God, there are no larvae ... What should I do?
God, I'm so scared. From the balcony we heard the squeak of kittens, we decided to look, we found kittens, they were only 3 days old. The cat died, apparently, immediately after giving birth! I felt sorry for them, I took them home, feed them and distribute them later. But after a couple of days I found fleas in them, washed them all, and I also have my six-month-old cat, I'm afraid that he will pick it up. What to do, tell me? Will they stay at home? I am in my fourth month of pregnancy. People, please help.
Hello, we also took a flea kitten, but they cannot be treated with anything until they weigh 1 kg. I had to comb it out. I took a comb from fleas, put the kitten on my knees and combed it out for three hours. Today I found again fleas on an already grown cat, a colleague advised me to comb out with a comb moistened with a solution of balsamic vinegar. For two liters one cap of balsamic vinegar and scratch. Good luck and patience to you!
From my own experience, I will allow myself to give advice to all those who are confused by the appearance of fleas in animals and in the house.Wash your pet with flea shampoo, etc., then dilute that shampoo, not necessarily the whole bottle, in a bucket of water. Wipe carpets, floors, baseboards and around them with this solution - especially, and you will be pleased with the result. Shampoo must be, of course, good. If it helps the animal, then everything will be in order in the house. Then put a flea collar on your pet. Fleas can be easily picked up in the grass, so a collar will help you and your pet!
As for the procedure with the animal, it is better to repeat the washing in a week. It won't be redundant.
MAIN! Be sure to keep small children safe after cleaning floors, carpets, etc. After all, they crawl and always pull their fingers and toys into their mouths. All goodness and love! )
Hello, no shampoos and other useless and untested products are needed! The best solution is OIL. Fleas disappear without a trace, the main thing is to clean the room. Economically, and most importantly - effectively. I advise everyone!
Good evening! And what kind of oil?
Tell me, are the eggs, larvae and pupae themselves transferred? That is, is it possible to bring it home in clothes, for example, if it accidentally sticks? I spent the night at the house of a man who has a cat and fell asleep on the couch, which she often jumps on. Could I, having fallen asleep drunk, say, on a pillow where there could be fleas or their eggs and larvae, bring all this home?
I’m so afraid of all these parasites, that’s why we always have a cat in a flea collar, and I also spray her pillow and the cat itself for preventive purposes - we live outside the city, and the cat walks where he wants. I'm really afraid that someone will pick up ...
I read the comments and I'm dying from you! We bought drops from fleas, dug out the cat and put on the collar.They themselves will rest in the apartment, because they need to eat, and the cat has already been processed. That is, they will eat poison! And then they spread the panic, what do you have, a car of fleas?
Hello, I read your comments and understand you well. Today I washed my cat and found small black dots. And when I saw it, I was immediately surprised and got into the Internet, found many different means. And I decided to buy flea shampoo. After 2 weeks everything was gone.
We got a kitten yesterday, it has fleas on it. Very scary. We don't know what to do. My kitten with flea shampoo "Celandine". Tell me something else.
They saved their cat from fleas like this: stronghold on the withers and neostomosan for the apartment. They did a general cleaning, wiping all the floors and corners with whiteness (chlorine), and then spread neostomozan, poured it into a spray bottle and sprayed it in all corners ... We have not known grief for three years now. But every few weeks I wash the floor with chlorine - from sin, as they say.
Tell me, please, yesterday I found in my cat an incomprehensible living muck of black color, very small, oblong, I barely caught it. Three weeks ago, the cat was in the hospital at the veterinary clinic after a major operation. This muck is not like a flea and a louse. Small, long, and crawls like a worm, but very fast. I saw it at the withers, since her entire back was shaved, so I noticed.
If like a worm, then it is a worm, or a flea larva.
Calm down, fleas are not terrible. Buy drops from ticks and fleas at a pharmacy or animal hospital, they cost a lot, as much as 400 rubles. Drops like magic - dripped on the neck of a cat or cat, after a week no trace. Protection lasts 2 months, after drops they fall dead from the cat.For humans, fleas are not dangerous if they are not human. From a person, fleas and larvae can be washed out with a special shampoo (Balm). It also helps with dandruff, only it smells of cedar.
Oh, but tell me, which company can I pick up a collar or drops? Only effective and proven. Me for a cat weighing 3-4 kg.