Fleas in a cat: symptoms + instructions on how to remove them at home

A flea is a small but very unpleasant insect that feeds on blood. It is most often found in street and “social” cats, but a pet that does not leave the house can catch such an uninvited guest. You can get rid of cat fleas, but only with a systematic approach to the matter and the use of appropriate medications. Moreover, you should not delay treatment, because parasites can cause additional health problems for your cat.

What do fleas look like?

Fleas belong to a large order of insects, which include different subspecies. They feed on the blood of various animals and are parasites. Using a photo of fleas on a cat, you can determine the type of flea and understand that the animal is attacked by these insects.

The cat flea is one of the most common species; its body length reaches up to three millimeters. The flea has a body that is flattened on the sides, and their hind legs are very long.

It is thanks to their long legs that they are so easily carried along the fur; female fleas are larger than males, since they lay eggs and carry them in their abdomen.
The flea has a sucking and piercing mouth, with which it pierces the cat's skin and drinks its blood.
There are many bristles on the surface of the flea's body, which also allows the parasite to cling tightly to the fur.
The color of the flea can be light brown and reach black.

Features and signs of fleas

The flea is a small insect (from one to five millimeters in length) brown in color, has six legs with characteristic bristles. It differs from other external parasites (ear and ixodid mites, lice, lice eaters, coccidia) by its incredible jumping ability due to its long hind limbs. It has a special mouth mechanism designed to pierce and suck the blood of the host.

At optimal temperatures and humidity, a generation of fleas can grow in ten days, they spread very quickly and live up to two years. Larvae can develop both on the body of the host and in its habitat. In the house, this could be bedding or an animal’s house, carpets, or furniture upholstery.

The initial infection of a pet is impossible to notice, but as the insect colony develops, the signs become obvious:

the cat shows increased anxiety;
often itches and bites teeth into fur and skin;
characteristic red dots appear on his body - places of bites, from single to numerous;
appetite decreases;
looks lethargic and apathetic - anemia develops;
worms often appear;
an allergy occurs.

Also read the article about why a cat may itch if it doesn't have fleas.

How do fleas get started?

There are many ways your pet can become infected with parasites.

Walk outside (fleas can be on the grass, ground and asphalt).
Human contact (fleas can be brought home on clothing or shoes).
Transmission from the mother (if a pregnant cat has fleas, there is a high chance that the parasites will be transmitted to newborn kittens).
Contact with rodents.

Lice and lice eaters

These arthropods can be safely combined into one group, because they are “terribly similar,” although they belong to different orders. Lice are most often Felicola subrostratus, lice eaters are Mallophaga.

What do lice and lice look like?

The body, just like a flea’s, is flat, up to 2-3 mm long. Color – light beige or transparent white.
The head is wider than the chest, flat, quadrangular.
The eyes are poorly developed.
The abdomen is also wider than the chest and longer than the chest and head combined!
The oral apparatus is not adapted to pierce the skin and suck out blood, and, despite the fact that it is considered gnawing, neither the louse nor the lice eater are capable of inflicting wounds on the owner.

These creatures are capable of gnawing only with the upper part of the mouth opening, which is used to “saw off” the wide lower end of the hair or dead parts of the epidermis, which curl upward when dry. This leads to ringworm-type baldness and frequent dandruff.

And also - nits. These are lice and lice eggs.

How do lice reproduce on a cat?

They are specific in relation to the owner, because they spend their entire life on his body, because have incomplete transformation - they will never grow long, strong legs that can help them jump up to 1 m in height, like a flea. Simply put, the louse and the lice eater are “unfinished” fleas.

The females of these “unfinished” eggs lay up to 100 eggs, which are attached to the root part of the hair with special glue - uterine secretion. The whitish tiny balls visible at the root of the hair are nits of specific permanent entomoses.

After 7-12 days (it all depends on the species and environmental conditions), these nits hatch into larvae that are similar in appearance to the adult. Over the next 12-20 days, the larva molts 3 times and turns into a sexually mature individual, which immediately begins its life activity - firmly clings with its paws and claws to the root of the hair and begins to gnaw it and drink blood.

Fleas: The Danger of Parasites

It is important to know that fleas on a domestic cat can be very dangerous for your pet.

Fleas carry various diseases and even worm eggs.
Because of the bites, wounds appear on the cat's skin, the fur becomes dull and begins to fall out.
If the number of fleas constantly increases, this leads to feline anemia and negatively affects the health of the animal.
Development of allergies.

Fleas particularly affect cats in poor health, as well as newborn kittens and older cats. In addition, the presence of fleas can be potentially dangerous for humans; if a flea gets into food, poisoning is possible. The parasite can bite through human skin, which will lead to dermatitis and various skin diseases.

How can cat parasites be dangerous?

Some types of parasites that are dangerous for cats can also be dangerous for their owners: for example, some types of helminths, fleas
Parasites usually feed on their host: skin flakes, secretions of the sebaceous glands, blood (like a flea or hookworm). This often causes pain and anxiety for the animal, and in severe cases it can cause anemia - anemia.
Many blood-sucking parasites are carriers of dangerous diseases that can pose a risk to the life and health of your pet. These include, for example, feline infectious anemia, which is transmitted by both ticks and fleas.
Fleas can provoke various skin inflammations, and helminths significantly reduce the immune status of cats.
A sick pet can infect other animals living in your home.

Symptoms of infection

Flea infestation has three main stages, each of which is accompanied by certain symptoms.

Initial stage - at this stage, parasites can be detected if you carefully examine the cat's fur and skin.
At the second stage, the pet’s health becomes worse, the cat becomes nervous and constantly chews something out of the fur, eats and sleeps poorly.
The third stage is accompanied by severe hair loss, weight loss and anemia. Ulcers and redness are clearly visible on the cat’s skin.

It is important to notice the appearance of fleas in a cat in the early stages and begin treatment immediately.

Knowing how to remove fleas from a cat, you can help your pet recover and start living a full life without constant scratching and pain.

Morphology

The adult, like all fleas, is a small, wingless, blood-sucking insect. Body length ranges from 0.5 to 5 mm. When sucking blood, females can reach 16 mm. Body color is dark. They have cephalic and dental ctenidia. The head has 7 or 8 teeth of varying lengths located along the lower edge of the head, the thoracic has 14 or 16 teeth. The eyes are big. The anterior part of the antennal fossa is covered by the edge of the buccal lobe. The latter has a false tooth at the end. Both sexes have one developed prepygidial seta. The forehead is flat. Metepisternum has no more than two setae. The stigmas of the abdominal tergites are relatively small.

Sexual dimorphism. Individuals of different sexes differ in the structure of their genital organs.

Male. The handle of the sex claw is only slightly widened at the end.

Female. The forehead is flatter.

The egg is about 0.5 mm long, white.

Worm-shaped larva. The body is covered with long hairs and consists of three thoracic and ten abdominal segments (13 in total). It is eyeless, has short antennae and a chewing mouthparts. The maximum size of the third instar larvae is at least 5 mm.

Removing fleas at home

If fleas are found on your pet, it is necessary to carry out a thorough general cleaning of the premises so that the parasites do not spread throughout the house.

Most often, flea eggs and the parasites themselves can be found on carpets and upholstered furniture, which should be vacuumed and treated with special products.

To remove fleas at home, you can use the following remedies.

Special shampoo;
Flea drops for cats;
Spray;
Medical collar;
Pills;

The best option is to use several remedies that will give a positive effect. Many drugs can be dangerous for a cat, so it is advisable to consult a veterinarian or not use too aggressive drugs.

Ways to control fleas

The best way to get rid of flea bites and prevent their occurrence is prevention.
Simultaneously with treatment, insect extermination operations must be carried out. The entire house needs to be cleaned and sanitized. This is quite difficult, but prevention is better than subsequent treatment. After all, itching from a flea bite, swelling and redness are the mildest symptoms that may appear. The most effective method of killing insects is treating premises with chemicals. The most effective agents are chlorpyrifos, cypermethrin and others. Before processing, it is necessary to remove all sources of heat, since the preparations are highly flammable, close all food products and remove pets from the premises, because insecticides are very toxic.

After treatment, any remaining drug should be removed. Insecticide chemicals do not reach hidden areas (such as behind furniture) or affect pets, so these products must be used in combination with other methods for maximum effect.

Contact specialists who will carry out high-quality disinfection of the premises. Only professionals will be able to finally rid the room of harmful insects by treating the room with specialized means.

Flea prevention

The easiest way is not to treat your pet, but to prevent the appearance of parasites. It is important to keep your home clean and practice hygiene regularly. It is important to change and wash outer clothing, wash shoes, and keep the floor clean.

If your pet goes outside, it needs to be bathed and its paws washed. If your cat is often outdoors, use a flea-repellent collar.

They contain a special flea remedy for cats, which repels parasites and prevents them from settling in the animal’s fur. It is important to change such a collar on time, taking into account their expiration date.

The positive properties of the collar include the following qualities:

Easy to use.
Suitable for animals that do not like water treatments.
Protection not only from fleas, but also from ticks.
Can be used by pregnant cats and small kittens.

Traditional methods for fleas

If for some reason you do not want to use store-bought flea products, you can turn to traditional medicine and rid your pet of parasites.

It is necessary to prepare an infusion of celandine and salt, in which the cat must be thoroughly bathed and allowed to stand in this water. For 50 grams of celandine, take 1 liter of water.
Two or three cloves of garlic need to be turned into a liquid pulp and mixed with 700 ml of water. This infusion must be rubbed into the cat's fur at night, and the pet must be combed in the morning.
A strong infusion is made from dry and fresh wormwood. The product is applied to the cat's fur, then the animal must be bathed with shampoo and combed well.

Flea eggs and larvae - how to effectively get rid of them

The fight against fleas is not limited to the destruction of parasites that live on the cat. The environment in which an infested animal lives includes flea eggs and larvae, as well as adult insects. Linen on which the cat sleeps or simply rests frequently should be washed at the hottest temperature possible.

It is worth vacuuming your apartment more often - this will help get rid of eggs, larvae and pupae. Small surfaces, such as armchairs or chairs on which the cat sits, can be further treated with a hair roller. Parasites that were not absorbed by the vacuum cleaner may stick to it.

Additional preparations for killing environmental insects at all stages of development are also very useful in the fight against fleas, but you should choose only those that are completely safe.

For example, medications containing dimethicone cause eggs to stick together and paralyze fleas and their larvae.

There are also electric flea traps that are installed at night near the place where the cat sleeps. However, these devices are quite expensive. An alternative could be a homemade trap in the form of a plate with warm water and soap (the heat attracts fleas, and then they will simply drown in the foam).

Insecticides: Rules for use

Flea allergies in cats can have dire consequences, so it is best to use proven insecticides that will give positive results.

Under no circumstances should the insecticide come into contact with the cat’s mucous membranes;
The cat should not reach with its tongue the place where its fur was treated with drops;
Spray treatment should be carried out carefully; the spray should not come into contact with the cat’s eyes, nose and mouth;
After treating your pet, you need to ventilate the room;

If the product gets on the mucous membrane, you need to rinse it with plenty of clean water.

Appearance of the larvae

Flea larvae

What flea larvae look like depends on the stage of development. Initially they are born as white, translucent worms. Length does not exceed 1 mm. Their food consists of feces of adults, skin remains, and rot. They begin to eat actively.

Over time, worms accumulate in places where they can find food:

dog bedding, cat mats;
trash bins;
baskets for storing vegetables, flower pots;
pet toilet, feeders.

A week later, the first molt occurs. Flea larvae increase in size, but do not change appearance. The worms are already more like a caterpillar. The contents of the esophagus are visible through the transparent body. The color becomes dirty gray. During the entire developmental stage, the flea molts three times. Increases to 4 mm.

At the last stage of flea development, pupation occurs. The larva envelops itself in a cocoon and stops moving. Already after 2 days it emerges from there as an adult.

Biology of cat parasites

All pet fleas have a similar biology: they are obligate parasites that feed only on the blood of their owners.

These parasites reproduce by complete transformation: the female lays a portion of eggs, from which within a few days hatch worm-like larvae that are completely different from adult individuals. They feed on organic debris or blood that remains in the excrement of adult parasites.

Fleas (if they exist) are almost always present on the body of domestic cats, but larvae are laid (and then develop), as a rule, in the animal’s bedding or simply in dark, secluded places. You will not find larvae on the pets themselves.

Review of effective remedies

It is not always possible to independently select a suitable flea drug in the form of drops, since their range is quite extensive. Analyzing information from manufacturers, reviews, and the opinions of veterinarians, we can identify several popular brands that meet the criteria of safety and effectiveness.

Foreign manufacturers

Hartz. American-made drops destroy flea larvae and oviposition. They should not be used on kittens under three months of age. Apply the product to the occipital area. The effect of the drug lasts for a month, after which the procedure is repeated. The protective effect is not reduced by short-term exposure to moisture. A preliminary consultation with a veterinarian will be required regarding the use of drops for pregnant cats, aging, and sick animals.
Beaphar. In the line of Dutch-made flea drops, you can choose varieties for kittens and adult cats, including weakened and pregnant ones. The active ingredient is a natural margosa extract that is safe for animals. Convenient packaging in disposable ampoules is offered. The contents are poured onto the withers, lightly rubbing into the skin. By repeating the procedure every 30 days, you can completely protect your pet from fleas.
Frontline. Due to the low degree of toxicity, drops produced in France by Frontline are approved for kittens from the age of two months. Formulations are used for cats, packaged in disposable pipettes with a volume of 0.5 ml. This drug is also used to rid animals of ear scabies. It must be taken into account that after processing light-colored breeds, the wool can change its original color.
Advantage. When considering the best drops aimed at killing fleas in cats, it is necessary to note the German drug Advantage, the base substance of which is imidacloprid. Sold in tubes, the contents of which are squeezed onto the withers once a month. The drug is approved for kittens from two months. After treatment, it is necessary to ensure that small pets do not lick the insecticide within three hours.
Advocate. These are effective drops made in Germany, which have proven themselves as an effective preventive measure. The drug Advocate is contraindicated in weakened animals and kittens under nine months of age.
Zookeeper. The Belarusian-made drug is distinguished by lasting results after treating cats against fleas. Allowed for kittens two months old. Not recommended for weakened pets.

There is a type of drops that are part of a series of biological products. These include the German-developed Green Fort drug. It is safe because it contains natural ingredients. But it should be borne in mind that the effect of these drops is aimed only at repelling fleas. Therefore, they are more often used as prophylactic agents.

Russian-made drugs

Bars drops, aimed at cats, have received the most widespread recognition. They destroy larvae and have a detrimental effect on insect eggs, maintaining the effect for almost three months.
Dana-2 Ultra. The active component is low-toxic fipronil. These drops act quickly and effectively, but are recommended only for animals older than one year.
The barrier is super. A drug that quickly destroys all generations of fleas. Allowed for kittens over three months old. The duration of exposure lasts two months.
Inspector. Insecticidal drops that can destroy not only fleas, but also helminths. Prohibited for cats if skin damage is detected. Veterinarian permission is required for use by pregnant females and kittens weighing less than a kilogram.
Celandine drops can be used by kittens from two months. The dosage is determined in accordance with the instructions and depends on the weight of the animal. If it is below 2 kg, then squeeze out half the contents of one pipette, that is, 0.5 ml. Pets from 3 to 5 kg require 1 ml, and over 5 and up to 10 kg - 2 ml. It is recommended to apply drops to the skin between the shoulder blades. The drug is prohibited for weak, sick animals, and pregnant cats.

Timely measures taken to combat fleas will save cats from serious consequences, such as hair loss, infection with dangerous diseases and allergic manifestations. Modern drops quickly rid animals of blood-sucking insects and show high effectiveness as preventative agents.

Consequences for the cat

Ectoparasite bites cause a lot of unpleasant and painful sensations, which often affects the health of an adult cat and, especially, a small kitten. Signs of flea bites on a cat are red, inflamed dots on the skin.

With a large number of ectoparasites, the following negative consequences are possible:

when an infection gets into the wound, inflammation can begin, the formation of sores and crusts, which the animal rips off and continues scratching;
furunculosis and ulcers on the skin, the formation of pustules and pustules;
skin irritations contribute to the appearance of allergic dermatitis or dermatophiliasis;
loss of tufts of hair in places where there are many bites, which leads to swelling of the affected area.

Therefore, it is very important to quickly rid your pet of these parasites so that you do not have to treat the negative consequences after their bites. Moreover, it is necessary to treat not only his fur, but also the entire room where he lives and sleeps.