Discover how to remove fleas from a cat, very useful information that can save you costs when going to a veterinarian, in addition in this article you will also be able to know what are cat fleas like so you can differentiate them from other animals.
Fleas in cats: contagion
One of the first questions that arises in this regard is the way in which pets are infected with fleas, in this case; in cats, being one of the most common parasites that occur in these animals since it is very easy to contract them, the way to acquire them is through contact with another animal that possesses them or the proximity to a place where they live.
It is highlighted that these have the ability to survive without being in an animal for at least several months, they have a life cycle that is of great importance to understand all the information, such as:
- The right temperature for them is the one that occurs between spring and summer.
- In homes they can be present throughout the year since heating is often used, which keeps them alive.
- The eggs develop in the soil, especially if it has high humidity.
- When they hatch they feed on organic matter, later they continue their evolution until they need to find a host from which they are going to feed and later they become adults.
Due to this it is necessary to maintain a correct disinfection in the home, preventing them from living in it, remember that they can go six months without being in a guest.
This plague is one of the most frequent in the Domestic animals For this reason, it is of great importance to know how to detect its existence, let's see below:
How to detect fleas in cats? Symptoms
Like knowing when the house cat does or does not have fleas, it is important to be attentive to any symptoms that it may present and to know what these animals are like, since they can be easily confused with others.
The symptoms that can reflect the presence of fleas are the following:
- The most common and simple thing to observe is that your cat scratches constantly and insistently, more than anything in places such as the head and where the tail begins.
- Cats are very playful and tend to move from one place to another, when this changes and they are seen to be very still and lying down all the time, it could be a symptom that they have fleas.
- These animals somehow ask you to brush them if yours is doing it more frequently it can also represent the presence of these parasites.
To confirm or rule out the presence of fleas on your cat, the best thing to do is to check it for any of them or their droppings, both in the hair and on the skin. You can also buy a special comb for this with which you should brush and check. if these animals stayed in the brush.
My cat has fleas and does not leave the house. How is it possible?
There are great chances that your cat will contract fleas even when it does not leave your home, but how is this possible? One of the options is that another animal has entered your house with these parasites in it, if this is ruled out there is more possibilities such as the fact that one of the people who live in the home has been the carrier of them.
With this, you should always keep time in mind, that is, not only think about the previous days but also about the months, since these can live for months in the home until they reside in the cat, for reasons such as these, they are usually very It is common for these animals to live in pets.
Therefore, the fact that your cat has never left your home does not mean that he cannot get fleas, on the contrary, he should always take his respective care, be checking frequently, pass the brush and be attentive to what is in the one that remains, take it to your veterinarian to rule out the diseases that these produce and keep the home disinfected as much as possible.
Home remedies for fleas in baby cats
These animals are very small so many times they go beyond being perceived by the human eye, but for pets they are very annoying, cats and dogs usually attract them since their body temperature is quite high which fascinates these animals.
The reproduction of these parasites is usually very fast, especially if they are in places with high humidity and they can attack both baby and adult cats, however in the case of the former it is much more worrying and alarming.
In baby cats it is more worrying since they are more sensitive so they can contract diseases more easily or be weaker, there are even cases where they get anemia and die.
In these cases it is not recommended and many even prohibit the use of deworming remedies which can be used in adult cats, so below are different ways to make remedies at home to eliminate these animals from your pet.
How to remove fleas from a baby cat? It's a big question mark, but one that you shouldn't worry about, since when you act immediately after your arrest, you only need to follow certain instructions or advice.
It should be noted that if you have a group of kittens, you should check them all and apply any of the options that will be explained, since if one of them has fleas, the rest will surely have already been infected.
Likewise, it may happen that you do not have time to dedicate yourself to this task or you simply do not think you are capable of getting rid of the fleas, so you need to look for someone who, if you can do it and not let this happen, can also be someone else from the family or take it to a veterinarian, if many days go by your animal could get worse and even die.
home remedies and how to remove fleas from a baby cat are:
Baths with warm water and soap
It is no secret to anyone that these animals do not like to bathe, they repel water, however, they are actions that must be carried out to ensure that your pet is free of fleas.
It is highlighted that it is most recommended that cats not be bathed until they have all their vaccinations, but in these cases it is the most appropriate.
Never submerge it completely in the water, the water must be lukewarm and you will introduce it in a very delicate way, remember that they are newborns and you must be more careful, this can be done in a punch bowl or a bucket dedicated to this exclusive work.
As far as possible, do not wet your head unless there are fleas in it, for which you should wet a towel and pass it through the area, after your cat is wet, remove it and place it on a towel and with a shampoo for babies or puppies and you will give him a massage without touching his eyes and mouth.
Then with the special comb to remove the fleas you must eliminate all those that you can see, the shampoo will make this task easier.
It should be noted that when you remove the fleas you should drown them in hot water with the shampoo you used, in this way you will ensure that they are dead and do not remain in the environment for much longer.
When you finish each of these steps, you must remove the shampoo from your cat, dry it and keep it in a warm place, you could even use the hair dryer to have it at adequate temperatures.
Vaseline
Another of the home remedies that are very useful is Vaseline which is used in humans for multiple occasions and in the case of these animals it will also be very helpful.
Among its many benefits is the elimination of fleas in baby cats and surely you are wondering how is that possible? It is very simple, take your pet and go brushing it with the special comb or brush to remove fleas and when you observe some of them you will place a little of this material on top of the parasite.
The function of this is to ensure that the parasite cannot move and escape since it is usually something common because they move quickly preventing them from being caught and being able to kill them, once you have it immobile it will be much easier for you to catch it and kill it in water hot or in a container filled with creolin or gasoline.
If you only remove them from the animal without killing them, then they will re-enter your pet and you will have wasted time having to start the job again.
Alcohol
A material that is always in homes since it is very useful in various aspects, especially in the field of health, both in humans and animals, and on this occasion for the elimination of fleas from your cat, which will also not cause damage. on its skin.
What you should do is place a little of this liquid in a container, remember that you should not use it directly from the pot in which it came since you can infect the rest of the alcohol without it being necessary and you will not be able to use it again since it would cause serious damage.
After you have this container ready, get a swab or an ear cleaning stick at hand, dip one of its tips into the liquid in question and when you see a flea, you should press the swab on the parasite by rubbing without hurting your cat. , it is important to note that it will not die, but it will make it dizzy to make it easier for you to catch it.
Apple vinager
Here is another material that is usually in homes, but don't worry if you don't have it, it is easy to get and is usually very cheap. in this respect the elimination of fleas in cats.
This solution is not permanent, it will only last for a while and it will not be to kill them on the spot, but what you will achieve is that they come out of your cat and then you will have to disinfect the place completely since they will be scattered.
As you do? Mix a little of this oil with water, proportionally 2 to 1, that is, if you put two tablespoons of oil you only have to put one of water and so on.
Preferably put it in a spray bottle so that you can spray your pet with it, then you will have to brush it again and again and you will see how these annoying animals come out quickly and in impressive numbers.
flea trap
The name attracts a lot of attention, that is to say, how is it that a trap is made for these tiny animals and well, the truth is that, if it can be done, but not as many imagine, the fact is that these parasites are usually very attracted to light and this could be a good trap to catch them.
It is an excellent home resource that you can implement if you do not have any of the materials established in the previous segments, what you should do is place it in a dish that is not so deep, place hot water with soap and place it in the night light.
It seems very strange but the truth is that these will jump to the plate, why? Due to the fact that the light that the water emits will attract their attention and when they jump they will drown, when you get up look at the plate that you have placed and you will be able to see the number of fleas that have fallen into your deadly plot, you can do this every night by changing Water.
Saltwater
The taste that this mixture has is not pleasant at all and not only for human beings, this also happens to fleas, which dislike salt water, so it usually works very well as a repellent, but surely you are imagining that you should spread it on your cat and it really is not.
With this you will clean the surroundings where your pet is usually and even other areas where they can live as in the walls where there is humidity and in the cracks of doors since it is very common for them to hide in those places.
You will not only use it there, but on the floors and other surfaces it is also useful, so you will repel them and they will want to run out of your home, even spread the salt on various surfaces and thus you will kill the larvae that they leave scattered.
Remember not to use it on your pet's skin, this could cause skin damage that requires a lot of care to heal.
flea pills for cats
But there are not only home remedies, you will also get pills that kill your cat's fleas, which you can buy at your local pet stores, these act against external and internal parasites so they are very effective, however, they are not can be used in the case of baby cats.
There are many remedies such as flea collars that cause damage to the cat's skin, so this could be a good solution. With a single administration you will already be protecting your pet.
The advice of many specialists is that the duration of the pill is only for a month since those that last longer are usually more aggressive and could damage your cat's digestive system.
How to remove fleas from an adult cat?
Many will believe that they are the same procedures and the truth is that they are not, when the cat is an adult the actions should be the following:
- Give your cat a good bath, even if it resists, but not with water alone, but you should incorporate lavender or eucalyptus bush. As these will cause them to run from your pet.
- In addition to the above, incorporate a shampoo against fleas, which you can buy at pet stores, you can place it after applying the aforementioned.
- Prepare a spray at home which you can do with lemon or orange juice.
- Keep your house clean of fleas and ticks, being the best way to prevent your pets from contracting this parasite.
You can also ask a veterinarian about other options to apply to your pet, he will explain in more detail how to kill fleas on cats, but you can also turn to a relative or neighbor who has these pets in their home who may have put some remedy into practice and it went wonderfully.
Do fleas on cats affect humans?
A doubt that afflicts many of the owners of cats and the answer to this big question is that yes, they can affect people in a significant way; these can stick to humans producing feline-like symptoms.
There will be a lot of itchiness in the area and redness in the place, sometimes you will also be able to observe their excrement. There are also cases in which they begin to have severe allergies, so if your pet sleeps with you or very close to you, you should be aware of these symptoms, it also usually perches on your furniture and then you are at risk of this parasite sticking to your skin. .
That is why it is best to check your pet very frequently, preventing you from being the next host of these parasites and also take care of disinfecting your house completely, preventing diseases even in the smallest of the household.
Prevention of fleas in cats
But the best of all is always prevention, preventing you and your pet from being infected by these horrible parasites, but how to do it? There are different ways to achieve this, you can use a flea collar, although sometimes these can cause skin damage.
You can administer a dewormer, but only in the case of adult cats, so they will not enter your pet and therefore neither you. Another recommendation to prevent is that you brush your cat every week, checking his skin very carefully so you will detect it in time, preventing it from multiplying and spreading throughout the animal and the house.
But there is another way, acquire the plant called lavender since its aroma does not please fleas and repels insects including these parasites.
Finally, try to keep your home in good hygiene conditions, if you constantly take care of disinfecting your home, these parasites will not have the opportunity to settle in it or in your pet, thus avoiding the fleas at home.