It's that time of year again. Springtime kicks it off, the valley is heating up, and our furry companions are starting to itch! A common culprit in this story? FLEAS.
Fleas are one of the main reasons we see cats for itchy skin. You may find yourself asking, "How/where did my cat get fleas?"
Many different species of fleas can call your cats skin home, including fleas from dogs, squirrels, rabbits, and other wildlife. In ideal conditions, a flea can complete its life cycle in as little as two weeks. Adult fleas eat, live, and mate on our pets, and then lay eggs that fall into the environment. These eggs then hatch into larvae, the larvae eat debris in the environment until they mature into pupae. Pupae then wait for environmental conditions to be ideal before hatching into fleas (can be anywhere from 14-180 days later).
Homes with carpets provide an additional environment for eggs and larvae to hide. Furniture or cracks in floors also give larvae a refuge to develop. Even if your cat does not go outside, we can bring eggs into our homes on our shoes.
How do fleas affect your cat?
Fleas are one of the main reasons we see cats for itchy skin. You may find yourself asking, "How/where did my cat get fleas?"
Many different species of fleas can call your cats skin home, including fleas from dogs, squirrels, rabbits, and other wildlife. In ideal conditions, a flea can complete its life cycle in as little as two weeks. Adult fleas eat, live, and mate on our pets, and then lay eggs that fall into the environment. These eggs then hatch into larvae, the larvae eat debris in the environment until they mature into pupae. Pupae then wait for environmental conditions to be ideal before hatching into fleas (can be anywhere from 14-180 days later).
- A single female flea can lay up to 50 eggs a day
- Adult fleas can live up to 120 days on their host
- At any given time, less than 5% of the flea population is adults
Homes with carpets provide an additional environment for eggs and larvae to hide. Furniture or cracks in floors also give larvae a refuge to develop. Even if your cat does not go outside, we can bring eggs into our homes on our shoes.
How do fleas affect your cat?
Cats that are allergic to fleas can groom or scratch excessively after being bitten by even a single flea!
- Flea Allergy Dermatitis
- cats can develop an allergy to fleas, especially if repeatedly bitten. These cats often develop skin infections secondary to all the itching and self-trauma they cause.
- Blood Loss
- fleas feed on blood. In young or geriatric animals, this can become a serious problem if the flea burden is high. These heavily infested pets can become anemic.
- Tapeworms
- fleas are the intermediate host for a species of tapeworm (Dipylidium caninum). Essentially, the worm needs the flea to help it complete its life cycle by using the flea (intermediate host) to get into the cat (definitive host). Fleas get infected with tapeworms when the larvae eat tapeworm eggs, and then the cat eats the flea when grooming. And voila! Lifecycle is complete.
Signs of Infestation
- Adult fleas on your pet's skin or in your house.
- Flea excrement (dark specks that turn reddish in water), also called “flea dirt,” on your pet's skin.
- Irritated skin or excessive itching, which can lead to hair loss or a bacterial skin infection known as "hot spots."
- Flea eggs (white oval shapes the size of table salt crystals) hung up in your pet's coat .
Steps needed to get rid of fleas
Eliminate fleas from:
- your cat
- any other cat or dog that you have
- your home and yard
Treating Your Pet
There are several treatment options, including:
Adulticide
An adulticide, such as a topical monthly-use product, is applied directly to the pet's skin, where it is toxic to adult fleas, providing quick relief. Some oral tablets can be administered up to once a day or once a month.
Insect Growth Regulator (IGR)
An Insect Growth Regulator (IGR) is found in combination with some topical adulticides. IGRs do not kill fleas but do kill eggs and larvae to break the flea life cycle.
Insect Development Inhibitor (IDI)
An Insect Development Inhibitor (IDI) can be administered orally on a monthly basis or every 6 months by injection. An IDI keeps flea larvae from maturing to the next life stage, which also breaks the life cycle.
Integrated Flea Control
If you are experiencing an infestation, your veterinarian may suggest using both an adulticide and either an IGR or an IDI. This is called Integrated Flea Control and serves to rid your home of an infestation more rapidly.
Flea shampoo, dip, spray, combing, collar
These can be effective temporarily, but generally do not yield lasting results. Some cats show sensitivity to strong chemicals in flea collars.
CAUTION: do NOT use dog flea products on cats.
- Flea treatments meant for dogs can be deadly if given to cats instead. It is important to use only flea and tick products specifically designed for cats, and to administer the proper dosage.
- Never apply 45-65% permethrin "spot-on" products to cats, even in small amounts. Highly concentrated permethrin can be extremely toxic to cats.
- If you have both dogs and cats in your household, you should be aware that using a permethrin "spot-on" product on a dog may cause illness in a household cat.
- All flea/tick "spot-on" products—even ones with nearly identical brand names—are not alike. Check the label to identify the active ingredient before you apply it. Carefully follow all pesticide label instructions.
- Flea treatments meant for dogs can be deadly if given to cats instead. It is important to use only flea and tick products specifically designed for cats, and to administer the proper dosage.
- Never apply 45-65% permethrin "spot-on" products to cats, even in small amounts. Highly concentrated permethrin can be extremely toxic to cats.
- If you have both dogs and cats in your household, you should be aware that using a permethrin "spot-on" product on a dog may cause illness in a household cat.
- All flea/tick "spot-on" products—even ones with nearly identical brand names—are not alike. Check the label to identify the active ingredient before you apply it. Carefully follow all pesticide label instructions.
Treating Your Pet's Environment
- Treating your house, garage, yard and kennel is another important step in controlling fleas. For best results, treat your living areas and yard on the same day that you treat your pet.
- “Critter-proof” your yard by identifying sites in the yard that pets or wildlife may use as shelter. These include crawl spaces, areas under deck, porches, stairs, shrubs, or trees. Prevent access to any of these areas if possible. This is much more effective long-term, rather than trying to treat the outdoors, as these treatments only address 5% of the flea population or “the tip of the iceberg.”
- Regular vacuuming and steam cleaning helps remove flea eggs, larvae, and pupae. Don't forget to dispose of the vacuum bag, as fleas can hatch in the bag after vacuuming.
- A self-directed spray that will kill flea eggs and larvae in addition to adult fleas is the best choice for treating your house, garage, yard and kennel.
- If you must treat your yard, a pet-friendly lawn granule application that will kill flea eggs and larvae in addition to adult fleas is best.
- Foggers aren't able to treat underneath objects that fleas love to inhabit, such as couches, so it's best to use a spray to reach under those items.
How do you choose which products to use?
A flea control program needs to be individually tailored based on the lifestyle of your cat and other pets. Ask your veterinarian which products would provide the safest and effective flea control.
Sources for this information include VCA and OVMA resources.
- Treating your house, garage, yard and kennel is another important step in controlling fleas. For best results, treat your living areas and yard on the same day that you treat your pet.
- “Critter-proof” your yard by identifying sites in the yard that pets or wildlife may use as shelter. These include crawl spaces, areas under deck, porches, stairs, shrubs, or trees. Prevent access to any of these areas if possible. This is much more effective long-term, rather than trying to treat the outdoors, as these treatments only address 5% of the flea population or “the tip of the iceberg.”
- Regular vacuuming and steam cleaning helps remove flea eggs, larvae, and pupae. Don't forget to dispose of the vacuum bag, as fleas can hatch in the bag after vacuuming.
- A self-directed spray that will kill flea eggs and larvae in addition to adult fleas is the best choice for treating your house, garage, yard and kennel.
- If you must treat your yard, a pet-friendly lawn granule application that will kill flea eggs and larvae in addition to adult fleas is best.
- Foggers aren't able to treat underneath objects that fleas love to inhabit, such as couches, so it's best to use a spray to reach under those items.
How do you choose which products to use?
A flea control program needs to be individually tailored based on the lifestyle of your cat and other pets. Ask your veterinarian which products would provide the safest and effective flea control.
