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Just adopted a kitten? Or share your property with adult cats? Or, do you take care of a community cat colony in your neighborhood? Regardless of the environment, the challenge stays: keeping fleas off felines. These blood-sucking nuisances possess a robust ability to survive, considering that they’ve been pestering mammals and birds for greater than 50 million years. And, they’re quite prolific, as each female flea can lay as much as 50 eggs a day.
“The excellent news is within the war against fleas and ticks, we’re in good stead,” says Dr. Michael Dryden, distinguished professor of veterinary parasitology at Kansas State University. “The brand new generation of flea and tick products are remarkable on the speed of killing fleas not only when first given, but throughout the duration of the label. The bottom line is following the label instructions and using consistently.” Untreated, cat fleas may cause anemia, develop flea allergy dermatitis, develop cat scratch disease (Bartonella henselae) and itch, itch, itch like crazy.
So, what’s the very best game plan to maintain your feline friend flea-free? Let’s divide cats into 4 categories – kittens, indoor cats, community cats, and people with medical issues or who’re well into their senior years. Scratch up the fitting stuff to navigate fleas with ease.
©FARBAI | Getty Images ©dreamboxstudio | Getty Images
There may be a reason the kitten I adopted from Samantha Martin of The Amazing Acro-Cats got here with the name of Rusty. She found him when he was a young, orphaned kitten covered with fleas. Some were running in his ears and even his nostrils.
“Once I gave him a shower, the bathwater turned a rust color, indicating blood from all of the flea bites on him,” Samantha says. “It took three baths before the water was clear. The subsequent step was to make use of Dawn soap on him, leave it on just a few minutes after which rinse and use the flea comb to get the remaining fleas off him.”
Samantha, a renowned animal trainer who operates Meowy Manor just outside of Atlanta, Georgia, says young kittens like Rusty are at high risk for becoming anemic, causing a decrease in needed red blood cells and a weakened immune system.
“The very young kittens cannot handle commercial flea medications because their immune systems and flea combing,” she says. “Once kittens are about 2 kilos, you possibly can work together with your veterinarian about using products like Capstar that quickly kills fleas in about half-hour.”
Rusty’s name stuck, but I’m completely satisfied to report he’s flea-free as he nears age 2 because of being given regular flea preventive medications.
Oust Fleas in Cat Colonies
Stopping a flea raid in community cat colonies all around the country is a profit to each these cats and native residents.
People like Stacy LeBaron, host of the Community Cats Podcast and organizer of many national and international conferences on community cats, educates people on how one can safely approach and treat these cats.
“Should you can handle the cat, you should use topicals,” she says. “Actually, those community cats who’re humanely trapped to be spayed and neutered and given needed vaccines on the veterinary clinic, are also given flea treatments at the moment.”
She adds, “If you will have a food-focused cat, you possibly can feed him treats as a distraction as you apply the topical behind his shoulder blades. What we don’t recommend is attempting to wrap a community cat in a towel as you’ll face a battle that you almost certainly will lose.”
Another choice: Try sprinkling diatomaceous earth around where the community cats hang around.
“Diatomaceous earth is secure to be used on cats, and it kills fleas in all life stages by dehydrating them,” says Dr. Jean Hofve, a holistic veterinarian from Denver, Colorado.
Cater to Couch Potatoes
Inside my home, 4 well-groomed, flea-free cats rule the sofa. I view providing Casey, Mikey, Mort and now Rusty with monthly cat flea treatments as a sensible investment. They’re less apt to develop flea-related health issues, and my home interior stays parasite-free.
That signifies that this feline foursome is given flea preventives even throughout the cold winter months.
“Gone are the times of skipping a month to get monetary savings,” says Dr. Dryden. “It doesn’t matter when you live in Tacoma or Tampa. Parasite protection must be year-round to your cat.”
He adds that it’s critical to use the topical appropriately.
“To ensure that it to work properly, topicals must reach the pet’s skin,” says Dr. Dryden. “Should you just apply it on the topcoat, it loses its effectiveness to kill fleas.”
I also treat my cats to regular brushing sessions, using that point to look at their coats and skin for any signs of fleas, matted fur, cuts or lumps.
Aiding Sensitive Types
Roughly about 5% of cats show some allergic response to flea topicals, in keeping with leading veterinary parasitologists. Symptoms range from a red, itchy rash at the location of application to blisters and crusting throughout the skin.
For such allergy-prone cats or elderly cats with compromised immune systems, seek the advice of your veterinarian about the very best prescription-based flea repellent medication, ideally, one with a fast-acting adulticide to kill adult fleas.
Nonetheless, veterinarians don’t recommend fitting sensitive cats with flea collars, as they might be in danger for developing contact dermatitis.
The underside line: You possess more options now than ever before to fend off fleas.
“Many medications today that cope with fleas work well, but the very best one is the one which the cat owner uses consistently,” Dr. Dryden says.
Certified pet behavior consultant, writer and master pet first-aid instructor Arden Moore often teaches hands-on classes along with her cool cat, Casey and really tolerant dog, Kona. Each week, she hosts the Oh Behave Show on Pet Life Radio. Learn more at ardenmoore.com and petfirstaid4u.com.
The post Are You Winning the War on Fleas? by Arden Moore appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. It’s possible you’ll not concentrate on it, but all of those articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they are not considered public domain. Nonetheless, we appreciate that you simply just like the article and would like it when you continued sharing just the primary paragraph of an article, then linking out to the remainder of the piece on Catster.com.
