First, let’s confirm that your cat is scratching because of fleas and not stress or allergies. Examine your cat, paying special attention to the back of the neck, the crotch, and the ears—areas known to be flea hotspots. Your cat has fleas if you notice tiny black dots crawling all over them. If you wipe your fingers over your cat’s fur on a light-colored surface and tiny black pepper-like particles fall from them, this may be flea dirt. Some long-haired or dark-colored cats can be harder to detect fleas on, especially if it’s an emerging problem. If you place a drop of water on the black spots, it will most likely become red, indicating that your cat has fleas and that the spots are the waste products of an adult flea.
Treatments for flea
There are two types of preventative flea medication: oral tablets and spot-on treatments. These are the best ways to get rid of fleas that are already on your cat and to stop new ones from growing. Frontline, Advantage or Encourage, and Revolution are a few brands of spot-on treatments. For best results, they should be given directly to the skin at the base of the neck once a month. Once applied, they will assist bring the situation under control by quickly starting to kill adult fleas as soon as they bite. Give your cat Capstar, a medication that can kill adult fleas more quickly, if the infestation is very bad for nearly instant relief. Capstar should only be taken in addition to a prophylactic therapy because it only remains in the system for around 24 hours. If you would rather give your cat a tablet, Comfortis is a good option because it works well in place of spot-on treatment.
The Environment
While attempting to remove fleas, it’s important to take into account the environment because each female flea can lay up to 2,000 eggs, meaning that the number of adult fleas is often very little compared to the number of eggs that have been deposited in the cats’ surroundings. The most widely used chemicals to control fleas include pyrethrin, a naturally occurring substance extracted from chrysanthemum blossoms. Even though these sprays and washing additives are natural, caution must still be exercised while using them because, although effective in getting rid of fleas, improper use can make them hazardous for family pets, especially cats.
Step By Step
To safely handle a flea situation, the best course of action is as follows:
- Take your cat out of the contaminated location. Put them in a space in your home that is readily cleaned but still separate, such the bathroom or laundry area.
- Give your cat an oral flea tablet or apply a spot-on treatment directly to the skin at the base of the neck. Read the instructions carefully and only use as instructed.
- Vacuum as much of the cat’s former area as you can, including any nearby places.
- Any clothing that might have been affected should be washed hot. Numerous pyrethrin sprays are available for topically treating carpets and furniture, but always test in a discrete area first.
- If you need to clean tiles, flooring, or other hard surfaces, you can wash or wipe them down with a diluted pyrethrin solution. Before letting your cat back into freshly cleaned rooms, be careful to allow enough time for all surfaces to dry.
- Use a flea comb to remove any dead fleas from your cat’s fur. By brushing them, you can make your cat feel more at ease and reduce the amount of dead fleas they eat.
You should be able to prevent fleas if you follow these instructions; however, you might need to repeat the cleaning process if fleas are still discovered on your cat or in the surrounding area. Please seek veterinary advice if your cat exhibits any signs of irritation from the flea treatment or cleaning products.