Does my cat have fleas?

Itching in your cat?

The bite of a flea can be unpleasant for a cat, but above all it causes a lot of itching. This itching is caused by the saliva a flea leaves behind after a bite. An itchy cat will lick its fur more, scratch or bite out hairs both on the itchy spot and its whole body.

Can I see fleas?

Fleas are small black or reddish-brown insects with powerful jumping legs. A flea belongs to the wing-like insects, but has no wings and so can only jump. In cats, two types of fleas occur the cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis) and the dog flea (Ctenocephalides canis). Although the names are somewhat confusing, both types of fleas are found on cats.

Besides being small, fleas are also light-shy and flighty. They crawl deep into the cat's fur or surroundings. Actually, only around 5% of fleas are on the cat itself and the other 95% are in the immediate environment. Unfortunately, you don't easily see fleas in the environment either. They really get into the cracks of the basket, under the sofa and in the corners of the house. They rarely sit where you can see them right away so they are hard to see.

Does my cat have fleas?

So fleas are hard to see on a cat or in the environment. So how do you know if there are indeed fleas on your cat? Using a flea comb , you can properly check if your cat has fleas. The chances of encountering a live flea are slim, but you can often find evidence of fleas. By combing, you will find flea droppings that look like brownish-black granules. To check whether these are indeed flea droppings, rub out the comb on a wet white piece of paper (tissue). If they turn rusty brown after smearing, they are flea droppings and therefore your cat has fleas.

Help my cat has fleas!

When you find fleas on your cat, it is important to treat your cat immediately. To kill the fleas present, this can be done with a spot-on remedy such as Advantage , Amflee Spot on, but also with a Seresto band (works for up to 8 months). Since a large proportion of fleas are therefore in the environment, it is also necessary to treat them at the same time. This can be done by vacuuming and then spraying with a remedy such as Indoor-x or Flea & Mite-environment spray.

-This is an automated translation-