Archive for the 'Cats' Category
Cat Flea Control – Cat Flea And Tick Control Treatment
Trying to institute cat flea control is not that difficult. You can either call for flea control services that will take care of the problem for you, or choose to apply some of the other methods which might be more inconvenient but can achieve some of the same results. The aim of any such treatment method is to ensure that not only are the fleas prevented from feasting on your cat’s blood and multiplying and breeding in huge numbers, it is also to protect your own home from a bad infestation of these tiny bugs that can cause no end of pain, irritation and even some bad diseases.
How can you spot cat fleas? Before you wish to control them, you need to ascertain for a fact that they are present. Cat fleas are very tiny insects that can be hard to spot, although they should be unmissable if present. They can be seen jumping or crawling through cat’s fur usually at rather quick speed. Heaven forbid, but you might even have had fleas on you before, which might need more control and treatment than first thought. The most obvious sign that there might be fleas in your cat’s fur and sucking its blood is for the feline to be incessantly scratching itself. If there are broken skin patches on her, then that is a very bad case of fleas and ticks infection. You can also use a flea comb to search for flea dirt in cat fur. If these are found, then a proper program of cat flea control and treatment will have to be performed.
If left unchecked and allowed to grow into a serious problem, fleas and ticks can cause other diseases in cats. Further treatment would then have to be sought in order to cure these illnesses. For example, fleas might pass on tapeworms to cats from infected blood and germs that are spread when sucking on your pet. These can grow undetected in the intestines or internal organs and lead to more serious problems if untreated. Anemia might be another by product of flea attacks. You should also send your cat to be checked for a more fatal case of anemia, haemobartonellosis, which might require complicated procedures to eradicate the problem, such as steroids and blood transfusions.
If it is confirmed that your cat has been infected and fed on by fleas or ticks, then the next logical step would be to get hold of a control and treatment service. However, if fortunately it has not come to this stage, do not stand around and wait for it to happen. Take some steps to prevent fleas from bugging your felines and having to spend some money on extermination services. In general, the most important thing to do is to keep the cat’s home and surrounding clean, which means your own home. Most fleas love clothed or carpeted areas where a lot of dust and dirt might accumulate. They often lay their eggs in such surroundings or in cracks with little light and some humidity. Clean your carpets and mattresses, and vacuum your house regularly, especially in hard to get to areas. There are some experts who recommend using insect bombs specifically for killing fleas, but you might need to enlist the help of the flea control service to do so.
If you may so wish, there are cat flea control and elimination products that are available off the shelf which you can apply onto your pet. They are known to kill the fleas quite effectively and are applied externally on the cat’s fur. However, be sure to check that the labels state clearly the products are for felines and not canines. The latter might have more relevant and varied products that can help to control flea infestation on them, but they are not suitable for our more docile companions. That is why the advantage of cat flea control services is so that the correct methods and products are used, instead of you trying to figure out what to do, which might lead to mistakes being made and the cat suffering for it.
For those who might wish to explore flea control products on their own, some have claimed that Frontline Plus for cats have been effective in helping to kill fleas and ticks. Fipronil might be used in the product and this might be effective, but do some research prior to using it on the animal, to ensure no side effects will be experienced. A vet consultation would be useful in such circumstances. Frontline Plus flea termination has its believers and could be useful in particular cases.
Advantage cat flea control is another popular product for treating the problem. Advantage cat flea control contains ingredients which are safe for felines that are over a certain age.