Cat Flea Treatment

Fleas are common parasites that feed off cats. An example is Ctenocephalides felis. Fleas infestation is highly inconvenient. The saliva of flea is one of the most allergenic substances on earth. It causes a filthy skin disease called flea allergic dermatitis (FAD). In addition to this, flea ingests blood from the body of the cat while biting. In case of serious biting, the cat may develop anemia from blood loss. Pale gums are an alarm for anemia in the cats. Under more severe conditions, anemia may take a more serious form called haemobartonellosis.

You often find your pet cat scratching but are not sure whether your cat is infested with fleas or not. For confirmation, comb the body hair of your cat with a fine-toothed comb or flea comb. The presence of black dots on the comb is the indication of fleas infestation. These are actually the excrements of the fleas. Smash some of these excrements with a wet paper towel. You will find the appearance of a brown or red stain. It is due to the presence of blood of your cat in the body waste of fleas. This is the indicant that it's high time you should do something to relieve your cat from the hurtful effects of fleas. Some of the commonly efficacious ways of cat flea treatments are mentioned below. Read on cat skin allergies.

List of Cat Flea Treatments
Go through the list of various possible flea treatments for cat:

Flea Powders
One quite efficacious way to kill adult fleas on the body of your cat is to apply flea powder. There are some cat flea treatment side effects. These are, the cat flea cure powder may cause the drying out of the cat coat. To add to this, the powder may irritate the cat's oral and respiratory mucosa. If one looks for cat flea treatment comparison with other methods or products, flea powders are least safe or effective flea control method.

Flea Combs
Take a flea comb. Apply petroleum jelly on the tip of the each teeth of the comb. Take a small bucket, and pour water into it. Mix a teaspoon of washing powder well with the water. Comb the hair of the cat and drop the excrements and fleas into the bucket. Continue doing this for about 8-10 times a day. Removing fleas from the body of the cat with a flea comb will help you provide it relief from fleas. However, this method of cat flea treatment is quite slow and tiresome. Also, it is less effective in comparison to other methods for the same purpose.

Flea Collars
Flea collars of different types are easily available in the market. Most of them are basically insecticides that kill fleas on the cat on topical application. There are some kinds of flea collars that contain insect growth regulators (IGRs). The function of IGRs is to kill flea eggs and larva. There is one limitation of this cat flea treatment with flea collars. It is that the fleas can be removed only from the neck and head of the cat. The fleas on other parts and beneath the surface survive and continue causing havoc. There are some other possible negative effects of flea collars. The cat flea treatment side effects include vomiting, diarrhea, seizures, trembling and respiratory problems. Such negative effects often occur on over dosage.

Oral Medication
Veterinarians, sometimes, prescribe drugs to the cats to relieve them of fleas. The drug contains an active substance, lufenuron. It works to prevent the hatching of flea eggs. The drug is added to the cat's food. Therefore, the drug, after getting processed by the cat's digestive system, gets absorbed by the bloodstream. When the fleas bite the cat, they ingest this drug along with the blood. The drug is then passed on to their eggs, which prevents the eggs from hatching. In this manner, the population of the fleas is brought under control. It is very effective to use to kill adult fleas. This will assist you in getting complete rid of fleas from your cat's coat. Veterinary consultation is necessary prior to the usage of oral medication as cat fleas treatment. Such drugs are generally not recommended to pregnant or nursing cats. This is the best method of getting riddance from cat fleas as it destroys both the eggs and adults.

On Spot Treatment
On spot killing substances of different forms are available in the market. The active substance varies from product to product. You should strictly follow the directions given on the pack as cats are extremely sensitive to chemicals. They are usually applied in liquid form on the coat of the cat. Fleas dislike light, therefore, they are mostly found within furry areas on the cat's belly and inner thighs. These are the areas where adult killer application is necessary for effective riddance.

See also:

• Natural Flea Control
• Cat Flea Allergy

More on how to get rid of fleas. All such products do not have a residual effect. Therefore, it is possible that your cat gets rid of all the fleas after the proper usage of these products but gets re-infested with the fleas present in the surrounding environment. It makes the task of complete flea extermination very important. It can be done by washing or vacuuming the carpet, cushions and mattress, particularly in the crevices where the eggs and flea might hide. Steam cleaning after vacuuming will deliver better results. You may hire professional for flea eradication from your house. Make sure that the professional uses cat-safe products in your house. Considering complete removal of fleas will help you in enjoying all the cat flea treatment advantages for long. You love your feline friend and these are little things that need to be done on a time-to-time basis to ensure your cat's health and well-being.