Finding fleas on your cat can be shocking. But what you think is already bad news is probably even worse! The fleas you are seeing are adults, which means they represent only a small percentage of a flea infestation. The majority is hidden in eggs or larvae, that you can’t see developing in and around your house.
In order to completely get rid of fleas, you need to treat both the cat and your home. Flea eggs, larvae, and adult fleas will transfer from your cat into other areas of your home. Materials like the ones of toys, bedding, and carpets are the perfect living areas for the flea family. Treating your pet as well as your surrounding environment will get rid of the infestation much quicker. To treat your environment, gather all of your pet’s material toys and bedding and place them in your washing machine on a hot wash with washing detergent. If you have a dryer, put them on a hot drying cycle as well. If there are carpets, vacuum them with flea powder or steam them clean.
When it comes to treatment for cat fleas, spot-on flea treatments are an effective method. According to experts, this is one of the best and overall safest treatment for cat fleas. It works both as a surface insecticide where the flea is killed by the product that is on the outside the cat, as well as a systemic insecticide, where the flea-killing chemical is absorbed by the cat and the flea is poisoned when it bites it.
With this treatment for cat fleas, all you have to do is place a drop of the insecticide between the cat’s shoulder blades and the treatment will gradually migrate over most of the cat’s body. This is thanks to the oils present on the cat’s skin and to the active grooming a cat does. This insecticide is formulated specifically to treat fleas and has proved to be very safe for cats. Spot on treatments are generally applied once a month and should last at least a year to disrupt the life cycle of the flea and eliminate it completely.
While most cats tolerate this treatment quite well, some cats can show to be sensitive to it, which means they may suffer side effects such as twitching, drooling or erratic behaviors. Kittens, older cats, and sick cat are more likely to suffer side effects. Make sure to never use dog spot treatment on your cat. Cats are more sensitive to poison and some of the medicines that are totally safe for dogs can be deadly for cats.
There are several alternative treatments for flea control, but be careful when using them. Just because a treatment is natural it doesn’t mean it is safe. For example, garlic is known to repel fleas but it is toxic to cats and dogs. So don’t treat your cat with garlic. If you have any concern regarding treating fleas, you should first contact your veterinarian.