Cat Flea Control – Are fleas bugging your cat?

Flea control is an essential part of owning a cat and cat health . Some cats are allergic to fleas and can develop a condition called “pruritus”, where the scratching escalates to the point of making the skin bleed. To avoid this or any discomfort at all for you and your cat, you need to understand how those little blighters work.

Flea control is a part of responsible cat ownership, plain and simple.Even if you cat doesn’t go outside, it can still contract fleas. Fleas cause an allergic reaction in some cats called “pruritus”, which can lead to severe scratching and even bleeding, hair loss and weight loss for the cat. To effectively stop a flea infestation, you need to understand how these parasites operate.

Fleas spend most of their lives as eggs and cocooned larvae, living in your carpet, under your cupboards and in your carpet before they ever even land on your cat. The amount of time that you have to stop their life cycle is short, a couple of days at the most, therefore, choosing the right means of defense against them is important. Flea control is especially important if your cat develops allergic dermatitis, where a fleabite can cause the cat to actually lose its fur due to chewing and scratching. A cat with allergic dermatitis may need additional medication to the usual flea control treatment in order to control the reaction to the bites it already has.

Flea control is important even if your cat is not allergic to them. Fleas can cause health issues for cats too including anemia from the loss of blood, tapeworms (fleas eat the eggs and transmit them to other animals) and skin infections from the bites caused by fleas. Any one of these flea related health issues can have dire consequences for your cat care .

So, how do you go about controlling fleas so that your cat does not have to suffer any of their consequences? A good place to start is with flea powders, sprays and dips. These products are especially good as flea preventatives.

When choosing to use the dips, powders and sprays it is often a good idea to combine them with the use of a flea collar. Be aware however, that flea collars can also cause an allergic reaction for your cat, especially if they already have an allergic reaction to the fleas. Perhaps the best defense against fleas is a spot flea treatment. This type of preventative is placed on the cats neck and protects against fleas, ticks and tapeworms.

When it comes to the environment, there are also several options for flea control. Flea bombs can kill fleas in carpets and bedding, though careful washing and vacuuming will help greatly in this endeavor also. For outside use, yard sprays can be quite effective.

Whatever decision you make as to the form of flea control, it is important to follow the manufactures directions. Because fleas can live in a state of suspended animation for such a long time, it is important to continue the use of flea medications for a minimum of two months after you see the last adult flea on your cat.

David Lee is owner and designer of Ace Cat Furniture and Ace Cat Health web sites. See his sites for more information on cat health, cat flea control , or Nutrition in cat food. You can also find great cat furniture, and Pet steps for your cat.