On occasion, your cats will allow you to groom them long enough to look for those little critters that seem to exist solely to annoy them.
Fleas are the most common parasite cats, and dogs can get, they are small, quick, and they scurry through fur like a rabbit on a cornfield. Fleas are also very dangerous insects. They take their nutrients out the blood of your cat and cause a lot of discomfort on them.
They can also jump from one cat to another and transmit diseases as well. This short guide is designed to offer alternatives to get rid of them.
How Can I Tell If My Cat Has Fleas?
Ctenocephalides felis are very common and easily found in cats, dogs, and even humans. A good hint to the presence of fleas on your cat is if he’s always scratching.
You need to use a flea comb on his fur and take notice of small, obscure dots that pop up as you comb.
These black dots are known as “flea dirt,” sadly this is something uglier: it’s the track of filth left by the flea on your cat, a substance akin to poop.
If you locate a flea in the process be ready with a damp piece of fabric, remove it and smash it.
Which is the best flea treatment for cats?
After taking notice of the presence of fleas in your cats you need to take them to the vet. He will do the tests required to make sure your cat didn’t catch anything from the outside.
After getting a clean bill of health in the bloodwork, he will hand out a prescription to treat the problem. Those are some of the most common solution used by them:
- An antiparasitic collar: these collars are made of special plastics and resins that can hold insecticides for a long time to repel fleas at neck level. They are meant to last up to 3 months, and they should be replaced immediately. While they do the job, they are regarded as less effective than pipettes.
- Pipettes: This is the most popular antiparasitic treatment used in the market. They are easy to use, very reliable, and effective. The proper way to apply it is by rubbing a little bit of the product on the cat’s topline, the only place where they can’t lick themselves clean. The medicine will spread through the epidermis of your cat and kill every flea on sight.
- Flea shampoo: This product is used as countermeasure once your cat has been properly diagnosed, it’s not recommended for prevention since the affected cat would have to be bathed every other day and they don’t work like that.
A couple of uses should get rid of all fleas in the span of 15 days, but they have to be used with one of the other two alternatives already mentioned.
What are the best home remedies to treat fleas on cats?
On top of the usual medical treatments that we already reviewed, you can also use some natural remedies to treat the fleas of your cat and get rid of them, some of the most commonly used are:
- Lemon: Citrus essence repels insects easily, to get rid of fleas in your cat mix a squeezed lemon with some water in even quantities and pour the content on a spray bottle. Apply it to your cat in discreet amounts since the strong odor could cause discomfort to your cat as well.
- Essential oils mix: You can use some natural products to enhance and improve the effectiveness of the things you are already using to treat the fleas on your cat. A few drops of lavender oil or citronella in the bottle of anti-flea shampoo can strengthen the effect.
- Chamomile infusion: It’s as easy as boiling a few leaves of chamomile in water (the same way you make tea) let the infusion rest for 10 minutes and separate the liquid from the solid remains.
Spray it on your cat or apply it with a damp cloth.
How do you get rid of fleas on cats naturally?
- Special Baths: You can offer your cat the deluxe treatment at your own home with a special bath. The purpose of this one is to rinse his body with a series of products to help him get rid of fleas. Just use a sink with warm water and ass eucalyptus, cedar, lavender, and make sure to use a shampoo with a citrus-infused formula to keep fleas at bay. You can enhance the rinse water by adding some omega-3 supplements to improve their skin health.
- Comb Them Out: The realm of cartons always portray cats as haters of water, while this is not the rule of thumb, some cats never get comfortable while taking a bath.
You can treat these little fellows with a flea comb that is capable of reaching their skin through their fur.
Make sure to concentrate on the areas where your cat gets the itches and try to have a bowl of water net to you if you pull out one of these little insects to drown them instantly.
What can you use to kill fleas on cats?
The following alternatives can also be used to back up the options we already covered in the list, you pick one of them or all if you prefer.
- A waterless shampoo for cats that display adverse effects to traditional products such as rash skin, it’s also great to apply it to bath-adverse acts.
- A Cat Spray, it’s a basic product containing a mixture of mild repellents that can be applied to directly to the cat without any danger to his health.
- Some Flea Tablets that can act internally to help the topical treatments and get rid of fleas.