eggs hatch into larvae that spin cocoons.
and develop into pupae and then develop into adults. Depending on environmental conditions such as temperature, humidity and the presence or absence of hosts, the cycle can take anywhere from several weeks to several months.
Cat flea larvae hatch from eggs that an adult female flea lays on its host, the cat. They do not remain on the body, but fall off when the cat moves. The animal stands up, stretches and shakes itself, and the flea eggs simply fly off into the environment.
Flea eggs look like translucent oval dots about 0.5 mm long. But it is quite difficult to see them, since they dry out quickly after being deposited
, become heavy and fall out of the cat’s fur. The best place to look for flea eggs is in your cat's bedding and other places where your cat likes to sleep. If the cat is heavily infected, you can look with a magnifying glass at the base of the tail or on the stomach. If there is flea dirt in your cat's bedding, it likely contains flea eggs. Flea dirt is dark and the eggs in it have a whitish appearance.
Fleas, like many other types of insects, undergo a complete transformation in their development. Actually, that’s what they’re called: insects with a full cycle of transformation. This means that the eggs laid by the female flea hatch into larvae that are very different from adult fleas in both their appearance and lifestyle.
Acne
Acne can appear due to improper care of your pet, severe stress and emotional distress. Acne can develop into pustules and ulcers, which cause severe pain for your pet and sometimes lead to inflammation.
A complication of acne is folliculitis. It is a swelling around the hair, usually with liquid contents. When touched, the pet experiences pain.
Self-medication and squeezing pimples are not recommended. You can treat rashes with tar soap or shampoo.
Fungal otitis media
The disease is an inflammation of the external auditory canal. The development of fungal otitis occurs due to a weakened immune system. The pet shakes its head and scratches its ear.
The ears turn red quickly and strongly. When examining the ear with an otoscope, severe inflammation of the skin and many fungal deposits are observed.
Every day you need to clean the ear of accumulated secretions with napkins and cotton swabs. Afterwards you need to treat them with alcohol-based antiseptics.
Ear mites
Ear mites appear as a result of improper care. Symptoms: scratching, foul odor from the ears, dark gray discharge, redness of the skin of the ears, fever.
Treatment can begin after visiting a veterinarian. Various aerosols (based on Dermatosol or Tsiodrin), drops (Bars, Tsipam, Amitrazine) and ointments (Nicochloran, Phenothiazine) are used. Dark discharge should be removed with a soft cotton cloth or cotton wool.
Psychogenic alopecia
Due to thorough and prolonged licking, cats may develop bald spots. This behavior means that the pet is stressed. Sometimes baldness occurs due to allergies and fungal diseases.
First you need to check your pet for parasites and make sure there is no hypersensitivity to external irritants.
White grains (microscopic balls)
White specks on cats' fur can only be noticed upon careful inspection.
One of the strange manifestations of cat malaise is white grains or microscopic balls that fall off the animal’s fur. They are not noticed immediately. At first, they only evoke puzzled glances from the owner and a silent question in his eyes. Where do the mysterious grains come from and what are they?
White grains are nothing more than flea eggs that have not yet hatched. They can get on the animal's skin and, accordingly, on the fur.
What to do and how to detect
If you notice a change in your pet's behavior, carefully examine him to see if he is bothered by fleas.
First of all, you shouldn't panic. In order not to bring the situation to critical limits, it is necessary to monitor the cat more often. This advice may seem very uninteresting and philistine, but this is the only way to notice changes in the health of your pet.
It is necessary to inspect your pet and the places where he recently sat more often. Flea eggs in the form of white grains will be especially noticeable on dark surfaces.
Having discovered uninvited guests, it is important to begin eliminating them as quickly as possible.
Lice and fleas
Lice and fleas are small insects that feed on blood and the top layer of skin. If the case is advanced, it is impossible not to notice them on the pet. Favorite localization is around the tail and head.
At an early stage, an accumulation of a black substance, a waste product of fleas, is noticeable. Also, the pet experiences itching, hair loss, redness of the skin, and the formation of wounds.
Lice are eliminated using a special shampoo. Fleas are removed by treating things with which the pet comes into contact with anti-flea agents, carriers, bedding, and all carpets in the house.
Effective means
Collars
But you need to remember that the effect of the collar is limited in time, and it must be changed approximately every 3-4 months.
Flea shampoos
An effective flea treatment can be purchased at a veterinary pharmacy. Before use, you should carefully read the instructions, since the concentration of toxic substances in shampoos may differ from each other, so it is important to follow the recommendations on the volume that must be used to treat animal hair.
Flea drops
Insecticides
It is better to purchase toxic flea products for treating your garden plot, basement and premises from the sanitary and epidemiological service. You can also order the treatment of a room or yard if for some reason you cannot do it yourself.
The product must be dissolved in water according to the instructions and thoroughly sprayed on the yard, garden plot or basement. Since poisons are often very toxic, take care to follow safety precautions: wear a respirator and gloves.
Sometimes pet owners are perplexed - they seem to have treated their pet’s fur, but after a while the animal begins to itch and bite fleas again. How so? The fact is that adult fleas live on animals, and they lay their eggs not only in the animal’s fur, but throughout the house:
- in crevices;
- behind the baseboard;
- in the pet's bedding;
- in carpets;
- in places where dust accumulates, etc.
The pests are very small, the length of an adult individual barely reaches three millimeters. Flea eggs are even smaller. They have a round shape and white color. Detecting flea eggs, photos of which can be seen in the article, is extremely difficult. But you need to know where the flea can lay them. Then the problem of how to destroy flea eggs is much easier to solve.
Allergies
Allergies are usually caused by parasites. Symptoms: baldness in certain areas, itching, spots of different colors. The allergy will go away after eliminating the fleas after 5-6 weeks.
Also, allergies can be due to external irritants and food. Treatment in this case becomes more complicated because identifying the allergen is not easy. Shampoos with hydrocortisone work well as local antiallergic agents.
They give an immediate but short-term effect. Hydrocortisone ointments are used when pets have itching. They are applied to small areas that are inaccessible for licking.
How to treat?
After examining the cat and making a diagnosis, the veterinarian will prescribe antihelminthic medications. The most popular products:
- Pyrantel;
- Drontal;
- Prazitel et al.
Such universal medicines destroy most known parasites. Medicines have minimal negative effects on the pet’s body; there may be no side effects.
After 2 weeks it is worth repeating deworming, because... Pinworm eggs sometimes remain in a cat's body. Therefore, it is better to evaluate the result of therapy after re-analysis.
At home
Self-medication for worms is unacceptable, otherwise the pet’s condition may worsen. You should not give your cat medications intended for humans; treatment should only be prescribed by a veterinarian. All anthelmintic drugs should be given to the animal in the morning on an empty stomach.
The recommended dosage must be followed: it can be determined based on the cat’s body weight. Grind the tablets and add to the food.
Traditional methods
In some cases, herbal decoctions will help get rid of parasites from an animal - they can be used after consulting a doctor.
The most effective remedy is considered to be an alcohol tincture of wormwood: dilute 10 drops with water and pour it into the pet’s mouth with a syringe.
You can cure helminthiasis with a decoction of medicinal herbs: chamomile, fennel or tansy. All of them are prepared according to the same recipe - pour 5 g of any herb into a glass of boiling water, let it brew for 1.5 hours and strain. Give your pet 5 ml 3 times a day 1 hour before feeding.
Feeding
Helminthiasis greatly depletes a cat’s body, so it needs a balanced diet - usually pets are fed 2 times a day, pregnant cats need to be given a larger amount. Use regular store-bought food or homemade food as food.
It is recommended to limit protein intake because... anthelmintic drugs increase the load on the body. It is worth giving cats various vitamin complexes and mineral supplements, they will help strengthen the immune system and recover faster from illness.
Tail gland hyperplasia
If the tail gland has increased hyperplasia, excessive accumulation of sebaceous secretion appears. It is released and envelops the hair at the point of growth, blocking its further development. Because of this, her hair falls out and areas of baldness appear.
Therapy involves monitoring the problem area. Castration can help cats.
Demodicosis
Demodicosis is an extremely dangerous disease for a pet. It can lead to the death of a cat instantly, sometimes the owner does not even have time to start treating it. Demodicosis appears due to the bite of ticks, which are numerous in the warm season.
Cats cannot take preventive and protective measures themselves, so they often become their victims. Symptoms: damage to large areas of skin, itching, redness. The worst thing is that if a pet gets sick once, then it becomes a constant source of infection. His offspring will also suffer from demodicosis.
It is important to take preventive measures - treat the skin with products that kill ticks (Bars, Harts). It is also worth using anti-inflammatory drugs (Dexafort, Laurabolin 50) and anti-itch drugs (Stop-itch).
Fighting methods
Animal processing
- shampoos
- sprays
- drops
- collars
- pills.
Anti-flea shampoos that contain an insecticide have proven themselves to be excellent. With their help, you can get rid of insects on an animal in one go. They are relatively safe for cats and last quite a long time after treatment. However, shampoos are not always convenient to use, especially if your pet is afraid of water. In this case, you can use flea spray.
Insecticidal preparations in the form of a spray are applied to the surface of the cat's skin, and certain protective measures must be taken to protect both the animal and the person carrying out the treatment. The face is covered with a gauze mask, and gloves are put on the hands. It is best to wear a special collar on your pet, designed to prevent the animal from licking the drug from its fur. You also need to cover the cat's eyes, nose and mouth.
Flea drops are applied to the animal's withers. This is perhaps one of the easiest to use products and is most popular among cat owners. It effectively rids the animal of fleas and at the same time is practically safe for the animal, since the toxic substance is applied to an area of the body inaccessible to the cat’s tongue.
Collars serve more as a preventative measure of protection, repelling insects from the animal while it walks around the yard. They are valid for a limited time and must be changed periodically.
The tablets are intended for internal use. They are given to the cat with food or simply placed on the root of the tongue and, stroking the throat, force it to swallow. As a rule, tablets can be used from 3 months of age, however, the condition of the animal must be taken into account and the dosage must be strictly observed so as not to harm its health.
Vaccination is a relatively new way to rid pets of fleas. It is quite effective and lasts for a long time after injection. However, this method cannot be used on pregnant or lactating cats, as the active substance may affect the growth and development of kittens.
Advice! When choosing a flea drop, you need to carefully study its composition and make sure that it does not contain pyrmethrin, since this insecticide is contraindicated for use on cats.
Treatment of a young animal
How to remove fleas from a kitten? The peculiarity of processing a young animal is that there is always a danger of poisoning it with an insecticidal preparation. Small kittens under the age of two months are breastfed by their mother and any external product applied to their fur will be immediately licked off by her and then passed into the body of the cubs with milk. Therefore, mechanical processing methods are mainly used:
- combing the fur with a fine comb;
- catching insects by hand;
- bathing with herbal decoctions.
There are also special shampoos for younger kittens, but they can be used on babies who have already been weaned from their mother.
From 2 months, provided that the kittens are separated from their mother, the following drugs are used:
- shampoos for kittens;
- flea powder;
- spray.
Shampoos are diluted in accordance with the instructions and applied to the pet’s coat. After a certain time, it is washed off, and dead insects are combed out with a comb. The powder is rubbed into the kitten's skin using your fingers, and care must be taken to ensure that the kitten does not lick the product from the surface of the fur. The spray is first applied to the palms and then distributed over the scalp. When processing, you need to exercise some caution and not bring your hands with the drug to your face.
Starting from 3 months of age, when treating kittens, you can use almost all drugs intended for adult animals.
Apartment pest control
- aerosols;
- powder preparations;
- means in the form of solutions.
Aerosols give very fast and effective results. It is enough to treat the room with them once and you can forget about fleas for a long time. However, this type of insecticide has the following disadvantages:
Powders act for a longer time, however, you have to wait longer for the results from them. Disinsection with their help will require long-term wet cleaning to wash away traces of the insecticide from surfaces. Powder preparations are scattered or sprayed indoors, trying to pay special attention to possible insect habitats:
- cracks in the floor;
- corners of rooms;
- the space behind the baseboards;
- floor surfaces under cabinets, beds, sofas.
Liquid products are diluted in accordance with the instructions and applied to places where insects accumulate using a sprayer. You can also simply wash the floor in your apartment with them. When processing, the following personal safety measures must be observed:
- put rubber gloves on your hands;
- cover your face with a protective mask;
- do not consume food or drinks during disinsection;
- remove food and personal items.
Treatment with liquid products gives a good long-term effect, but it is quite labor-intensive and will require a significant investment of time.
- pseudotuberculosis is an acute infectious disease that, despite the name, has nothing to do with pulmonary tuberculosis;
- tularemia is a bacterial infection that affects the lymph nodes;
- brucellosis is an infection that affects multiple organs and systems of the human body;
- Dipylidiasis - infection with tapeworms.
In addition, it can cause allergic dermatitis; the itching at the bite sites is quite strong and lasts for several days, during which a person is able to scratch the bite site until it bleeds, which, in turn, can lead to infection directly into the wound.
>How do insects get into an apartment?
Fleas are unpretentious in everyday life; they love humidity, dampness, and dark, dusty places in the house. They feed on the blood of humans and animals.
Eczema
Eczema is an unpredictable disease.
Appears due to many factors, including:
- Severe skin contamination with parasites, dirt, bacteria;
- Improper wearing of collars and synthetic clothing for cats;
- Complication of any disease (pathology of the nervous system, kidney disease, stomach and liver).
The main symptom is a weeping surface of the skin. Scratching causes knots and redness to form. The cat is rapidly losing weight, has a fever and kidney problems.
For diagnostic purposes, the veterinarian will take a skin scraping to rule out the possibility of other diseases. Afterwards he should prescribe antihistamines. You should not try to treat your cat without a doctor, as complications may develop.
Bedsores
The disease is often observed in cats in old age or after suffering an injury. Bedsores are areas on the skin that rot and die over time. If the pet is in a lying position for a long time, the disease may manifest itself.
Symptoms: pain when touched, decreased temperature of the dying area, ulcers, color change. It is worth taking preventive measures - periodically turning the cat over after operations, prohibiting sitting on the damaged paw for a long time. Therapy consists of treating wounds, dressings, and removing dead tissue.
Each disease can progress, which leads to the process of virus reproduction. Because of this, the pet suffers, he has problems with sleep and appetite, he becomes less sociable and cheerful.
If your cat develops irritation in the area of its face or body, you should take it to a specialist immediately. Not all cat diseases are not contagious to humans.
Some viruses and fungi can adapt to the organism that is nearby. It is highly likely that if the pet is left untreated, the owner’s immune system may weaken and spots may appear on the body.
Where to look for flea larvae in an apartment or house?
Flea larvae usually stay where they have direct access to food and can be found in comfortable climatic conditions - in garbage, secluded warm places, in animal cages - in the toilet and under beds. In nature - in the nests and burrows of mammals and birds.
In apartments and houses, flea larvae should be looked for primarily in places where cats, dogs and other pets live and are kept, in heaps of garbage in pantries and closets, among stocks of old grocery products.
In garden plots, chicken coops and animal keeping areas, flea larvae live directly in the litter and dried droppings. It is under the layer of garbage and droppings in the same chicken coop that flea larvae sometimes swarm literally in the thousands.
However, you can also find flea larvae in completely unexpected places - in vases with flowers, under trash cans, in a box in which vegetables are stored. It is important to understand that they do not start here on their own, and you should look for them only when adult fleas were found in the apartment.
The photo below shows a flea larva under a microscope - you can easily correlate its size with the thickness of a cat's hair:
