How to get rid of fleas from a cat: we treat your pet yourself

You can get rid of fleas from a cat today by any owner quickly enough - the whole procedure will take from several minutes to several hours, depending on the chosen remedy. And it is simply surprising that a large number of pets today continue to suffer from fleas due to the negligence of their owners. Meanwhile, fleas are among the most dangerous ectoparasites, both for animals and for man himself.

Few people think about it, but fleas are carriers of many dangerous infections, from plague and trypanosomiasis to encephalitis and salmonellosis. Some of these diseases are deadly to humans, some to a cat, and some of them equally affect both the owner and the pet.

Therefore, generally speaking, to cure a cat from fleas does not mean to make it healthy, as it is quite possible,that after the removal of fleas after some time, additional treatment is already required from infectious diseases caused by parasites. And the longer the cat walks with fleas, the higher the likelihood of such treatment.

Fleas also carry eggs of a large number of helminth species. And almost every parasite carries the worm offspring. This is not so dangerous for a person - helminth eggs are not transmitted when they bite, but domestic cats that have a habit of biting fleas from the fur on their legs and tail, each time they crush an insect get a portion of helminth eggs.

In any case, fleas constantly disturb the cat with their bites, which sometimes can even cause allergies and dermatitis (a cat does not usually have a flea allergy immediately, but only with frequent and regular parasite bites). So, if a cat has fleas, treatment should be started as soon as possible.

On a note

No wonder where at home a flea cat. Fleas are very mobile and can move between apartments, and in a private house - from the street or basement to the room. In addition, even if the pet is never on the street, it can get infected with fleas from other pets, and in some cases from a person who can bring parasites from the street on clothes.However, before treating a cat for fleas, it is advisable to find out where they entered the house or where he picked them up, so that after a successful deliverance to prevent re-infection.

 

The right approach to ridding a cat of fleas.

To get rid of a flea domestic cat, it is best to treat your pet with one of the effective modern preparations containing an insecticide that is toxic to fleas but safe for warm-blooded animals as the main active ingredient - for example, Permethrin, Cypermethrin, Piperonyl Butoxide, Fipronil, Selamektin. Such drugs act quickly, usually have a prolonged residual effect, relatively low toxicity to warm-blooded animals and rarely cause side effects.

Fleas shampoos have the most gentle effect, sprays and drops on withers are a bit heavier for the animal. Special powders are considered very delicate, but they are expensive and are usually used only for elite cats. Injections and tablets are more likely to cause side effects and are inferior in safety to the use of drops on withers and insecticidal shampoos.

Feedback

“I flew Solomon’s fleas twice.Once with drops of Stronghold, but I didn’t like them, Moni spent a long time after dropping saliva. Then she flew powder from fleas - a very good drug, though it is a bit difficult to rub this powder into the skin. Still, pers. But after it, no side effects arise. ”

Alevtina, Kazan

After treating an animal with such a means and exterminating fleas, it is necessary to wear it. flea collar, which for quite some time will protect a pet from parasites.

It is highly desirable after the procedure itself to carry out the treatment of fleas from the entire apartment or house in which the cat lives. If fleas are present in the room for a long time, this measure is simply necessary, because otherwise all efforts to rid the cat of fleas can be negated.

Also, after the extermination of fleas, it is desirable to pickle the worms in a cat, because with high probability he picks them up when infected with fleas.

 

Choosing the right flea medication

Medicines that can be used to get rid of fleas in a cat have different forms of release and are in different price categories. When choosing, one should first of all be guided by the physical condition of the animal, its age and weight.

Usually, in order to kill fleas from a cat, use:

• Drops on withers Hartz, Frontline or Leopard.They have earned a reputation as the most efficient and safe, but they are also in the middle and highest price categories among their peers. When using drugs, you should carefully monitor the condition of the animal during treatment.
  
• Shampoos Phytoelite, Barsik, Lugovoy and Rolf-Club. It is usually enough to wash the cat once with these shampoos to rid it of fleas, but then measures should be taken to ensure that the parasites do not infect it again.
  
• Spray Barsik, Hartz, Advantage, Beaphar - in their variations specifically for cats. Some of them, like Beaphar’a, have a pleasant mint smell and are very delicate. The lack of sprays is the absence of a long residual effect. Only a few drugs provide pet protection within a few days after treatment, but most of them allow only to exterminate fleas at the time of spray application.
  

Cats of elite breeds and show copies of wool should be treated with shampoos - after drying it looks the same as before processing, and using expensive shampoos even better. Shampoos are usually used for kittens under six months.

Domestic cats, constantly and in large part on the street, can be rid of fleas with drops - in most cases they provide sufficiently long-term protection.It is possible to etch the fleas of a cat who is constantly living in the house and only occasionally facing the street with a spray.

Important!

Flea collars should be worn only on those animals that do not have an allergy to insecticides and for whom the appearance is not critical - the wool under the collar is usually slightly erased, and the pet's neck becomes visually thinner. In addition, irritation may occur at the point of contact between the collar and the skin.

 

We infer parasites at a time: quickly, safely and efficiently

To deal with fleas in a cat should try so as to process the animal a minimum number of times. If drops are used at the withers, they are dripped from the bottle onto the skin between the hairs (the fur should be moved apart) and carefully rubbed with the fingers. Drops rubbed in several places along the spine of the cat, if this is stated in the instructions.

The spray is also applied to the animal in such a way that it hits the skin. In this case, the active substances of the drug can penetrate the sebaceous glands, and some time after treatment will scare the parasites. However, after treatment with a spray, the cat must be washed (insecticides will not be washed out of the sebaceous glands immediately).

Flea shampoo is applied the same way as any cosmetic shampoo. It is only important to thoroughly wash it out with running water from the pet's hair.

Flea powder is the most time-consuming to apply: it must be rubbed into the skin in the maximum number of places in an animal. But it also provides long-lasting protection against parasites and is quite safe to use.

If the decision was made remove fleas in a cat with a spray or shampoo, it is necessary to ensure that these substances do not get into the animal's mouth, nose or eyes.
If during the treatment the animal began to behave strangely, to choke or to begin to vomit, treatment should be immediately stopped, the drug should be washed off and the pet should be taken to the vet.

Feedback

“We bought a drop of Hartz for our cat, but he was hounded by them. I do not know how, like everything was done according to the instructions, but after they smeared them on his neck, at first the saliva began to flow from him, then he began to tear, his eyes were rolling. We were terribly frightened, we took him immediately to the clinic. There, as soon as they told the doctor that the cat was poisoned by drops from fleas, the veterinarian exhaled. He says that this happens often, in animals, such an individual reaction may be.He gave him a shot, gave him a drink, and in half an hour the cat was like new. They advised us to buy some other drops or some kind of shampoo. ”

Alena, Kirovsk

 

How not to give chances to the younger generation of fleas?

But to save a cat from fleas does not mean to protect it from parasites forever. Fleas can again infect him both in the house and on the street.

The best option for the prevention of subsequent infections is to wear the animal's nasal collar (at least on the street) and the obligatory removal of fleas in the house itself. The latter procedure is even more complicated than ridding the animal itself of fleas, but it also guarantees the protection of all inhabitants of the house - and people as well.

It will also be useful to regularly put branches of wormwood under the cat litter - she scares away fleas (tansy can be used for the same purpose). If desired, herbs can be replaced by fumigators.

Read more about the removal of fleas in the room, see the section of the site "Fleas in the apartment."

 

Interesting video: what to look for when choosing a flea medication

 

How to conduct a test on the sensitivity of the cat to the components of the drug against fleas