• Me and My Pet
• Parasites

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Fleas, fleas, fleas!!

posted by csenay at 15h34

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Fleas taking a blood meal! Google.image.ca

When pet owners are asked what they dread most about the summer months, the topic that invariably comes up most is fleas!! 

Dogs and cats often get infested with fleas through contact with other animals or contact with fleas in the environment. The strong back legs of this insect enable it to jump from host to host or from the environment onto the host. The flea’s bite can cause itching for the host but for a sensitive or flea-allergic animal, this itching can be quite severe and leads to hair-loss, inflammation and secondary skin infections.  Some pets, hypersensitive to the flea's saliva, will itch all over from the bite of even a single flea! 

Generally, fleas can be seen crawling along the surface of the skin.  Dark copper colored and about the size of the head of a pin, fleas dislike light so looking for them within furry areas and on the pet's belly and inner thighs will provide your best chances of spotting them. 

Look for "flea dirt", too.  "Flea dirt" looks like dark specks of pepper scattered on the skin surface. If you see flea dirt, which is actually flea feces and is composed of digested blood, pick some off the pet and place on a wet paper towel, then rub it.  If the tiny specks spread out like a small blood stain... it's definitely flea dirt and your pet has fleas!  Flea dirt may be your only evidence of a flea infestation but believe the evidence!   

Again, prevention of  fleas is just as important to the pet as it is to the pet's caretakers! There are several products and methods available at your veterinarian that can prevent flea infestation. Certain products will also prevent your pet to catch fleas and also  heartworm disease and intestinal parasites infection.

I tend to recommend a product that will kill all the flea stages, that is including the adult fleas. Using certain topical products, the adult fleas often don’t even have a chance to bite which makes them a good choice for flea-allergic pets.

 Be sure to consult your veterinarian regarding which methods and products will be best for you and your pets.

And don’t forget, with any flea treatment it is necessary to treat all of the animals in the home in order to achieve complete success.