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Cat Fleas!

clarsct

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Is it true that cat fleas will not transfer to humans?

I have a friend whose cat has contracted fleas. She was pregnant at the time, and there was a question of fleas treatments harming the kittens. Now she has had the kittens, four healthy, and one who died(five total), and it just tears me up to see those kittens with fleas.....

Is there a treatment I can recomend to my friend that won't harm the younguns? She claims she is seeing a vet "next week". Course, she said that LAST week....*grrrrr*

I'm gathering my facts together before I confront her. Also, anyone in the IL area want a kitten, after the lfea treatment, of course?

Oh, and is there a link between fleas and worms?


Thanks for any help....
 
clarsct said:
Is it true that cat fleas will not transfer to humans?
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I don't think so. My parents cats had fleas from time to time, but dosing the cats seemed to get rid of them without the humans involved needing treatment. We did have to fumigate the house once, though, after we'd been away for a couple of weeks and the little buggers had bred in the carpets.
I have a friend whose cat has contracted fleas. She was pregnant at the time, and there was a question of fleas treatments harming the kittens. Now she has had the kittens, four healthy, and one who died(five total), and it just tears me up to see those kittens with fleas.....

Is there a treatment I can recomend to my friend that won't harm the younguns? She claims she is seeing a vet "next week". Course, she said that LAST week....*grrrrr*
Click to expand...
I think that the availble treatments for adult cats may not be suitable for kittens. I remember having to use some sort of spray on kittens. I'm sure the actual vets on here can give you some proper info!
Oh, and is there a link between fleas and worms?
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No. Totally different beastie.
 
Cat fleas will bite anything warm blooded that passes their way, but they don't usually live on either cats or humans. They usually live in, or around the edges of, carpets or in dark places, where they breed.

The best treatment for fleas in 'Frontline', which can be used on kittens over 8 weeks of age.

The kittens *must* be treated. If they are left untreated, they can (and probably will) die from a condition known as 'flea anaemia'. Basically, the fleas suck more blood than the kitten's body can replace.
 
Ah.

Hmmmm. Thanks. I guess they'll have to get something else for the one week old kittens.

I seemed to remember an article that claimed that cat fleas and dog fleas were different....but then again, that's not saying it is true. Call me skeptical.
 
A vet should be able to advise you on the best treatment for such a young kitten.

Apparently, there are 'cat' and 'dog' (and even 'human') fleas, but it's more a case that they have a preference - they will bite anything.

I also discovered that fleas can transfer tapeworms. Bizarre but true.
 
Consternatio said:

I also discovered that fleas can transfer tapeworms. Bizarre but true.
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Yup - BSM or Rolfe can fill you in on this.
D. caninum (a cestode tapeworm) has part of its cycle in the flea. The dog becomes infected by ingesting the flea.
Don't try this at home:)
 
clarsct said:
Is it true that cat fleas will not transfer to humans?

I have a friend whose cat has contracted fleas. She was pregnant at the time, and there was a question of fleas treatments harming the kittens. Now she has had the kittens, four healthy, and one who died(five total), and it just tears me up to see those kittens with fleas.....

Is there a treatment I can recomend to my friend that won't harm the younguns? She claims she is seeing a vet "next week". Course, she said that LAST week....*grrrrr*

I'm gathering my facts together before I confront her. Also, anyone in the IL area want a kitten, after the lfea treatment, of course?

Oh, and is there a link between fleas and worms?


Thanks for any help....
Click to expand...

I haven't got the data sheets to hand, and I always check them each time I dispense for nursing mothers just in case there's been a change, but I think Frontline and Stronghold spot-on flea preparations are OK on nursing mothers and it is via her treatment that the problem is controlled, so you don't treat the kittens directly.

Beware teh data sheets also vary from country to country, so there must be the proviso to check with the dispensing vet.
 
Fleas are pretty eclectic. They have their preferences, but they'll try anything. I believe the human flea, Pulex irritans, is now extremely rare, and virtually all fleabites in man are caused by Ctenocephalides felis or (less common, even dogs seem to get "cat" fleas these days) Ctenocephalides canis.

Lots of people swear that they don't get bitten by fleas. Not true. It's just that they aren't allergic to the fleabites, so they don't notice them.

Funny story. Friends of mine got married. Because of a glitch in the honeymoon plans, they spent the wedding night in the bride's house, which was going to be the matrimonial home. Three in the morning the bridegroom woke up, scratching like mad, covered in red papules. They thought he'd got chicken-pox or something. No. Cat fleas in the bed, and the bride had never noticed because she didn't have the allergic reaction.

As somebody said above, the major part of the flea life cycle is spent in the soft furnishings, so control has to be a bit clever as just killing the fleas on the cat doesn't cut it. However there are several very good products available which tackle the whole life cycle - I'd hesitate to recommend one specific one as their own vet might have a different and equally effective preference. These are all prescription products though, and it's a complete waste of money to buy inferior powders and sprays from pet shops.

Your friend does need to go to her vet, describe the problem and what she requires, and she'll be sold something that will fix it. And if the kittens are still quite young, do it NOW, don't wait until it's time to go for vaccinations, because you can get quite severe anaemia developing in that time.

The flea/worm connection actually relates to tapeworm. The flea is one of the intermediate hosts of the tapeworm, so a cat licking fleas from its coat is likely to pick up a tapeworm or two. This isn't a terrible clinical problem, but tapeworm segments wriggling out of a cat's backside are pretty gross.

Parasite control has advanced enormously since I was a student, and the amount of safe yet effective chemical warfare available to pet owners is impressive.

Nuke the buggers, I say!

Rolfe.

PS. Oops, sorry BSM, cross-posting. I defer to your general practice expertise.
 
Cautionary note- By "Nuke the buggers!" Rolfe is not suggesting putting cats in the microwave.

I might, but Rolfe is old fashioned about some things.
 
Point of information

BSM, do you (or any of the vets on the forum) have any experience with this new "Advocate" stuff that's being so heavily advertised? I love the ads, but does it do what it says on the tin? (Which is pretty much kill anything that doesn't have exactly four legs. Except tapeworms, for some reason.)

Is it actually an effective treatment for demodecosis?

Rolfe.

(Sam, have you still not forgiven Caramel for drawing blood through your trousers? It was an accident. He swears it was....)
 
Noe!

Just that expression "Nuke" had me worried.
Nobody thinks I mean it when I suggest putting cats in the microwave, but some misguided soul might think it must be OK if you endorse it. (I'd like to see the Einsatzgruppe that could get Caramel in an oven without losing some members.)

Curiosity. She-who-must-be-obeyed acquired a large, inflamed, red lump on her hip after a Pilates class the other day. This she swears is a fleabite. She is threatening to call down an airstrike against the hapless owners of the hall. (I think women of a certain age shouldn't be rolling on the floor wearing lycra to begin with, but that's another argument.)

This led to discussion of fleas (a la Monty Python Yorkshiremen) bemoaning how tough life was in Clydebank and Wishaw in the 50s and 60s. She claims to have suffered many fleabites as a kid. I (so far as I know) never had one in my life, despite having crashed in 3rd world mud huts and the like for years.

I find midge bites infuriating, but never really have much to show for them five minutes later.Or other insect bites. Is it likely that I'm just lacking the immune response you mention?

Is this a good or bad mutation , do you reckon?
 
Who knows? I acquired about a dozen midge bites in the garden in Waverley Drive in June, and I was scratching myself raw for ages. Not good. Is it true there are no midges in England? Not even in the Lake District? If so, that rather suggests a pact with the devil to me.

On the other hand, Rolfe (Caramel's predecessor) had a raging flea allergy, and it was that that caused him to be abandoned and in search of a home, which in the long run was a good thing for both of us. And as he came up in weals with a singe flea bite, I could catch the beggars early.

On yet another hand, Caramel isn't allergic, but who cares as modern flea prevention is so efficient I've forgotten what the things look like anyway. (Mind you, he was hopping when I first took him home, which rather shows that eternal vigilance is the price of peace.)

Rolfe.
 
Fleas on kittens can cause deaths due to anemia as mentioned. You need to follow the label reccomendations of the products that you buy for fleas. In the USA a veterinarian may be able to prescribe an off label use of a product (because there is nothing made for treating fleas on kittens). For very young kittens (less than 8 weeks)I used to reccomend that you get a pyrethrin base flea spray and spray a wash cloth then hold the kittens in the wash cloth till all the fleas are dead. Now however I usually reccomend spraying them with Frontline spray for any age kittens with fleas. However to do this in the USA is a violation of a federal law unless on the advice of your veterinarian. I hear that Frontlines label in other countries may say you can use them on kittens 4 days old. If your cat eats fleas they may aquire tapeworms. If you eat fleas you may aquire tapeworms also unless you cook them first. Be sure to always cook your fleas before you feed them to your cat or anyone else.:p Fleas also transmit a disease that can cause anemia in cats commonly called feline infectious anemia (mycoplasma sp) and they can transmit a number of other diseases including plague.
 
What about the suggestion that if you treat the mother, nursing kittens will be covered too? Or does that really only apply to prevention?

Rolfe.
 
Rolfe said:
What about the suggestion that if you treat the mother, nursing kittens will be covered too? Or does that really only apply to prevention?

Rolfe.
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I find in UK conditions, i.e. not as warm and wet as Hawaii, that this is sufficient. Contact with dam kills fleas and fur from dam does environment. Dermatologists recommend household sprays to do the job really properly, but I've seen massive flea infestations controlled just with the modern spot-ons on the animal.
 
Re: Point of information

Rolfe said:
BSM, do you (or any of the vets on the forum) have any experience with this new "Advocate" stuff that's being so heavily advertised? I love the ads, but does it do what it says on the tin? (Which is pretty much kill anything that doesn't have exactly four legs. Except tapeworms, for some reason.)

Is it actually an effective treatment for demodecosis?

Rolfe.

(Sam, have you still not forgiven Caramel for drawing blood through your trousers? It was an accident. He swears it was....)
Click to expand...

Bayer were in giving me the hard sell this week and have me pretty much convinced especially with respect to better roundworm control than selamectin.
 
Re: Re: Point of information

Badly Shaved Monkey said:
Bayer were in giving me the hard sell this week and have me pretty much convinced especially with respect to better roundworm control than selamectin.
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Did they tell you if it could treat clinical demodecosis?

Rolfe.
 
Rolfe said:
What about the suggestion that if you treat the mother, nursing kittens will be covered too? Or does that really only apply to prevention?

Rolfe.
Click to expand...
In Hawaii that would not be adequate for either treatment or prevention unless they were indoors only with no fleas. However I don't treat kittens unless they have fleas.
 
You know, I never come in on these things until it's too late.

Advantage apparently is imidacloprid, which is related to the nicotenergic pesticides.
it's not as safe as the insect growth regulators that are usually applied topically/systemically, but it is relatively safe for mammals at low doses.

Insect nervous systems are sort of like inside-out mammal systems--the parts that make up our central nervous systems are not what makes up the CNS of a bug. it's nifty.:D
 
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