Cat flea treatment insecticides are poisoning aquatic life in rivers

It may surprise people to know that spot-on cat flea treatments used in the home in the ordinary way can poison aquatic life in rivers and watercourses miles away. It's the insecticides used in these treatments such as fipronil and imidacloprid which do the damage. 

This is what happens: you apply the treatment to your cat at the back of the neck and some of the treatment gets on your hands so you wash your hands afterwards. The water goes down into the drainage system and then to rivers. In fact we are advised to wash our hands afterwards as the chemicals are dangerous to us! 🤢

Or after you apply the treatment your cat goes on to their bedding and some of the chemical is deposited on the bedding. You wash the bedding in due course and the chemical is then washed into the wastewater system and thence into watercourses miles away.

The research was carried out by a PhD student and veterinary surgeon at the University of Sussex in the UK, Rosemary Perkins. She says the following:

This research confirms that fipronil and imidacloprid used in spot-on flea products are important surface water pollutants. With around 22 million cats and dogs in the UK, we urgently need to rethink how these products are regulated and used.

Of the methods mentioned above, the most common is washing your hands. The research by Perkins builds on earlier research which found that the insecticide fipronil was found in 98% of freshwater samples. The other insecticide, imidacloprid was found in 66% of freshwater samples. Both are in concentrations at which they can harm aquatic animals.

The scientists are asking for a review of regulations concerning these cat flea treatments. Professor David Goulson also of Sussex University, who supervised the research said that these two chemicals are extremely potent neurotoxic insecticides. 

He added that it is deeply concerning they are routinely found on the hands of dog and cat owners and that people should be concerned and will be concerned that they pollute rivers and kill aquatic life.

He implies a third way the chemicals get into watercourses. After applying the treatment, the dog owner or cat owner handles their pet and some of the chemical is still in the fur and that gets onto their hands.

I've mention this many times but these insecticides are very toxic to cats as well as people.

The solution?

There appears to be two obvious solutions. The first is not the use the spot-on treatments (I don't) and find other ways, holistic ways, to keep your home and your cat flea-free. 

It can be done. For example it means no carpets or if you have a carpet to vacuum your carpet regularly as this is an effective way to get rid of larvae and pupae and adult fees in the carpet. 

Ideally it should be a beater type vacuum cleaner which disturbs the particles and flea larvae at the base of the carpet.

Another way is to use surgical gloves would you can buy very cheaply on Amazon when you apply this treatment. Use the gloves repeatedly and then when they are finally worn out placed them in the rubbish in the usual way. That would be a very effective way of preventing the insecticides getting into the water system.

The bottom line is to focus on keeping your home totally flea free which means applying a lot of vigilance such as flea combing your cat once or twice a day to keep tabs on what is going on. 

Minimise the number of cats that you keep in your home. That won't be that popular with some people but the more cats you have the more chance of fleas jumping from one cat to the other and the more treatments you use.

I just want people to think about this problem and try and find their own way to remove it because we don't want to put wildlife under further pressure. Wildlife across the globe is already under immense pressure from human activity in a myriad of ways.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Woman licks her cat like a feline mother but is she ingesting fleas!

The news media calls this a 'strange addiction' and it describes a woman uploading videos to Instagram of herself licking her cat like a feline mother. You know what I mean: when a queen (a cat mom who has just given birth) licks her kittens to keep them clean which includes the anal area!

RELATED: Can I get a tapeworm from my cat?

Woman licks her cat like a feline mother but is she ingesting fleas! Image: Instagram screenshot.

Only this woman sensibly agrees that she should not lick the anal area of her cat companion because that would be horrible, she said. Also, she does not lick the feet of her cat companion because there may be faeces on the feet after going to the toilet in the litter tray.

The woman is in her 50s and she has uploaded videos to My Strange Addiction series. She defiantly says that she will not stop her habit.

She said:

I know everybody knows I'm a crazy f***ing cat lady. I'm in my fifties. I don't have any children. I never wanted any children. These are my babies. If I was a momma cat I would clean them just like that.

As you can see, she says that IF she was a mother cat, she would lick them but she isn't a mother cat! She is the cat's caregiver but hey ho, it doesn't really matter. If it pleases her then that's okay provided her cat is also pleased.

You might argue that it is a refinement to stroking a cat. When we pet our cats by stroking them, we are, in the cat's mind, licking them. That is how the cat experiences the sensation.

The woman adds that this is not a sexual thing. I hope so! And I don't see anything sexual in it to be honest. And she says that she doesn't lick butts or their genitals blah blah blah.

She added the following slightly baffling statement:

And I know they're gross. We're all gross. Everything is bad for you. If I want to groom my cat, I'm going to groom my cat. I'm not going to stop licking the cats or eating the cat fur. I'm just not.

People who have seen the video tended to be slightly disgusted! One said that they are not babies but cats and another said that the woman's behaviour was disgusting.

I do not see it that way. I see it as a bit bizarre and a bit offbeat but, as mentioned, if it pleases her and if it pleases her cat then there can be no harm in it. I don't think it is unhealthy for her but see fleas below. She will no doubt ingest some fur but that might be good roughage for her digestive tract!

Fleas!

She might ingest the odd cat flea which would not be a good idea because the life cycle of the tapeworm includes the cat flea. That's how cats develop tapeworms inside them. The flea passes tapeworm eggs into a cat when they feed on the cat's blood.

Image: MikeB

So, provided this woman ensures that her cat is entirely flea-free, there is no prospect of the woman getting a tapeworm inside her gut! I'm not sure that this is a risk that the woman has taken into account. It is not mentioned in any news media article. It would seem to be a genuine possibility depending upon the number of fleas on the cat.

I feel like telling her of the possibility. I would surely stop her strange addiction.

Can kittens be born with fleas and worms?

In short, kittens cannot be born with fleas but they can get them from their bedding or their mother very quickly. For me this means that anyone who's involved in breeding their cat (which should not happen by the way unless they are a breeder registered with a cat association) needs to ensure that the queen's nest is spotless in terms of fleas. No fleas in the mother's den would seem to be common sense. Or on the mother. And around the home generally.

Cat flea. Image: MikeB

I am sure though that in homes where cats are breeding informally there are piles of fleas because the owner is behaving irresponsibly. I can visual that scenario quite easily. Many kittens will have a flea infestation at an early age and it will be a treat to their life.

Resistance to fleas is age related: old and young are more vulnerable. They have less resistance and they will be debilitated and some will probably die.

Worms

Neither can kittens be born with worms but they can be infected through nursing so if the mother has worms so will her kittens.

Once again this points to the standard of caregiving in taking proactive steps before the queen becomes pregnant. Is she in good health? And worm-free?

Mother cat and her newborn kittens. Pixabay.

The problem with kittens being infected with worms is the same as stated for fleas above. How good are the proactive steps in preventing both endoparasites (worms) and ectoparasites (fleas) taking up residence in and on kittens before the mother becomes pregnant?

It is pretty obvious that in most non-cat breeder homes proactive steps are rarely taken. Kittens will have a tough start to life and some will die.

Can cat fleas live on humans?

Flea bite on person. Photo: FCG/Shutterstock

No, cat fleas can't live on humans because there is not enough hair to protect them. They don't live on the scalp either. The human is simply unsuitable for a cat or dog flea. Although occasionally a person might be bitten on their feet or ankle by a cat flea. This might occur if fleas are in the carpet waiting to jump onto a cat, and instead they jump onto the feet of the cat's owner. And judging by some photos people occasionally get a rash of flea bites. They must live in or have visited places where there are hordes of fleas. So, fleas do enjoy a drink of human blood.

Humans are not a preferred host of C. felis (cat flea).

Owners of full-time indoor cats sometimes ask how their cat can get fleas if they live inside the home all the time. One way is for the homeowner to walk a cat flea into the home on their clothes. Or perhaps the family dog, if there is one, can walk fleas into the home. Flea comb your cat every day if you want to make sure she is flea-free. 

Here is the above photo in realistic colour. It is shocking. I can hardly believe it.

Said to be flea bites. Getty Images.

RELATED: Flea treatments can kill or cause harm: please read the instructions and use caution.

Constant vigilance is the byword. But as you know you have to take a holistic approach: the whole house needs to be checked out and cleaned and not just the fur on your cat's back.

Using diatomaceous earth to try and minimise fleas on my cat

The video explains it all but I will add a few words. Before I do, I'd like to admit to a deliberate error in the video. If you can discover it and leave a comment to tell me what it is then you will get a reward from Amazon Prime! I'm genuine. You've just got to pick out the error in the commentary and we can take it from there.

In the video I am spreading diatomaceous earth underneath the squirrel feeder because I believe pigeons and squirrels carry fleas and those fleas drop onto the grass underneath the feeder where my cat goes and the fleas then jump from the lawn to my cat. He is acquiring about three fleas per day which I comb out. He has never had fleas before. Well, not quite; he's had two fleas in his entire six-year life until very recently.

Using diatomaceous earth to try and minimise fleas on my cat.

And it is only until recently or relatively recently that I have been regularly feeding squirrels and I have a feeling that this is at least partly the reason why he gets fleas. I also feed foxes and they too, I am sure, have fleas so I have generated a little flea factory near my back garden! I have to do something about it. I happened to have a box of diatomaceous earth in my shed. It has been there for a very long time indeed. I am pleased to use it at last.

Diatomaceous earth is a material that comes from fossils as I understand it. It's is very fine and this version is edible. It's a very dusty fine powder which cuts the exoskeleton of fleas. Fleas don't have a backbone or spine or an internal skeleton but they are held rigid by their external skeleton. This material cats it, breaks it up and the plea dies. It's a natural way of killing fleas as opposed to using chemicals. I believe that internal parasites can be controlled in livestock by this material when it is added to their feed. 

That's the story and you can wish me luck if you read this. I do not expect many people to bother to read this which is fine because I had quite a lot of fun doing it.

Do this for five minutes daily and make your cat happy

This is one thing that all cat owners should do daily to make their cat happy. It's uncomplicated, it doesn't cost any money and it makes the person happy as well. It's a form of mutual grooming. It is called allogrooming. 

But the point is that you are flea combing as well. It's a combination event. From the cat's perspective it is like being licked by another cat. The teeth of the flea comb are like the spines of a cat's tongue. It is delightful. But the added benefit is that you are checking for fleas and if you find one you kill them immediately. And every cat should be checked for fleas because they can be picked up very easily.

Even full-time indoor cats living in a clean home can pick up a flea because they can be brought into the home by their owner. Flea combing should be a way of life. Every morning at the same time the owner should flea comb their cat around the head, on the cheeks, down the back of the neck and on the shoulders. These are the basic areas where fleas congregate. 

The product of flea combing but no fleas. Photo: MikeB.

You can check for flea dirt at the base of the tail. But I comb my cat all over with a flea comb. This also helps to make the cat glossier because it stimulates the sebaceous glands to produce more oil.

Like I said, it is so simple and perhaps can owners do this a lot but I suspect not. Many cats develop an allergy to flea bites which is devastating. It causes self-mutilation due to intense itching. Fleas are probably in the top 10 all-time cat health problems. 

And this something that anybody can do something about. And it brings pleasure to your cat. It is guaranteed. I would state with some confidence that every single cat on the planet will enjoy it provided it is done gently, precisely and with respect. It takes little investment but there is a big reward.

Can you drown cat fleas?

It takes 24 hours underwater to drown a flea! This is an interesting question and a pertinent one because cat owners sometimes like to kill fleas by drowning them. There are two aspects to the question. If you place a flea onto water they don't sink into the water. Therefore they do not drown this way. Fleas are too light to break the surface of water. And they are covered in a water repellent wax. A flea left on the surface of water in a bowl will eventually starve to death because they can't jump out, but not drown.

If you force a flea underwater and hold it there for about 24 hours they would drown. Apparently it takes much longer to drown a flea than you might have imagined. Forcing a flea underwater for 20 minutes will not kill them. In fact a flea submerged for 12 hours may appear dead but will reanimate itself once removed. After 60 minutes or so they are revived. If a flea is underwater for up to 20 hours they can still revive themselves but it takes about 4 to 5 hours.

If you are flea combing your cat and you catch one, my preferred method of killing is to use my thumbnail to squash the flea against the comb. If the comb is a metal one with a ridge where the combs enter the plastic handle you can squash them against that ridge. It is satisfying because you can hear the exoskeleton pop. This method may be too grizly for some people. It gives me pleasure because I hate the bastards. But if there are a lot of fleas this method is unworkable. You'll need an insecticide but use it with extreme care please.

P.S. Fleas have flat bodies which makes it easier to move around their host in that forest of fur!

Sources: various and on the internet.

How long do cat fleas live without a host?

Adult fleas live for between one and two weeks in favourable conditions. The flea needs a host on which to feed continuously and they prefer humid and warm climates.

Fleas in a jar. Photo: PoC.

However, the flea pupae can live for up to 5 months without food or light. I think you need to understand the life cycle to know where the pupae fit into it. The mother flea is on a cat feeding on blood. She lays eggs because the blood provides the energy to do this. They are laid in clusters of 20 maximum. She can lay a maximum of 50 per day. The eggs fall off the cat as the cat walks around. They fall into, for example, carpet. 

The eggs hatch into legless embryos called larvae. They burrow deep into the carpet or the roots of plants in the wild. They live off pre-digested blood from their mother flea. They develop into cocoons or flea pupae. They can live in this state for up to 5 months without food or light.

They mature into adult fleas with a lowered metabolism so that they don't need feeding. A potential host passes by and the adult flea senses the change in thermal energy. The flea emerges from the cocoon and jumps onto their new post to feed immediately.

Fleas cannot fly but they have an enormous ability to jump. If they were the size of humans they would jump up to a thousand feet into the air. This is their mode of transport.

Are cat fleas and dog fleas the same?

No, cat fleas are a different species of ectoparasite to dog fleas but they act very similarly. The dog flea's scientific name is: Ctenocephalides felis and the cat flea's scientific name is: Ctenocephalides canis. I think that you'll find that dogs suffer from cat fleas more than dog fleas. 

Ectoparasites live outside the body as opposed to those that live in the gut such as tapeworms.

This foul parasite that so blights cat owners homes and cats. Image: public domain.

Dangers of treatments

The most important point to make about cat and dog fleas is not that they are a different species but the way that you eradicate them. You absolutely must not use dog flea treatments on cats. There have been cases of cats being killed by dog flea treatments. You must always read the label and never use these pesticides in the wrong way. I can't stress strongly enough. Particularly with kittens.

The best way to deal with fleas is to deal with them physically which is to flea comb and kill the flea physically as it is much more controllable. Using sprays and insecticides is potentially very hazardous. Spot on insecticide treatments are safer than sprays but read the label.When you read the label you can tell why they are dangerous because the manufacturers say that you should not get the product on your hands. I find this extraordinary because we are putting the product onto our cat's skin so were doing something which the manufacturers say is forbidden! On the face of it it looks completely mad.

Some dog flea treatments contain permethrin, which, for me, is a nasty insecticide and a toxic chemical cats. One reason why you can't use dog treatment on cats.

The dog flea lives on the cat as well as the dogs and other animals. The cat flea does the same. I think they were named almost arbitrarily because they appear to be quite interchangeable in terms of their host and their behaviour. They certainly look very similar. You won't know the difference unless you're an expert and you'll have to look at them under a microscope. 

Versatile

It is said that cat fleas are more versatile than dog fleas. They can infect at least another 50 types of animal species. Both these fleas can jump onto people and bite them. You'll see flea bites on people's ankles for example. Although it's rare in my view. And there's nowhere for the flea the hide because we don't have fur like cats and dogs. Therefore the human can't be a very suitable home for an adult flea and they probably jump off and then back onto a cat or dog if they live in the home.

Dog or human carrying fleas

If you live in a home with a cat and a dog it is more than likely that the dog will bring fleas into the home particularly, of course, if your cat is a full-time indoor cat. Even if you don't have a dog and your cat is inside all the time she may get fleas because the owner can bring them into the home. The default situation is to always check your cat for fleas, and if you have to do it daily using a flea comb. This is vital. You don't want fleas to take hold in your home. It requires vigilance to eradicate them completely and on an ongoing basis.

Safest insecticide

What is the safest flea treatment? The safest flea treatment is to use the flea comb and kill the parasite manually. If you want to use an insecticide apparently pyrethrins or natural pyrethrum is the least toxic insecticide used on cats and dogs. You will find them in natural flea-control products and the conventional varieties.

Flea dirt

In addition to flea combing fleas out of a cat's fur (which is pretty obvious because you can see them jumping out) you might see what is called flea-dirt at the base of their tail. This is also indicative of the presence of fleas on your cat.

Holistic

If you feel that you have removed all the fleas from your cat with great commitment and they still come back it is because they are in your home. You have to take what is called a holistic approach meaning a total approach to remove fleas. You can't do it on one and not the other. You can help prevent fleas taking hold in the home by removing those places where fleas like to live and wait before they jump onto your cat such as carpets. A more sheer living area with less clutter and less rugs and carpets is better in my view.

If you want to get rid of your fleas from your home fast you'll have to work at it fast and furiously! I would recommend vacuuming everything, steam cleaning everything, washing your pet's bedding thoroughly, perhaps using diatomaceous earth at entrances and exits of your home as well. This is a naturally occurring product which is a very fine white powder. It slices through the shell of the parasite destroying the creature. You can even dust your cat with it provided it is human grade although it looks very messy. It is relatively safe compared to the insecticides.

Tapeworm

The cat flea transmits tapeworms to cats. The eggs inside of saliva and it delivers these eggs into the cat's bloodstream when they feed on the cat. Yes, they are a particularly unpleasant creature. So if your cat has fleas they may also have tapeworms. When you treat your cat for fleas also treat them for worms. You can get a deworming product from your veterinarian or online these days from for example Amazon but you have to be really careful again. All medicines are poisons and potentially dangerous. Never be careless and bypassing your veterinarian is okay provided you know exactly what you're doing but if you are unsure then ask your veterinarian.

If your cat has fleas he is also likely to have a tapeworm

The cat flea is part of the tapeworm life-cycle. When a cat ingests a flea while grooming, he might also ingest a tapeworm egg which is inside the flea.

The egg got inside the flea because larval fleas hatching in the area consume tapeworm eggs. These eggs have been deposited on the ground from a segment of tapeworm which has exited a host such as a cat via the anus.

And so you can see how the lives of the two organisms are connected to each other. It probably pays to both de-worm a cat and use a spot-on treatment to de-flea the cat at the same time.

Can you overdose a cat on flea medication?

Can you overdose a cat on flea medication? Yes, is the short answer. Flea meds are poisonous. We are told to handle them with care yet we put it on our cat's skin. Does that strike you as strange?

It is also dangerous to interchange flea medication for cats and dogs. Never do it. It can kill the cat as can too much cat flea meds on a cat.

This page explains:

1. Flea treatments can kill
2. Dog flea treatments kill cats

Santa Ana Has Typhus Outbreak

by Elisa Black-Taylor (USA)

Santa Ana, located in Orange County, California, is experiencing a typhus outbreak and the feral cats in the area are getting caught in the middle of a bad situation that's not their fault.

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Officials set six traps at Frances E. Willard Intermediate School on the 1300 block of North Ross Street. They've also set traps at El Sol Science and Arts Academy. This is being done in an effort to catch feral cats after a child in the area contracted typhus last month and had to be hospitalized. The victim has since recovered. Due to privacy laws, all that's known about the victim is the disease was contracted in the Broadway-Washington Avenue area of Santa Ana.

Now Vector Control officials have set traps for feral cats, possums and other small animals that may carry the disease via fleas. They have said any animals trapped will be tested and euthanized. Officials have already handed out information to the public on the illness and how to administer flea products to prevent a flea infestation.

Endemic and murine typhus are both caused by a bacteria found in infected fleas and their feces.

The problem is this isn't going to solve the problem. For one thing, it's doubtful these feral cats are coming close enough to the population to allow the fleas to jump from the cat onto a human or for the flea feces containing Rickettsia typhi, and Rickettsia felis to be in contact with the human. I can already tell this is going to be a really bad year for flea infestations. And what are they going to do about all the dogs who wander loose, as well as the wildlife?

This isn't a realistic way to handle the problem. For one thing, if these feral cats are removed, more will come to take their place. The fleas would just jump on the new "host." There are probably stray dogs running loose in Santa Ana. There seem to be as many stray dogs these days as there are stray cats. My guess is more fleas can live on a large dog than a small cat. Yet nothing is being said about trapping and euthanizing the dogs.

The best preventative would be to treat the property in Santa Ana with products recommended to kill fleas that won't be harmful to pets. Treat the property and treat the pets.

Symptoms of typhus include high fever, headache, chills, body aches and a rash. These begin between a week and two weeks after exposure to an infected flea.

Alley Cat Allies, the only national organization dedicated solely to the protection of feral cats, has called out the Vector control officials in an effort to stop the trapping (the "vector" is the flea or lice) .

Several of the traps have been sabotaged by people throwing objects into them to make them spring shut. One trap did catch a possum.

Information on contacting Orange County Vector Control, as well as information on typhus can be found at www.ocvcd.org/typhus.php

Note: Flea-borne typhus is referred to as endemic typhus or murine typhus. It is transmitted by fleas. It is caused by the bacteria, Rickettsia typhi, and Rickettsia felis, which is in infected fleas and their feces.

Should I shave my cat to get rid of fleas?

ANSWER: No. I can see the frustration and why there is a desire to shave a cat to get rid of fleas as they lurk in that dense fur and cause mayhem particularly if the cat is allergic to the flea bite. But fleas will go on cats without fur and fur grows back. Are you going to keep your cat naked for the rest of his life?

Also dealing with the flea problem on the cat in isolation will obviously not work. There has to be a global household attack on the bloody things. This needs to be done is a consistent manner and permanently.

Cats that are allowed to go out will always acquire fleas because they are on wild animals and on the ground. You can't rid the back yard or garden of fleas!

There is also the fact that a cat will feel uncomfortable without fur. How I do know? I don't know for sure but it is highly likely that a cat will feel uncomfortable and it may make him anxious. It is removing a part of a cat's anatomy.

The standard answer is to treat the house and perhaps surrounding area (Diatomaceous earth can be used outside or even inside). Apply Frontline to your cat - but follow instructions, please - cats are killed by insecticides and never use flea treatments for dogs on cats. The packaging can look similar. Sprays (on the cat) are hopeless and dangerous) in my opinion. Flea comb your cat, twice daily! This will work.

Associated Pages:

• Cat Flea Treatments
• Flea Products for Cats
• Flea Ecology

How do cats get worms?

I'll tell you how cats get tapeworms. It is a cycle as shown in the image below. Tapeworms are the most common internal parasite in adult cats. They live in the cat's intestine and body segments are passed in feces. You might see them around your cat's bottom.

Both types of tapeworm are transmitted by an intermediate host. One intermediate host is the flea. It has the immature tapeworm, Dipylidium caninum in its intestines. They are ingested by the flea when eating tapeworm eggs. The cat bites or swallows the flea and becomes infested that way.

The other type of tapeworm Taenia taeniaformis is ingested when eating rodents, uncooked meat, raw freshwater fish, and sometimes discarded animal parts.

Life cycle of Dipylidium caninim - diagram copyright Michael at PoC

Selected associated pages:

• Cat flea life cycle
• Tapeworms in felines

Photo of flea: by Armed Forces Pest Management Board

Can cat fleas bite humans?

Yes, cat fleas can and do bite humans. My cats are indoor/outdoor cats. I flea comb them regularly. Sometimes a flea will jump off the flea comb before I can crush it. And sometimes I will lose track of where the flea is.

As a result, on rare occasions, I have discovered that I have been bitten by a flea. In fact I have felt a flea bite. It is quite noticeable. It leaves a sore spot that itches slightly. It passes in about a week or something like that.

Cat fleas are very difficult to kill by crushing. They have hard exoskeletons. They jump explosively and travel large distances relative to their size.

Incidentally, in my opinion cat fleas do not jump on us and live in our hair after we have removed them from our cat. Our hair is not the correct kind of habitat for a cat flea! The hair needs to be dense. Also we shower or bath daily (most of us!). This makes it impossible for a cat flea to survive in our hair.

Beware of Cat Flea Treatments

Beware of cat flea treatments. Some time ago a cat caretaker asked for advice about her sick cats. It transpired, as far as I could tell, that she was using a spot flea treatment designed for dogs on her cats. The product was Advantix. You don't even have to put it on your cat to kill him or her. If you use it on your dog and keep cats too, your cats can get ill by licking it off the dog or simply by the cat being in contact with the dog and then licking her fur when grooming herself. If you keep cats and dogs don't use Advantix.

Flea treatments for dogs can make cats very ill or kill them. Advantix for dogs contains Permethrin, which is extremely poisonous to cats. It damages the cat's nervous system causing fits and seizures etc. There is no antidote apparently.

I would like to make two points. First, it is easy to get confused between Frontline Spot on Cat, the spot flea treatment for cats and Advantix for dogs.  Even now I am not sure if you can get Advantix for cats. And I have searched the internet.

I haven't found Advantix for cats. But these products are similar in appearance and in their application. Also people may automatically think that what is good for their dog is fine for their cat. Unfortunately that is not true.

We just have to read those damned instructions in small print and be super cautious when using insecticides of any kind on a cat companion. The appearance and labeling of these products is not helpful in avoiding a mix up. This problem is compounded by Bayer making "Advantix" for dogs and "Advantage" for cats - similar names. While Frontline make similar products with the same name for dogs and cats - confusing.

Insecticides are poisons and dangerous chemicals. They are poisonous to us too! If you read the instructions for Frontline spot treatment for cats, you will see warnings about how we should handle the stuff. For example, ""Avoid contents coming into contact with the fingers".. "..contact of the product with your mouth and eyes should be avoided..." And yet we are putting it on our cat's skin! The product is meant to be used monthly. I use it very, very sparingly indeed and only as a last resort. Frontline's active ingredient isFipronil 10% w/v.

Incidentally, it is clear (in my opinion) from the Frontline packaging that this product has been tested to destruction on kittens under 8 weeks of age. The manufacturers say, "No adverse effects have been seen in cats and kittens aged 8 weeks and older...treated with five times the recommended dose for six consecutive months..." I think we should digest that statement. Personally I hate animal testing.

Here are a couple of posts on flea treatments:

1. Flea Treatments Can Kill
2. Cat Flea Treatment

Drawing by Kate*

Cat and Dog Parasite Pictures

Something gross - Cat and Dog Parasite Pictures. You can't have pictures of cats without pictures of the parasites that feed on them. There is a peculiar natural balance to life when you have an extremely ugly parasite that is almost invisible (if it's the flea) feeding on the back of a beautiful cat. That said there is a serious side to looking at cat parasite pictures. As a concerned cat companion one needs to know a bit about cat parasites as they are not uncommon. The most common parasite is the common (oh so common and a pain in the .....) cat flea. A lot of cats get fleas at some stage particularly if they go outside. They are about 2-4mm in length. The photo above is larger than life size. They are an ectoparasite (parasite that on the outside surfaces of their host). I kill them by crushing them with my thumb nail and they go "pop" as the body is shattered.  Be extremely cautious with flea treatments. Read the instructions. Read the label word for word. Flea treatments can kill the kitten or cat. It happens quite a lot.

The pain in the arse cat flea. Image in public domain.

Some cats have a lot of them but put up with them and have no ill health because of them. Whereas white or light colored cats can have severe itching even with one flea. Fleas obtain their food by biting the skin which naturally can irritate the cat, but it is an allergic reaction to the saliva that can be worse than the bite. The adult flea jumps on and off the cat - and can they jump! They are very athletic and for their size jump massive distances. When you comb through fur to flush 'em out they sometimes jump back onto the cat and this happens so fast it is as if they are disappearing. They jump back on to feed. They live in carpet and such places when they are off the cat (see Cat Flea Life Cycle) . The flea larva matures off the cat. 

When adult (after several months) they jump on the passing cat. I recommend combing as the least dangerous and unsettling method to de-flea. If there are too many I recommend the dropper treatment (e.g. Frontline) that you place between the shoulder blades and on the spine which gets absorbed by the skin and then ingested by the flea when they feed. This is efficient and lasts about a month but it makes my cat sleepy and I am little worried about this drug in relation to its negative side effects. Cat and Dog Parasite Pictures -2 - The Ear Mite The medical name is Otodectes cynotis. This is the most common cat mite and is found in the external auditory canal (the bit of the ear you can see). It transfers from cat to cat with ease. Being a very small creature its presence can give the impression of dirty ears. They attach to the mucous membrane and cause damage to it which can lead to secondary infection. Cat and Dog Parasite Pictures -3- The Tick These are common and quite gross to look at. I have discussed these in some depth on the main website. Click here to see the page. In outline they clamp on to the cat's skin and feed on the blood of the cat becoming massively swollen in the process. 

They are therefore quite large (5mm or more in length). They look slightly blue due to the blood you can see under the surface. As you might know the important thing is to remove them carefully ensuring that the mouth parts are not left in the cat's skin where they will irritate and cause infection. You shouldn't just pull them off. You might like to get professional help to do this. These are the most common parasites in my experience. The others are: Maggots, Ringworm, Roundworm, Lungworm, Tapeworm and Coccidia. Photo credits: Top copyright honeybeararmy Middle 1st copyright aisack Middle 2nd copyright akeg Bottom copyright Thejaswi Source: Veterinary Notes for Cat Owners From Cat and Dog Parasite Pictures to Home page Can cat fleas bite humans Tapeworm in Felines (fleas are part of the lifecycle)