With the responsibility of keeping a cat, comes the added task of ensuring that they are flea free.

Cat Health And Fleas – How Do Fleas Affect Your Cat’s Health?

Fleas is a problem that all cat owners would have to deal with at one time or another. Ask any cat owners and I’m sure you would get a same answer from all of them and that is, getting rid of fleas on cats is not an easy task. It requires an enormous amount of effort and time to eradicate these pesky little creatures once they come into contact with your cat. What’s worse is that not only are fleas a nuisance, they are also the cause of many health problems that we see in cats.

Pain relief and treatment options for cats affected by fleas, flea bites, itching and scratching

The most common cat fleas health hazards that we see is flea allergic dermatitis or what’s commonly known as FAD. This is a skin disorder caused by an allergic reaction to an allergen found in the saliva of fleas. When fleas bite on the cat for a blood meal, it secrets saliva. The allergen in the fleas’ saliva will result in pruritus (intense itch) causing the cat to scratch and lick itself excessively. This in turn lead to hair loss and raw and inflamed skin due to the constant non-stop scratching and licking.

The affected cat will feel miserable and their appetite will tend to be affected leading to weight loss.

Tapeworms infestation is another health concern brought about by fleas. Cats groom themselves by licking their hair coat. While doing so, they may ingest a flea carrying tapeworms larva and the cat get infected as a result. You can easily tell if your cat is having tapeworms by checking its anus. Chances are that you would be able to detect the presence of what look like rice grain segments of the tapeworms. Though tapeworms would not cause any major health issue in cats, their presence in the guts of cats may hinder the proper absorption of nutrients resulting in malnutrition and weight loss. This is especially so when a cat is heavily infested with tapeworms.

Fleas may also cause anemia in cats. They feed on the blood of cats. Though one flea will only feed on a minute quantity each time, the combined quantity by hundreds of fleas living off the poor cat can be considerable especially in young and immature kittens.

Feline Anemia Infection or FIA is another parasitic infection caused by fleas. Fleas are carriers of the blood parasite call Haemobartonella felis that can cause rupturing of red blood cells in cats. This again may cause anemia in cats resulting in death if severe and not treated.

The only way you can protect your cats from these dreadful diseases is to have a proper flea control for cats. “Getting Rid Of Cat Fleas” will show you how you can eradicate these pesky creatures before any harm caused. Get to know the right products to use and how to use them to keep your cat flea free.

To prevent flea re-infestation, it’s not sufficient to just treat your cat, the surrounding environment need to be treated as well. “House Flea Control” is where you will get step-by-step instructions on how you can effectively get rid of fleas in your house both indoor and outdoor. By Ann Wong

Cat fleas and the advantage flea control system

The cat fleas are most likely to be the fleas that your pets bring into your home, even the fleas that come in on the back of your dog are likely to be cat fleas, these fleas are parasites that need hosts such as your pets to live.

My Cat Has Fleas!  Pause for Paws

For such parasitic insects, cat flea can cause an unbearable physical and emotional stress upon you and your pet. Just when you think you’ve got an infestation under control, a whole new generation rises up ready to feed.

Why You Should Want To Get Rid of Cat Fleas

Does your cat have fleas? A cat that is scratching and biting itself definitely has some kind of skin irritation, and it could be caused by cat fleas.

Pet and Home Care Info Tips

Fleas don’t do well in either extreme. Bathing your pet is an effective control measure. It is not necessary to use insecticidal shampoos, most soaps will kill fleas. Use a comb to remove fleas from your dog or cat.

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Cat scratch fever is caused by cat scratch and bites. Read on to know more…

Dr Robert Debre identified the cat as the vector of the cat scratch disease in 1950. Catch scratch fever is a bacterial infection, which typically causes the lymph nodes to swell. This infection is usually a result of a scratch, bite or in some cases a lick from a cat. Kittens that are a few weeks old are more likely to cause the infection when compared to full grown cats.

The bacteria that causes cat scratch disease is called Bartonella henselae. For no particular reason, this disease is more likely to occur in the fall and winter when compared to summer. In America, about 20,000 cases are diagnosed annually. Majority of these cases are seen in children, as they are more likely to play with stray cats than adults.

The bacterium in the cats is spread via fleas. However, there is no evidence that the fleas transmit the disease to the humans directly. The bacteria stay in the saliva of the cat without harming the cat in anyway. Experts believe that all cats are infected with these bacteria once at least once in their lifetime.

The cat scratch disease is not contagious and is only transmitted by cats and kittens when ther saliva comes in contact with broken skin or the eye. Also, one episode of the cat scratch disease makes people immune to the disease for the rest of their lives.

Symptoms and Signs

For information about vet secrets look here

Within a couple of weeks after the victim is scratched, bit or licked a few lymph nodes close to the area of the inoculation lesion swell and become tender. The swollen lymph nodes are usually seen in the underarm or the neck areas. However, if the victim is bit on the legs, then swelling may occur in the lymph nodes present in the groin.

Usually within a couple of weeks of a scratch or bite, a few lymph nodes close to the area of the inoculation lesion become tender and in some cases swell up (Lymph nodes are part of the immune system and are also known as glands). The swelling may range for half inch to about two inches in diameter and can also be surrounded by a general swelling under the skin. The skin over the swollen lymph nodes may turn red and can also drain pus.

Swollen lymph nodes are the main symptoms in both children and adults although in some cases the swelling may be accompanied with a mild fever usually referred to as the cat scratch fever. The fever is also accompanied with fatigue, loss of appetite, headache, sore throat and an overall felling of not being well.

If the infection is not treated in time, then the infection may spread to the liver, spleen and bones along with a lingering high fever. Some people also develop an eye infection wherein the symptoms are sores on the conjunctiva, redness of the eye and swollen lymph nodes in front of the ear. In very rare cases, victims have also developed inflammation of the brain or seizures. However, if the treatment for car scratch disease is started even at this stage, then complete recovery is usually expected.

Diagnosis

The doctors usually try to trace the exposure of the patient to a cat to diagnose cat scratch disease. Swollen lymph nodes along with a cat scratch or bite usually help the doctor identify the disease. However, the doctors may use laboratory tests in some cases to identify the disease. The tests include:

• Various skin and blood tests along with cultures to rule out any other cause for swollen lymph nodes.
• A routine blood test that for cat scratch disease.
• Microscopic examination of the swollen lymph node. These examinations can shows signs of the cat scratch disease.

Treatment

Antibiotics are usually recommended for cat scratch disease. In some cases, the swollen lymph nodes become very large and painful. In such cases a doctor will have to remove the fluid using a syringe. However, if the swelling is not very big, then warm and moist compress on the lymph nodes relieves the soreness. Some over the counter prescription drugs may also be used.

If you identify you family cat as the vector of the disease, do not worry that you will have to get rid of the cat. Cat scratch fever is a relatively rare disease and teaching your child not to play rough with the cat, which might result in scratch and bites, is usually a sufficient preventive measure. Also, keep your house clean and  your pet cat free from fleas reduce the probability of your cat contracting the bacteria in the first place. A little precaution will go a long way.

By Anju Shandilya

There are a couple of articles here about cat scratch fever and if you check out previous posts you’ll find some advice about declawing your cat

Ani Trone : Cat Scratch Fever
Cat Scratch Fever. So last week I brought Saku in for the night and he sunk his claw in my neck, the next morning I noticed a small pea like bump behind my right ear…didn’t think anything of it until later in the day

Richardson Zoo: Pet Hair is a Condiment Here
The doctor noticed that he had a couple of infected cat scratches on his hand, so he thinks that he maybe has Cat Scratch Fever

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