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Fleas And Ticks On Your Cat, Dog Or Ferret
- By Christina Harvey
- Published 04/17/2006
- Pet Health
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Fleas And Ticks On Your Cat, Dog Or Ferret
Fleas are the most important external parasites of pets in the United States. In northern climates they are especially troublesome from July through October. In the southern half of this Country or in pets kept in a heated environment they are a problem all year long. Fleas are one of the most common reasons pets are brought to my animal hospital. Often, owners have no idea that fleas are the root of their pets problems. Ear infections, personality changes, anemia, tapeworms and hair loss are a few of the problems traceable to fleas.
Fleabites are not in themselves painful or itchy. It is the saliva that the fleas secrete to maintain the pets blood flow that causes irritation and itching -pruritis. This itching varies from pet to pet and is directly related to the number of fleas that are present on your pet. Fleabites leave a small, firm reddish pimple at the site of the bite. For reasons that I did not know, fleas tend to congregate on the rump and dorsal base of a pets tail. A biologist who read this article, W. Baker, suggests that this is because at this location the pet has problems destroying them and because it is close to a source of moisture - their anus. Another common place to find fleas is surrounding the neck. Rather than look for the fleas themselves, I often look for tell-tail pepper-like granules on the pets skin. This material is the pets blood that has passed through the digestive system of the flea. If you are uncertain if this material is flea dirt or just dirt, wet one of these granules on a white paper towel or facial tissue with a drop of water. If the granule bleeds; that is if the rust color spreads over the paper then fleas are present on your pet. Fleas jump on and off pets so none may be present when you make your exam. If one pet in your family has fleas, then they all do. No pets are immune to fleas. I have found the common cat flea on dogs, cats, rabbits, squirrels, ferrets, raccoons and opossums as well as lions and tigers. When they jump onto a human being, they usually jump off relatively quickly.
Fleabites are not in themselves painful or itchy. It is the saliva that the fleas secrete to maintain the pets blood flow that causes irritation and itching -pruritis. This itching varies from pet to pet and is directly related to the number of fleas that are present on your pet. Fleabites leave a small, firm reddish pimple at the site of the bite. For reasons that I did not know, fleas tend to congregate on the rump and dorsal base of a pets tail. A biologist who read this article, W. Baker, suggests that this is because at this location the pet has problems destroying them and because it is close to a source of moisture - their anus. Another common place to find fleas is surrounding the neck. Rather than look for the fleas themselves, I often look for tell-tail pepper-like granules on the pets skin. This material is the pets blood that has passed through the digestive system of the flea. If you are uncertain if this material is flea dirt or just dirt, wet one of these granules on a white paper towel or facial tissue with a drop of water. If the granule bleeds; that is if the rust color spreads over the paper then fleas are present on your pet. Fleas jump on and off pets so none may be present when you make your exam. If one pet in your family has fleas, then they all do. No pets are immune to fleas. I have found the common cat flea on dogs, cats, rabbits, squirrels, ferrets, raccoons and opossums as well as lions and tigers. When they jump onto a human being, they usually jump off relatively quickly.
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Article Series
This article is part 2 of a 2 part series. Other articles in this series are shown below:
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Fleas And Ticks On Your Cat, Dog Or Ferret
Comments
Comment #1 (Posted by Noelle)
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Very thorough article; however, it should also include alternative methods to get rid of fleas, which can stressful on the dog's immune system. Although time-consuming, the flea comb and vasoline works wonders on those pesky critters!
