Flea Treatment

Flea Treatment

Keeping your cat free of fleas is very important. 

1.       To keep your cat healthy and comfortable.

2.       To keep you healthy and comfortable!

The cat flea have the potential to breed inside your house within 12 days, each female flea can lay several hundred eggs per week starting 24-48 hours after her first blood feed from your cat. Use flea treatment and flea drops regularly to ensure cat fleas do not return.

I usually have my cats vaccinated against fleas when I visit the vet for their annual check and vaccinations. The flea vaccination lasts 6 months. The other 6 months I use Frontal spot on every month.  Buy online as it can be cheaper than your vet. I buy from Vet UK

Gone are the days of covering kitty in flea powder. Spot on is very easy to use:
Apply Frontline for Cats by holding the pipette upright, tap to ensure contents are within the main body of the pipette, snap back the snap-off top  and squeeze to empty the frontline liquid preferably in more than one spot between the shoulder blades onto parted fur. Avoid excessive wetting of the fur as this will cause a transient sticky appearance of hairs at the treatment spot.
Always apply the frontline where your cat cannot lick off and to make sure that animals do not lick each other after treatment. Always allow the Frontline to dry before petting your cat and children should not be allowed to play with treated animals until the application site is dry.

Worming Treatment

Worming your cat

If your cat has ever had flea or hunts. They will become infected with tapeworms. Regular worming is a very important step for the health of your cat and your family.  

I use the two products below. 

Drontal worming tablets for Cats and Dogs are still the only wormer to protect against every type of intestinal worm normally found in cats in the U.K. Drontal for Cat tablets dose up to 4Kg bodyweight so if you have a larger cat use Drontal for Cats XL. Treat every four months. Buying online (I find vetuk very good) is usually a lot cheaper than buying from your vets. The alternative products that you can buy from the supermarket are not usually of sufficient strength.

How to give a tablet;

Most people find it hard to give a cat a pill.  Making sure that the cat has swallowed the pill is the important thing. I find after administering the pill, if you cover the cat’s nose with your hand and rub their throat until they swallow.

I have put a couple of links to some good tutorials.

Cat Rescue link

You Tube link

If you want a pill popper:

Pill Popper link

Drontal spot  is very easy to use but is for tapeworms only. Treat every three to four months.

Larry the Downing Street Cat

 Poor old Larry!

Larry the Downing Street Cat 'disliked by the Cameron family'

- Downing Street moved to dismiss suggestions in Matthew d'Ancona's In It Together that the cat was unloved. Photo: Sean Dempsey/PA Archive/Press Association Images
Number 10 has denied claims that Larry the Downing Street cat is disliked by the Cameron family.
Following allegations in a new book that the rescue pet was little more than a public relations prop, a "savelarry" hashtag quickly took off on Twitter.

David Cameron looks on as David Letterman holds up a picture of Larry the cat sitting on red carpet outside the Prime Minister's home. Credit: Stefan Rousseau/PA Archive/Press Association Images

Downing Street moved to dismiss suggestions in Matthew d'Ancona's In It Together that the cat was unloved.

Totally untrue. He is very popular with everyone in the building and we all get on purr-fectly well.

– Number 10 spokesmanLarry was re-homed at Number 10 on February 15 2011 by animal charity Battersea Dogs And Cats Home.
But the cat's initially lackadaisical approach to his mousing duties led to speculation that his days at No 10 could be numbered.

Larry the Downing Street sits with British bunting to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Credit: Ki Price/PA Archive/Press Association Images

In August last year Downing Street confirmed the six-year-old feline had finally recorded a kill.

Larry the Downing Street cat sits by a toy outside 10 Downing Street. Credit: Steve Parsons/PA Archive/Press Association Images

Cats and Worms

Worms The most common intestinal worms that cats get are called roundworms and tapeworms. Most infected cats do not show signs of having worms but heavy cases of worms can cause weight loss, vomiting and diarrhoea, irritation around the anus and failure to thrive. Some worms can also be passed on to humans and on rare occasions can be a cause of serious human disease. For these reasons, regular treatment of cats and kittens to prevent or eliminate worms is very important. Routine  treatment for worms is recommended throughout a cat’s life.

Roundworms Intestinal roundworms are the most common intestinal parasites in cats and occur in cats of all ages throughout the world. The two common roundworms of cats are called, Toxocara cati and Toxascaris leonina. Eggs from these worms are passed in the faeces and can remain viable in the environment for several years. These eggs can infect cats in two ways. First, a cat may eat eggs directly from a contaminated environment (by eating an infected cat’s food for instance).  Secondly, if your cat hunts, always presume they do, and their prey has eaten  worm eggs  (eg, a mouse or rat) these act as ‘intermediate hosts’ and pass on the infection to your cat when it eats the prey.

Hookworms are a type of small intestinal roundworm found in most countries throughout the world. These worms can cause damage to the lining of the intestine where they attach to the surface, and this may result in weight loss, bleeding and anaemia. Common cat hookworms include Ancylostoma tubaeforme, and Uncinaria stenocephala, but other species occur in some countries.

Tapeworms are generally long flat worms composed of many segments. Mature segments containing eggs are released from the end of the tapeworm and are passed in the faeces. These segments often resemble grains of rice and can sometimes be seen on the hair around the anus of the cat, in the faeces and on the cat's bed.

To complete their life-cycle, all tapeworms require an intermediate host to first eat the eggs from the environment, and then the cat will become infected by eating the  host. Animals that act as intermediate hosts vary depending on the species of tapeworm Dipylidium caninum is transmitted to cats by fleas. The immature fleas larvae ingest the eggs of the worm, but infection is then passed on to a cat when it swallows an infected flea during grooming. It should be assumed that any cat infected with fleas also has Dipylidium caninum (and vice versa).

Taenia taeniaeformis is passed on to when they eat small rodents (rats and mice), the rodents having eaten eggs from the environment. This infection occurs very commonly in cats that hunt

Worming your cat

Roundworms are extremely common in kittens, and as kittens can be infected from the mother’s milk it should be assumed that all kittens are infected and worming should be started at a young age. Common recommendations are to:

Treat kittens for roundworms every 2 weeks from 3 weeks of age until 8 weeks of age, then monthly to 6 months of age. Treat  cats over 6 months old every 1-3 months.

Tapeworms are only usually a problem in older cats, unless a kitten also has fleas. Adult cats (greater than 6 months of age) should be treated every 1-3 months with a product that is effective against both tapeworms and roundworms. A product active against tapeworms should also be used in kittens that have flea infestations.

Cat's Fleas and Ticks

Cat Flea 1–2 mm long

Fleas and Ticks

For every single flea living on your cat, there could be 99 more developing in your carpeted, centrally-heated home, however clean it is! Outdoor cats may also come in with other unwelcome passengers such as ticks.

Fleas are extremely common, and are also the most common reason for a cat to develop a skin problem. The most common flea to be found on cats is the cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis), but rabbit and hedgehog fleas can also cause an infestation. Flea bites are itchy for all cats and can lead some to develop allergies (flea-allergic dermatitis), whilst the parasites also act as intermediate hosts for certain tapeworms. Also, a heavy infestation can cause anaemia in kittens, which is potentially life-threatening. Remember, fleas bite humans too!

What are fleas?

Fleas are the most common external parasites of cats.Adult fleas can live for 7-14 days and will divide their time between living on your cat to feed and returning to carpets, flooring, bedding and upholstery to lay eggs. Females lay a large amount of eggs every day, they hatch into tiny larvae that burrow into carpets, upholstery and often the cat’s bed. They then develop into pupae, remaining dormant for many months. When they sense warmth and vibration, the adult fleas emerge and jump onto a passing host - your cat - to start the life cycle again. Fleas can also potentially transmit diseases, including certain blood parasites.

How do I spot fleas?

Often owners think their cat cannot have fleas as they haven’t seen them. This is because cats are so good at grooming and removing fleas and flea dirt that there may be no evidence of fleas, apart from the itching and scabbed areas. The most obvious sign is persistent scratching. However some cats will not scratch but rather over-groom themselves, sometimes leaving bald patches. Cats with flea allergies are itchy, over-groom and may have scabs and red, sore areas. Fleas are dark brown and 1mm or 2mm long. You may find them or see them in the carpet, or you may notice tiny black specks of flea dirt (flea faeces) in your cat's coat during combing. High humidity and temperatures make late summer the peak season for fleas, but central heating in winter means you need to de-flea throughout the year. For fleas, our warm homes make it summer all year long!

-

Cat Letters - One

Twinkie a Burmese kitten

Darling Piccalo

How are you settling in to your new home? You must have been

there for over three weeks now.  I arrived here on Saturday.

I was really nervous and missed all of my siblings. I kept making loud mewing sounds. I spent

the first afternoon wrapped around my new Mums neck like a scarf.

You should try it. The humanoids bought me a fancy radiator bed but I

 prefer my own choice in these matters. I have a bed in a prime position.

On the dining chair with a neat burgundy cushion.  Much more suitable for a

classy cat like me. 

Mew Mew Twinkie. 

Picalo a Moggie Kitten

Dearest Twinkie

I have settled in very well and things are very comfortable here.

I have got the place as I like it in this short time. I am very good at curtain climbing 

but the curtains seem to be booby trapped with water jets.  Have found a great

new game though, I bite the human’s ankles until I am pushed off but never a coward, I simply jump back on for more teeth sinking.  Eventually I got bored!

I have found a great sleeping place under the bloke’s bed, smells great!  I was inspired by your

impression of a fur collar so straddled my human’s neck for the afternoon (they are so

easily pleased aren't they)?

Purrs, Picalo.