Fleas on Cats
Fleas on Cats
There is no doubt that cats make fantastic pets – easy to care for, affectionate and a calming influence, our feline friends are among the most popular animals kept as domestic pets across the world. They come, however, with a problem – not unique to them by any means –that any cat owner past or present will testify to: fleas.
It is estimated that every single domestic cat – and, it must be said, dog – will succumb to an infestation of fleas at some point, and it is likely that the problem will recur many times. The reason is simple – fleas are ubiquitous, they are absolutely everywhere, they are very resilient, hard to find and spread quickly and easily.
Fleas on cats are generally of a specific type known – unsurprisingly – as cat fleas; these are distinct from dog fleas which make up the majority of cases of fleas on dogs, but it must be remembered that each can survive on the alternative host quite comfortably.
Fleas on humans are a distinct species entirely and while we are frequently bitten by fleas that live on our pets these parasites will not live on our bodies for long.
If your cat is one that goes outdoors and roams its territory then it is guaranteed to contract fleas at some point; many cats that also roam around will have them, and the flea – although it cannot fly – jumps extremely long distances in order to move from host to host, laying its eggs and breeding at will and, thus, creating new and rapidly expanding colonies as it does. Rest assured, if you have a cat it will get fleas – it is inevitable and also very annoying.
Getting rid of fleas involves a lot of patience and the use of either one of the common insecticide treatments available over the counter or a natural home remedy, of which there are many available for perusal on the internet; flea collars are not as effective as many of the insecticide treatments and should be considered only as a second line of attack.
Despite the fact that the majority of flea infestations cause no problem other than the incessant itching, that they suck blood for food means they can be a cause of anaemia, especially in very young cats, and for this reason fleas on cats rank as something that should be treated very quickly indeed. Keep an eye out for uncharacteristic scratching and you know your cat is in need of treatment.
How to get rid of mites
How to get rid of mites
There are many types of skin mites that affect both us and our pets during our lifetimes, and these resilient and annoying parasites often prove very difficult to get rid of. Indeed, how to get rid of mites is a discussion that often enters into controversial territory, given that the various methods may involve the use of dangerous chemicals.
First, a brief description of what mites are: skin mites are tiny – often practically invisible – creatures of the arachnid family that choose to live on our skin and feed off our blood. In the case of the common scabies mite – otherwise known as the itch mite and found on cats, dogs and humans – it burrows under the upper layer of the skin and lays its eggs, while the ear mite – commonly found as mites and dogs and one of the mites cats have to endure regularly – likes to live in the ear canal, but is also found elsewhere.
There are other types of mites – house dust mites and harvest mites – that are equally annoying, yet the house dust mite does not live on our skin but in bedding and soft furnishing; how to get rid of mites of this type is to rid the house of carpets and as much in the way of soft furnishings as you can, although eliminating them completely is considered impossible.
Scabies mites, and other types, are often treated with insecticide lotions and creams, and this is where the controversy arises; permethrin, the insecticide used in common itch mite treatments, is a powerful insecticide that is synthetically made and may have minor side effects – skin irritation and so on – while Lindane, the second of the common insecticides, is banned in many countries and should be used with great caution and, if unsure, not at all. For cats and dogs there are similar treatments, yet you must check with a qualified professional before use as some may not be suitable for certain animals.
Washing with tea tree oil shampoo – an essential oil drawn from the leaves of the Australian tea tree plant and known to have medicinal properties of some sort – is a popular natural remedy, and shampooing regularly, plus keeping the house and furnishings clean and well vacuumed, is also a step towards ridding yourself of the mites.
Whatever you do, it is essential that sufficient treatment is commenced quickly as leaving the mites to spread can cause greater problems in quite a short time.
Mites pictures
Mites pictures
There is a family of creatures that have been a pest to both us and to animals – domestic and otherwise – since time immemorial, and they continue to be so even today, in the days of advanced technology and 21st century living; these are parasites known as mites, and they – members of the arachnid family like spiders – live on our skin, or the skin of our pet dogs and cats, and can cause untold problems if left unchallenged.
Thanks to modern photography methods, and the advances in computer technology in recent years, we have the ability to look at mites pictures on a variety of websites, and in books, in glorious magnified detail and with astonishing accuracy; whereas, 100 years ago, the only knowledge we had of any of these skin mites would come thanks to a fine artist drawing a detailed illustration using a microscope and his or her copious talent, these days an electron microscope can take a fantastic picture of one of these quite fascinating and minute creatures, magnify it several thousand times and present it to us for our perusal.
Mites pictures are no made in the name of art but in that of science, for being able to examine these microscopic creatures in greater detail than ever before; mites on dogs are examined both in their habitat and otherwise and the greatest sufferers of mites cats are helped to live more comfortable lives as we learn more about ear mites, scabies mites, Demodectic mites and all other members of this annoying selection of tiny pests with which we share our daily lives.
Indeed, some mites are so prevalent and tiny that it is considered impossible to eradicate them completely – the house dust mite being a prime example – and the subject of how to get rid of mites has become a topic much discussed by experts in the field.
Thanks to mites pictures we have been able to build up a definite picture of the life cycle of these tiny bugs, to understand how they breed and where and what they eat and how, and to uncover many unsavoury secrets about our minuscule companions, and most of all to understand better how and why certain remedies work while others have no effect whatsoever.
Mites pictures have become the cornerstone of all research – run an internet search for the term now and have a look at some quite stunning images – and have proved their worth beyond all doubt.
