Cat Care – Fleas and Ticks
One of the most common discoveries when grooming your cat is an infestation of fleas or the presence of a tick. Though no-one wants to find these things on their beloved pet, they are both easy to deal with and should become part of your pet grooming routine.
Fleas
As you run your cat brush through your cat’s fur you may notice some flea dirt on the skin, or patches where your pet has made herself bleed by scratching. Often you won’t see the fleas themselves (they are a red/brown colour and 1.5 – 3mm in length) and so it is important that you look for these other signs. As they can live for up to 12 months and lay millions of eggs it is of the utmost importance that you get rid of them.
The best modern flea killers are spot on products, which are usually applied to the back of the neck, between the shoulder blades. Don’t forget to also vacuum your whole house thoroughly and spray an insecticide as only 5% of fleas live on the cat itself!
Remember, when you have dealt with the fleas that you should also get your cat wormed as fleas are carriers of tape worms.
Ticks
There are many old wives tails associated with removing ticks, such as holding a lighted match to it, covering it with Vaseline and twisting the tick as you remove it. All of these procedures are more likely to cause the tick to inject more disease spreading saliva into the animal than anything else.
Use a specialist tick remover, which can be bought from any good pet store, to grasp the tick as close to your cat’s skin as possible. Pull the tick out in one straight movement and then put some anti-bacterial cream on the wound to kill off any bacteria that has been left over.
If you are unsure of any aspect of pet care then make sure that you use a good pet grooming guide for advice on how to proceed.
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