Get Rid of Fleas on Cats In 3 Easy Steps.
Get Rid of Fleas on Cats In 3 Easy Steps.
Cats typically don’t show signs that they have fleas unless they’re having an allergic reaction to the fleas saliva. How can you get rid of the fleas on your cat if you don’t recognize the problem? The following are a few signs that your cat has fleas.
- Loss of fur
- Irritated red skin, also called hot spot
- Black dirt left behind where they’ve been sleeping
If your cat is chewing and scratching their skin a lot, they’re most likely having an allergic reaction to the fleas saliva. This is transferred when the flea bites your cat.
Fleas are very deadly to a cat if they are left untreated. Due to the size of cats, it doesn’t take very much time for them to become flea infested. Fleas can cause your cat to become lethargic, signs of this would be:
- No energy
- Loss of interest in food and water
Fleas may also cause your cat to become anemic. This means that your cat’s red blood cells are depleted and not regenerating fast enough. Fleas eat blood, so if your cat has fleas, they can show signs of anemia rapidly. Signs of your cat being anemic are:
- Shortness of breath
- Rapid heart beat
- Very low energy level
An adult female flea eats 15x’s her body weight in blood, with each feeding. Although this doesn’t seem like a lot, it is. Especially when you figure that your cat has much more than one flea on his/her body. This can become life threatening to your cat in a very short time and possibly lead to the death of your cat if not treated immediately!
Follow The Steps Below to Get Rid of Fleas on Your Cat:
1. Bathe your cat with a flea shampoo for cats. I know giving a cat a bath is not very easy due to their fear of water, but the end result is worth the hassle! If your cats skin is noticeably irritated, use a flea shampoo with oatmeal, this will help soothe his/her skin, along with killing the fleas.
Fill a sink or tub with enough warm water to completely submerge your cat, leaving only their head above the water. Squeeze a good amount of shampoo onto your cats coat, starting at the neck, right behind their ears. Go right down the spine of your cat, stopping at the base of the tail.
Starting behind the ears, gently but firmly rub the shampoo into a thick lather, being sure that you’re getting right down to the skin. Continue doing this until your cats entire body, back, neck, belly, tail and feet, have been lathered.
If you see your cat is turning red, don’t panic, the flea droppings are blood. When dry on your cats skin they are black, but when water is added they turn to the color of blood.
Next put your cat back in the water, with only the head sticking out. Massage the shampoo out of your cat’s coat, being sure to rub completely to the skin.
You may see fleas coming out around your cats face. Using your wet hand, push the flea down into the water. You are drowning the fleas, so they are going to be trying to get on a dry surface.
Continue rubbing your cats coat, while in the water, for approximately 10 minutes.
2. Next take your cat out of the water and wrap them in a towel. Rub their body dry, you don’t want them to catch a chill.
Now you’ll need to brush your cat with a flea comb, or any fine tooth comb. Starting right behind the ears, comb in one stroke to the base of the tail. Be sure to rinse your flea comb in a bowl of water after every comb stroke.
You are removing any more fleas and flea debris that may still be on your cat. Continue with this until your cat has been thoroughly combed. It’s not very difficult to get rid of fleas on your cats, it will take you some time. When the process is finished it is very well worth it for both of you!
3. Now your ready for a topical flea medication for your cat. Apply this to your cats dry coat, following the instructions on the package. If any fleas bite your cat again, they will die from the medication. Most topical flea medications last 1 month, I would recommend reapplying every month to keep your cat protected.
You Have Completed All The Steps to Make Your Cat Flea Free!
Now you should follow the steps on home flea removal. Here you will find the necessary steps to cleaning your cats toys and bedding.
Please feel free to leave any questions or comments below 🙂
13 thoughts on “Get Rid Of Fleas On Cats”
Hi
we had cat and house treated for fleas and I’m wondering if it’s necessary to treat the outside of the house as well?
Hello Minogue, I would treat the outside if the fleas continue to come back. If your pet and inside of your home has been treated and you aren’t seeing any fleas on your pets after a few weeks then you’re probably fine. Just be sure to continue treating your pet on a regular basis, according to the treatment you chose and that should ensure that the fleas stay off your pet when they go outside.
If you decide to treat the outside of your home, I highly recommend Wondercide for outdoor areas. This is all natural and will keep the fleas and ticks away from your pets and out of your home.
Best of luck and thank you for visiting 🙂
Kimberly
I have a momma cat that goes both indoors and out, but the kitten is 8 wks old and is an indoor cat only. Momma is treated with the monthly oil, but my question is, will fleas outside jump on her long enough to come in the house then get on the kitten?
Hello Carol, yes, it is possible for the Mamma cat to bring fleas into the home even if she is treated with a monthly flea medicine. You can use the Wondercideon the areas that the kitten are to kill anything that may fall off their mamma, eggs, larvae or adult fleas. If you see fleas on the kittens you can spray the Wondercide on your hands and rub it to the skin of the kittens.
Best of luck and please let me know if I can help you with anything else 🙂
Kimberly
Hi, i have done all steps above however the fleas are still there and are bothering her. She is my first cat only about 12 weeks old, and im very worried about her and I am itchy as well. She usually sleeps on my bed but I have closed my door tonight and i feel so mean but I am uncomfortably itchy! I cant afford vet fees either ? Please help
Hi there Leigh, being that your kitten is so young, make sure that she is eating and drinking! She could become lethargic very quickly if she is infested with fleas. You should use Wondercideit’s all natural and safe for kittens. It’s available through Amazon Here Just spray it either on your hands and rub it right down to her skin or spray on her and comb or brush it down to the skin.
You will also need to spray any areas of your home where she likes to sleep or relax, including carpets, furniture, mattresses, etc. Wash all of your bedding in the hottest water and dry in the highest setting of your dryer. As you see more fleas, and you will, just spray those areas to kill them.
You should see a big difference within 24 hours with the fleas on your kitten. Be sure to vacuum daily to suck up any fleas and eggs that may still be lurking in your home.
Best of luck, and please let me know if I can help you any further 🙂
Kimberly
Hi,
how long does it take for fleas to completely go away? we’ve been treating for 2 months already. first moth with frontline (didn’t do that much) then with advantage II. Visually, i don’t see fleas on the cat anymore, but if i brush him long enough, i’ll find one or two. we sprayed the house, cat is treated, but they are still there! and what bothers me, is the fact that they bite my human family.
how long should it be before they are all gone? and is this normal???
Hello Marina,
You can use Wondercide on your can along with any of the topical treatments you’ve used on your cat. This will kill the fleas on your cat and is chemical free. I would spray it on areas that you notice people are being bitten, including furniture, carpets and bedding. You will notice fleas gone very quickly, if you see them just spray it there and the fleas will be dead.
Best of luck and please let me know if I can help you any further 🙂
Kimberly
Using revolution on a stray cat. Applied the 1st dose over 24 hours ago. After giving the cat a bath and after being combed, 1 flea was found but was lethargic and then died. Also found 2 dead ticks on the cat and properly removed them. Have kitty confined to the kitchen because that’s the room with no carpet. Kitty is still scratching and biting at herself every once in awhile. When given a bath there were black specks in the water but no red. So that a live flea was found 24 hours after revolution application worries me. Should I be concerned? She has a vet appt December 1st about a week from now for shots etc. How long should I continue to keep her confined?
Hello Jennifer, I’m sorry about your stray that didn’t make it. It sounds like your doing all the right things, since you just used the revolution on your kitty 24 hours ago, I would give it a few days to work completely. Taking your cat to the vet is a great idea to just have her checked for any other problems.
If you haven’t already, I would wash everything in your home that the cats had access to before treating them with the flea med. Wash your blankets, kitty bedding, throw rugs, etc., in water as hot as you can and dry them on the highest heat setting. This should kill flea eggs and the other life cycles of the flea.
After everything is washed and vacuumed, your kitty should be fine to go through the home without any problems. If there are fleas still in your home, they’ll bite and die, this could be why she’s still scratching.
You should also thoroughly vacuum your floors and furniture and throw the bag out or wash the inside of the canister of your vacuum if it’s bagless.
If you found black specks on your kitty’s fur when giving her a bath, it could just be dirt. Usually if it’s flea droppings it will turn a reddish brown color when water hits it.
Just keep an eye out for any lethargic behavior with your kitty and if you notice any, call your vet immediately to bring him in. It doesn’t take long at all for your cat to get very sick when their not eating or drinking.
All in all you are doing everything you can so Im sure she’ll be just fine.
Best of luck and please let me know if I can help you any further 🙂
Kimberly
Hi, my cat is about 2 years old and we have done everything possible to get rid of the fleas but there’s still some left and she has a lot of bites around her neck. We’re talking 30-40 bites.
Would washing her every week work or does it need to be daily?
I want the wounds to heal and I’m worried that it’ll get worse if I bathe her too much and open the wounds
I don’t want my kitty to die because of this.
Kind regards -JJ
Hello JJ, you can wash her every week but it also depends on what your using to wash her with. If you’re using a flea killing shampoo for cats on her, I would check with my vet to see what effects the chemicals in the shampoo can have on her, not to mention that it may just cause the open wounds around her neck to get worse and infected.
To be honest I would call my vet anyway just because if she is still getting that many bites then there is a lot of fleas most likely getting to her which can cause more problems like causing her to become lethargic making it more difficult for her to heal because she’s not healthy enough.
If you haven’t treated your home for fleas, you may want to read how to at Home Flea Removal. You will need to wash all the areas that she goes on, bedding, throw carpets, pillows, etc., that can be washed. Wash in the hottest water that you can and then dry on the highest heat setting to kill the fleas and it’s life stages.
For areas of your home that can’t be washed, flooring, carpets, furniture, etc., you can spray them down with Wondercide. This is an all natural very effective flea spray that is safe for pets of all ages.
The Wondercide is also safe to spray directly on your kitty even if she has a chemical flea treatment being used. Just follow the directions on the bottle to safely treat her for the fleas. This product will also moisturize her skin to help relieve her irritated skin and helping it to heal.
Again, I would definitely get a hold of your vet and let them know what’s going on with her! The fleas can kill a cat very fast compared to an adult dog, literally in just a few days if the fleas aren’t dying off and continue to bite her.
Best of luck, and please let me know if I can help you any further 🙂
Happy Holidays,
Kimberly
Hi Jon, Wow.. You have yourself a very large kitty lol. I don’t have much experience with a cat that large but if he’ll let you put a flea and tick treatment on him I’d recommend doing that. I’d use Frontline Plus for cats, you can get it from Amazon or your local pet store.
Best of luck and let me know if I can help you any further 🙂
Kimberly