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                                                 Fleas

Ok, so no-one wants to admit that their cat has fleas but they do pick them up! They are virtually everywhere, waiting in carpets, on other animals and wall-cracks. As soon as your cat walks by, they are eager to hop on, start feeding and laying their eggs. The eggs fall off, hatch and the viscous circle starts again. In severe cases a flea invested cat can get anaemic. It can also develop a flea allergy caused by the saliva of the flea. This can be very itchy and makes your cat very uncomfortable. The cat might start to plug out its fur and develop sore patches and dermatitis. Fleas are also known to spread tapeworms.

Prevention is better than cure, so make sure that you get the right product for the problem.

Some products prevent flea eggs from hatching. You treat your cat once a month with a liquid given with food. It doesn't kill present fleas on your cat but stops them from spreading in your home.

Sprays and spot-on drops are available to actually kill the fleas living on your cat. This is very effective and you use them once a month to keep the problem under control. When you have a housecat, it is usually enough to treat the cat with a spot-on product or spray until the fleas are gone and keep the cat on a preventive product which stops the eggs from hatching. If you have other animals like dogs in the house, who might bring in fleas from outside, you may consider to use the spot-on method on a regular basis though.

You can also use special flea collars on your cat which repel fleas to a certain extent. If you are using this method, check the cats' neck regularly as some cats can develop an allergic reactions to the substance in flea collars.

Regular vacuum-cleaning can help a great deal in flea prevention and you should also wash and treat the bedding of your cat on a regular basis. there are sprays available which are specially made for the home environment but never use these products on your cat!