Check out the itch spots

Written by Dr.Laxmi Iyer 
Fleas. No! They are not lice, nor ticks. Ctenocephalides felis...That's how they were named. For our convenience, we call them fleas. The dog fleas are rightly called Ctenocephalides canis. Fleas are those quick on their feet, clever little creatures that you can see, but never catch. They move in nano second time...quick as ever.

These pesky little creatures merrily romp all over your pet's fur and before you can catch a single one, they are all gone...hiding in the jungle of your pet's fur. The more long haired your pet, the more difficult to trace and eliminate fleas. Sometimes, it may be a long while before you realize that your pets have fleas. Then, when you do, the flea population in your home has already reached epidemic levels. That's because fleas breed fast. 

In flea bite infestations your cat's skin often feels bumpy all over. If you observe closely, you will see that in several places there are small raised red patches covered with crusts. Your vet will call this feline miliary dermatitis. 

Flea infestation can be dangerous for your cat's health. Besides causing a severe allergic reaction on the skin and damaging the skin, fleas can also transmit tapeworms and filarial infections. If you stroke your cat's back against the direction of the fur, you may see little specks of black stuck to your pet's skin. Those are the tell tale signs of flea infestation. 

The places where you can see them; most of these crusty, small red bumps and the black dots are the abdomen, neck and the back end of your cat's back and the base of the tail. Your cat may or may not feel very itchy even with a lot of fleas playing hop, skip and jump all over. This is especially true if the flea infestation has been there for some time. 

Once you recognise that one of your pets has fleas, after taking your pet to the vet, the next most important thing that you need to do is to keep your pet quarantined. Fleas eggs do not stick to the fur unlike lice eggs.

Flea eggs fall all over the fur. When your pet moves around...hundreds of eggs may find a new place to grow... on carpets, bedding and upholstery. In no time, you may find a flea colony happily breeding in your home....under carpets, on cushion covers and even on your mattresses - if you don't watch out.

Both flea eggs and larvae are nearly invisible. It takes only three weeks for eggs to mature to adults. Warm, sunny places make ideal conditions for fleas to breed. Often, flea infestations happen when you are away on that long holiday and you've left your pets behind in the boarding place. Of course, this need not be, but many times, because boarding places have large numbers of cats and dogs staying together, it may happen that a few adventurous fleas land on your pet's back.

More important, you need to remember besides causing a severe allergic reaction on your pet's skin and fur, fleas can also transmit tapeworm infections and filariasis in pets.