THE DEVILISH CAT FLEA — Image: MERSEYPEST – Pest Control Liverpool

Because cat fleas are such a predominant feline health issue, there might be a tendency among cat guardians to presume that their cat has fleas when they start scratching themselves because their skin is itchy. The advice is to stop, think and check for the reason for itchiness because (a) flea treatments are insecticides, which are poisonous, nasty chemicals that can harm cats especially if e.g. dog treatments are used on cats – potentially fatal and (a) there are many other causes of itchiness in cats requiring entirely different and sometimes safer treatments.

I would rather a veterinarian explain the other causes of itchiness in cats but, as it happens, I have a page on cat skin problems and a long list of alternative reasons for itchy skin in cats. PLEASE CLICK ON THIS LINK TO SEE THE LIST (it opens a new tab or page).

I’d like to take this opportunity to present some more links to pages on cat flea treatments. This is a very important topic because sometimes, regrettably, cat guardians are not guardians but careless owners and they use the wrong flea treatment or the treatment that they have used is unsafe despite being commercially available.

HERE ARE SOME MORE PAGES ON FLEA TREATMENTS – THIS IS JUST A SAMPLE. THERE ARE MANY MORE. PLEASE USE THE CUSTOM SEARCH OR CLICK ON THE TAGS BELOW THESE LINKS.

Can cats get fleas in the winter?

Yes, cats can quite definitely get fleas in the winter and I have first hand experience of it. My cat ...
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Are flea collars safe for kittens?

Flea collars are not safe for kittens unless you talk to a good veterinarian first and even then I'd consider ...
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Cat and dog flea treatments harm river life

Companion animal flea treatment pesticides, fipronil and imidacloprid, are ending up in rivers where they harm marine wildlife and insects ...
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Fipronil in Frontline Spot On flea treatment only 48% effective

A study published on 5 October this year tells us that 62% of cats treated with fipronil were "still found ...
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Killing cat fleas by drowning and using soap

There is a lot of talk on the Internet about killing cat fleas by drowning and using soap. I'd like ...
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Do cat fleas live on dogs?

Yes, the short answer is that cat fleas do live on dogs. Their principal host is the domestic cat but ...
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Cat and Dog Flea Treatments Are Polluting Rivers

Imidacloprid a neonicotinoid insecticide used in some cat flea treatments such as Advantage II pollutes streams and rivers where it ...
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Should I shave my cat to get rid of fleas?

To the question in the title the answer is a resounding No despite the understandable urge to get rid of ...
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