Flea Infestations in Winter: What Cats Owners Need to Know

No flea life stage can stay in chilly climate under 30°F for greater than 5 days, which ends up in the widespread false impression that your cat can’t get fleas through the winter¹. Whereas your cat has much less of an opportunity of getting fleas through the winter, it’s actually not not possible.

The issue is that every one it takes is one flea, and in case your cat is close to one other cat whereas they’re outdoors, the fleas can simply bounce over. Fleas choose a sure temperature and humidity degree to thrive. Whereas they might decelerate their life cycle through the winter once they’re outdoors, they continue to be lively indoors all through the whole yr.

If an grownup flea bites your cat, it would actually trigger them a level of itching and discomfort. Nevertheless, along with this, fleas can transmit illnesses to your cat². Fleas can carry tapeworm larvae and completely different micro organism similar to Bartonella, Rickettsia, and Wolbachia.

Fleas and the Winter

Whereas most individuals solely take into consideration their cat getting fleas through the hotter months, it’s nonetheless potential for them to get fleas in winter! That’s as a result of though fleas decelerate their life cycle through the winter months, they don’t die.

And in case your cat has fleas, they’ll doubtless grow to be lively when your cat is indoors since fleas love these temperatures! So, even whereas fleas will not be as prolific when they’re outdoors, if there are fleas inside your property, they’ll stay lively year-round.

How Do You Know If Your Cat Has Fleas?

As a result of cats are fastidious groomers and fleas are extraordinarily good at hiding, typically it may be fairly difficult to determine in case your cat has fleas. Typically one of many first indicators you’ll see in case your cat is coping with a flea infestation is an uptick in how a lot they scratch themselves.

Flea bites depart behind onerous, purple spots that you simply may be capable of spot. From there, you need to use a flea comb to attempt to decide up any flea grime or, much less doubtless, any of the particular fleas to substantiate the infestation.

Lastly, whereas fleas are notoriously tough to identify and transfer shortly, typically you’ll be able to bodily see them as you pet your cat or transfer their hair round a bit. In case you see fleas operating round in your cat, it’s a clearcut signal of an infestation, and there are doubtless many extra you want to fear about.

High 4 Ideas for Getting Rid of Fleas

In case your cat has fleas, you wish to eliminate them, and quick. However to try this you want to know what you’re doing. That’s why we highlighted precisely what you want to do to get all of the fleas off your cat as shortly as potential.

1. Clear EVERYTHING

Fleas bounce, crawl, and love to hang around in tons of various locations. Due to this, you want to clear the entire home, not solely the place your cat hangs out. This implies washing bedding, blankets, and couch covers, in addition to completely vacuuming and sweeping flooring, carpeted areas, and alongside the perimeters of partitions. In case you miss just a few areas and there’s a flea hanging on the market, that’s all it’ll take to restart the infestation.

2. Deal with Your Cat

There are just a few completely different flea remedy choices on the market, and we advocate speaking to your vet about one of the best one to your cat.

In case your cat enjoys baths, you can begin by giving them a flea tub. It is a tub utilizing a shampoo that actively fights and kills grownup fleas. Comply with the instructions on the shampoo and provides it loads of time to soak in and discover and kill all of the fleas earlier than washing it off.

Subsequent, use a product that may kill all 4 flea life phases (egg, larva, pupa, and grownup). You possibly can select a topical flea treatment that you simply apply on to their fur, a collar, or a pill. It’s necessary to comply with the directions rigorously. For instance, some topical remedies have to be utilized a few days earlier than or after the tub to keep away from washing off.

When you have multiple furry good friend at house however you solely discover fleas on one in all them, that doesn’t imply they’re the one ones getting bitten. You should deal with all of your pets; in any other case, the infestation will persist.

3. Deal with Your Home

In addition to cleansing, washing, and vacuuming your property, it’s possible you’ll want to make use of a particular house flea spray. The spray stops the event of flea eggs and larvae and kills grownup fleas in these hard-to-reach areas, similar to cracks within the flooring, skirting boards, and furnishings.

Use a flea spray in each room after vacuuming, and take the time to do that effectively. Ensure you learn rigorously and comply with the directions on the packaging about dosage and frequency and preserve your pet and household away whereas it really works.

4. Hold Up With Prevention

In case you’re always treating grownup fleas however by no means making an attempt to stop them, you’re going to finish up preventing a endless battle. You must deal with for grownup fleas to kill the present ones, however you additionally want to make use of preventative flea (and tick) management to maintain them from coming again. Merchandise with insect improvement inhibitors could also be used to assist stop immature fleas from maturing or reproducing.

Ultimate Ideas

Whereas fleas choose heat temperatures, it’s actually potential for a cat to get fleas all year round. Furthermore, fleas usually are not simply pesky parasites that may make you and your cat itch; additionally they transmit illnesses. So take all the essential steps and precautions to maintain your cat from getting fleas. All it takes is one flea to show into an infestation that may be extraordinarily difficult to eliminate!

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