Anyone work at a vets, or with cats?

[tabulahrasa]

What would you expect to see on a cat to tell an owner that their cat has a really bad dose of fleas?

I'm treating and spraying and hoovering the house, obviously, but I'm a bit confused.

Neither cat's been itchy, I can't see fleas, or dirt on the cat that was at the vets - and she's a light coloured Siamese, so I thought it would be more, well, obvious?

After ten minutes of combing there was maybe 3 tiny tiny black specks, but they didn't go red and smear when I wet them.

She must have caught them off the other cat because the other one is the one that goes out - I tried to comb her and checked the paler fur (she's a tabby) on her belly and again - I'm seeing nothing...

What would you see on a cat to say she had bad fleas? (infested was used at one point) They were fairly critical - which I understood given what I was being told about the extent of them, I was more surprised than anything as I'd noticed nothing.

I still can't see anything, I've never had a cat with fleas, but I know what dogs with fleas look like - is it that different that I'm missing them and the dirt somehow?

[RedwingS]

If they are pale coloured, you can usually see the flea dirt at the base of their fur. For darker cats, stand them on something pale (like a tissue), comb them with a flea comb, and then examine the tissue for flea dirt.

If you've treated the cat, then the treatment is working, and that's why you aren't finding any, surely? Who says the cat is infested?

Cats do remove fleas very well when they are grooming so you wouldn't necessarily expect to see any actual fleas, which is why you look for the dirt.

(Having said that, sometimes stray kittens brought to the shelter where I volunteer are literally jumping with fleas).

[tabulahrasa]

I've treated today after being told she had fleas I meant...


It was the veterinary nurse, my cat has a blood test every 12 weeks - which was today, she was taken through to have blood taken and when she was brought back, the usually friendly nurse was very critical of the amount of fleas she said my cat has - I was just surprised as she spends most of her time actually on me, lol and I hadn't seen any signs at all and didn't really ask much, just bought advantage, a comb and some spray.

So I was expecting to see something really obvious, I'm a bit worried that if I can't see anything how can I tell when they're gone?

[SummerRain]

I had a cat which kept getting fleas... Trust me, it's hard not to notice in a cat that gets rubbed and cuddled a lot.

They're quite big (compared to what I expected anyway) and they leave s lot of grit even if you don't see the fleas themselves. The cat will usually be noticeably scratching too.

Tbh, it doesn't sound like your cat has fleas

[RedwingS]

If you have treated her then I wouldn't worry about it any more. If your other cat goes outside then even if this one stays indoors, you will still need to treat her for fleas same as your outdoors cat (in case the other cat brings a flea in). If your vacuum is the sort with a bag then you'll want to change the bag, as fleas can hatch out inside the vacuum and reinfect the house. But otherwise it sounds like you've done all you need to do.

Fleas are annoying buggers, aren't they, but sadly very common, especially at this time of year.

[tabulahrasa]

Don't get me wrong I wasn't surprised she could have fleas, the other cat goes off into fields chasing god knows what, lol, I just was surprised i hadn't seen anything.

I expected it to be more how SummerRain described it.

shrugs in a slightly puzzled way

Suppose I'd better go back to cleaning and hoovering, oh the joys of pet ownership, lol