Question:
A very basic question: How do I know when my cat has fleas if I do not actually see one crawling on her?
R.S., Houston, TX Sep 05, 2011
Answer:
The best test is to check for flea droppings on your cat using a fine flea comb. Fleas make poop that is like tiny flecks of shiny, black-brown coal dust in the fur of cats infested with fleas. The flecks turn brownish-red when you flea-comb or brush them off the cat onto a piece of white paper and add a drop of water. It's dried, flea-digested cat blood.
The simplest controls are to flea-comb your cat every day, especially if the cat gets outdoors. (One reason to make cats enjoy life indoors and never want or need to go outside, like my two formerly feral cats, is so they won't keep picking up fleas, and worse, outdoors.) If you trap a flea in the comb, dunk it in a bowl of sudsy water.
Vacuum carpets, all floor surfaces and all furniture where the cat sits and lies every three to five days to gather up flea larvae and hatchling fleas. Sprinkle these areas with Fleabusters borate powder
. Put down clean sheets on the furniture for the cats to lie on.
Trap fleas with a low-wattage light suspended over a pan of sudsy water placed on the floor where there is the most cat traffic. Fleas are attracted to the warmth. This flea trap is very good when folks are away on vacation or getting ready to move into a new home.
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