What are fleas and how do they spread?
Fleas are ecoparasites: tiny insects that live on your pets skin and in the home. They are a common problem for cats and dogs and occasionally affect rabbits too. Fleas can make your pet uncomfortable and unwell – they cause skin problems due to excess itching or because of allergies in sensitive pets.
Where a pet is heavily infested, fleas can make them seriously ill, with conditions such as:
- Bacterial infection due to tearing or damaging the skin from scratching
- Anaemia in young, old or unwell animals due to the fleas feeding on your pet’s blood.
Fleas are a problem all year round but especially during the warmer months; and as it’s much easier to avoid an infestation than treat one, we recommend using a preventive treatment regularly. Our vets and nurses can talk you a monthly programme that is tailored to your pet.
Fleas have several different stages in their lifecycle from eggs to adult. Most fleas feed on your pet, but lay eggs in your home. They’re hard to spot, so you might not know your pet has fleas until they start getting itchy skin (or you start getting bitten!). Fleas can jump from pet to pet too, which is why if one gets fleas, it’s important to treat all the pets they’re in contact with as well as your home.
Some stages of the flea lifecycle can lay dormant in the environment for up to a year. Because of this, a common cause for a pet getting fleas is when people move into empty houses. The central heating and vibrations ‘wake up’ the flea eggs or pupae in the carpets. Always treat new homes with a flea spray before moving in. Our team at The Pet Vet can advise which products are the best to use and how regularly you need to use them.
How to prevent fleas
- Treat all the pets in your home regularly with a suitable flea treatment
- Regularly wash your pet's bedding
- Use a household flea spray regularly
Top tip: Pets with fleas can also develop certain types of worms. Fleas can contain worm eggs and when pets groom and swallow fleas, the eggs can develop into worms in your pet’s gut. That is why the service provided at The Pet Vet is a combined flea and worm preventive treatment. Flea and worm treatments are widely available, but only prescription medications from a veterinary surgery include a preventive treatment for lungworm; this is because it is a licensed active ingredient which cannot be sold elsewhere. Our veterinary surgeons will discuss with you the best worming and ectoparasitic treatments.
Warning! Never use a flea treatment for dogs on your cat – this can be fatal. Many flea treatments for dogs contain permethrin. This chemical can be fatal to cats. Make sure you use a flea treatment specifically for cats and check all household flea sprays for permethrin before you use them around your cat.
Signs your pet has fleas - and how to treat them
If your pet has fleas, but is not infested, they may show no signs of allergy or discomfort; and they can be well-hidden, so you are more likely to see ‘flea dirt’ – small, dark flecks which is the fleas poo – on their fur and skin.
Top tip: Brushing their coat with a flea comb, especially around their lower back, onto a wet piece of cotton wool, can show up flea dirt, which you can tell apart from ordinary dirt becaue it will turn red as the blood in the flea poo dissolves into the water in the cotton wool.
If your pet has an allergy to fleas or has a lot of fleas biting them, they’re likely to:
- Be itching, chewing or licking more than normal
- Have red and inflamed skin
If one of your pets does get fleas:
- Make an appointment with us for advice and treatment.
- Treat all pets in your household to make sure fleas don’t pass from one pet to another.
- Vacuum your home to get rid of any fleas in your furniture and carpets.
- Treat your home with a household flea spray to kill fleas and flea eggs. If you have cats, make sure this spray doesn’t contain permethrin as this chemical is toxic to cats.
Preventing worms
Worms can be very unpleasant for you and your pet but, luckily, they’re preventable. Regular worming treatment will help to protect your pet from worms.
There are five common types of intestinal worms in dogs: roundworm, tapeworm, lungworm, whipworm and hookworm.
Because worms in dogs can be passed to other animals and their human friends, you should take extra care to prevent them from growing in your dog’s intestines. Prevention of parasites is far better than having to cure the problem, so we recommend you administer a monthly flea and worm treatment. Flea and worm treatments are widely available, but only prescription medications from a veterinary surgery include a preventive treatment for lungworm; this is because it is a licensed active ingredient which cannot be sold elsewhere. Our veterinary surgeon will discuss with you the best worming and ectoparasitic treatments for your pet.
The problem with worms
Worms are parasites that live inside the body. There are many different types of worm that can affect pets, but the most common are roundworms and tapeworms, which affect dogs and cats (and people!). Lungworm is also a growing problem for pets around the UK:
Roundworms: young animals can be born with roundworms and get them from their mother’s milk. Whilst adults can simply pick them up when they are out and about. In puppies and kittens, a mild infestation of roundworms can cause a pot-belly, poor growth and occasional diarrhoea. A more severe infestation can cause a nutrient deficiency or a life-threatening blockage of the intestines. In adult dogs and cats, severe roundworms can cause poor coat condition, vomiting and diarrhoea. Sometimes, you might notice entire live worms in your pet’s sick or poo.
Tapeworms: adult tapeworms also live in the small intestine. They shed segments which are passed in poo. These look a bit like grains of rice and can sometimes be seen around the tail and the area around your pet’s bottom. Pets with tapeworms might also excessively lick or groom their rear end. Some tapeworms can be passed on to your pet by fleas, so good flea control is an important part of preventing these worms.
Lungworms: lungworm is a potentially fatal parasite carried by slugs and snails. Dogs can become infected through eating slugs or snails, or by eating contaminated grass from snail trails. Lungworm can make dogs seriously unwell and, although they can recover from them with the right treatment, it's best to prevent them from getting infected. Cats can also get lungworm through ingesting infected birds, frogs, rodents or by drinking contaminated water. Lungworm is more common in certain parts of the UK so speak to our vets about preventive treatment.
Worms are a risk to humans too!
It’s not just a pet’s health that can be affected by worms; they can pose a real health risk to humans too. Some worms and other parasites can be passed onto humans from cats and dogs. They can prove particularly dangerous for children and pregnant women, causing blindness and birth defects.
The dog roundworm, Toxocara canis, can be especially dangerous for humans. Their eggs are found in dog poo and can contaminate objects and surfaces. For example, flies that feed on dog poo can spread the eggs. If a person gets the eggs on their hands and then touches their mouth, the roundworm can get into their gut. Children are most at risk from dog roundworm, especially if they have a family dog or play in parks where dogs have been. The larvae, which develop inside the person, can cause blindness. Toxocara eggs can remain infectious in the ground for many years.
How to stop your pet getting worms
You can’t stop your pet picking up worms completely, but you can reduce the risk and prevent them causing problems by:
- picking up your dog’s poo and disposing of cat litter daily – and thoroughly washing your hands afterwards.
- worming them regularly - our vets will be able to advise what is best for your pet.
What to do if your pet has worms
Signs that your dog may have worms include:
- Diarrhoea
- Weight loss
- Change in appetite
- Vomiting
- Itchy bottom
Additional signs of lungworm include:
- Changes in behaviour such as low energy
- Breathing problems, coughing, tiring easily or fainting..
- Bleeding problems such as bruising easily, blood blisters on the gums, pale gums or nose bleeds.
There are many different treatments for worms and our vets will be able to advise which wormers are best for your pet and how often to give them, based on their age, lifestyle, weight and symptoms.