fleas or lice

im not sure if this is where i should post this but i have to ask. I have a kitten who is gray and white. Every once in a while (maybe once every three days) i see what looks like a small grain of rice crawling on his belly or on his back leg and when i try to pull it off of him it crawls away and i cant find it. To me it looks like a tan color. Is it possible that it is lice? I really dont think it is a flea due to the color. If it were to be lice would there just be one or two. I have checked all thru his fur and i cant see anything. What could this be??? I consulted the vet but they said lice in cats is very rare..i looked on the internet and it said the same thing...it is rare (one vet said he has seen one case in his 25 years of being a vet). What should i do. and if it were lice do you think there would be more than one or two crawling on him.

I've never heard of it... but now you've made me itchy!

I'd imagine a dose of Revolution would take care anything on him. If he's a very young kitten you could use a 1/3rd or 1/2 dose - or ask your vet to apply it. Like with fleas, keep the treatment up for a few months just in case.

Treat the home like you would for fleas and for lice. There'll be plenty of information for how to do the latter online. For starters, everywhere he's slept that can be washed needs to be washed in hot water.

I think it's fleas. I just had a alley cat that we gave shelter to that had fleas that looked like that. They were fast little buggers when i would try to catch them. We treated him with frontline.

Are you sure it's not tapeworm? Tapeworm can sometimes be seen crawling on the cat and they look like a grain of rice although they are white. Do these little things look like worms or bugs?
It could very well be fleas too. Fleas do come in tan, actually most fleas on cats are tan. It can be very hard to see any actual fleas on the cat unless it's a bad infestation. Usually you're lucky if you see one as they are experts at hiding and very fast.
The best way to check for fleas is to take a flea comb and look for flea dirt. Flea dirt (actually droppings from the flea) looks like little black specks of dirt. You can check if it is in fact flea dirt or something else by doing what I call the wet tissue test. You take a paper towel or some other tissue paper and put enough water on it to make it damp. I usually wet it and squeeze the excess water out. Then you put the little black specks on the paper and wait for a few minutes. If it is flea dirt the little specks will bleed out and look like small drops of blood. If the kitty only has a very mild flea infestation you may have to go over him all over with the flea comb in order to find the flea dirt and you have to make sure that you comb close to the skin. The best places to look is the neck area and the area by the base of the tail.

It never hurts to treat your cat for fleas with one of the monthly topicals you can get at your vet to be on the safe side. Do not use anything over the counter that they sell at the store. The only kinds I will use on my cats are Frontline, Advantage and Revolution. Revolution also treats for a number of other parasites so if you can get it I would recommend that.

Good luck with your kitty.

Thank you for the replies. I jumped the gun so to speak...they are fleas. I have treated all my animals with frontline. Wow...a grand total of 51.00 for the two kitties and the one doggie. Oh now i cant wait till the fleas are gone. I dont see an infestation just a flea or two right now. Is that all i have to do is the frontline. Both kitties are all over my furniture and even in my bed and of course they lay on the rugs. Please any suggestions will help me get rid of these things will be greatly appreciated

Look up De Flea ... it is a Natural pesticide spray that is IMHO much safer than most flea and tick powders or sprays for your furniture , bedding, etc.

Diatomacous earth is another natural one for carpets and nooks and crannys .... Get FOOD grade only not the pool grade ...

a cut up flea collar in your vacum bag will also help...

You likely will need to retreat for a few months to ensure you are rid of them