Am I getting flea bites or bed bug bites?

..Cat isnt scratching. Is it possible for him to have fleas and not itch? beacuse I cant find any bed bugs to blame!

But I do have quite a few bites, and they (at first) looked like bed bug bites, but the thing is it's such a horrific
struggle to fight a bed bug infestation, I want to at least see ONE darn bed bug before I launch into all THAT work!

A flea problem would be SO much less a disaster to have to go through.

So...can my cat have fleas and not be scratching? And does anyone have a similar experience, or tips to offer?

Because my bed and couch have not a sign of bugs, but I get bitten daily by an unseen enemy! I considered scabies,
but that's been ruled out. I considered hives, but I don't know. I saw a doctor and he said it looks like bed bug bites to him.
But..I want to SEE an actual bed bug first, and there aren't any!!!

I mean it's SOOOO much work to steam the whole house and wash everything twice...I want to be sure it's what I've got. And I just don't see the signs to support the doctors guess.

I'm going to buy a flea comb and check the cat for fleas. But does anyone have a similar experience with needing to ID such an issue correctly?
Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

You can always try with some garlic, for example such garlic capsules, so you dont smell around very much.

Garlic helps somewhat against biting insects and bugs.

Observe, be sure the cat dont get the garlic into him - garlic in bigger amount is highly poisonous for cats.  (in trace amount it seems to be harmless)

StefanZ said:

You can always try with some garlic, for example such garlic capsules, so you dont smell around very much.

Garlic helps somewhat against biting insects and bugs.

Observe, be sure the cat dont get the garlic into him - garlic in bigger amount is highly poisonous for cats.  (in trace amount it seems to be harmless)

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I've heard that, yes. Fleas wont bite people who use garlic. They don't like the taste.
(I didn't know it could be a problem for the cat though, thank you for the tip. It means everything to me to keep him safe).

I think I should have stated my question better here, but I guess when you dont know exactly what it is you're asking about, that can be difficult.

What happened is I became convinced there was a bedbug in my bed, so I threw out all my bedding and steamed the mattress. And that seemed to work, and would be the right thing to do IF indeed it really was just ONE bedbug that had only just hitchhiked a ride home with you. That's how it starts.

But while I got a great night's sleep on my new bedding, the first night, from there on- uh oh.. I thought at first it was just residual skin irritation from the 10 or 12 times the little so & so bit me and drank my blood as I slept. But as days went by I also kept finding an occasional bump that seemed to be A NEW BITE.

But they didn't look like the bed bug bites. They were different. So I started googling and my next thought became SCABIES (mites that are so small you cant see them and they burrow under your top layer of skin and it's icky to even think about them) But the solution for scabies is easy (cream from the doctor, or witch hazel and tea tree oil). But I ruled scabies out. And then I thought hives? but it doesnt seem likely. And now I'm investigating is it fleas? CAN a cat have fleas without showing the signs (scratching a lot!)?

Well, I've gotta get to the store and buy a flea comb and make a visual inspection, of course.

But other than using a box of Revolution on him, to eliminate HIS flea infestation, what do I do to clear the HOUSE of fleas? (if that's the issue)

For bed bugs, if you have a cat and don't want a profit-minded pest control company putting poison all over, the thing you can do is buy a HEPA vacuum that uses bags, and a steam cleaner (I just got one for $130-ish, a McCulloch. It was recommended.) Of course you'll need to watch youtubes all day and find out how to use these right, because if not used correctly, you wont manage to eliminate anything (other than money and time and energy!), but it can be done. It's just an ENORMOUS task to have to take on! And it'll cost money.

But it can be done without the use of poisons, which is the point.

So what about flea infestations? How do you rid your home of those, without chemicals that may harm your pet?

I know I ask a lot, and talk enough to make it hard to know what I'm even asking. But if someone could just point in the right direction,
I would so much appreciate that. I don't mind doing the work googling and studying. I just don't know what I'm looking for!!

But..if it could be fleas, it'd help to know what I gotta pay for to rid the house of them safely. I dont have carpets. I'm not going to spread powder about.
What about the steam cleaner? Can I kill off fleas with heat like that? Or do I HAVE TO spread something around and if so what do i use that wont hurt my cat?

Ah, see, there it is again! --> Every once in a while I feel something moving on my lower leg, but I look, and I know I looked soon enough, but there isn't anything there to see!! I've HAD fleas before. If I had fleas now I WOULD SEE THEM!!! And the same goes for bed bugs. I just dont know whats attacking me!! I think it's a dirty CITY thing and me and Captain Meow should go live in a tent if we have to, just to be able to live in the country again, because YUCK!!! Oh man. And I dont even know what it is. And I dont know HOW to know.

So I thought of you guys, because it'd be SO nice if all I had to do was treat Captain Meow for simple fleas and have my life back!!
But I dont know if it's even possible for him to have fleas and not be scratching. He isnt scratching. And more and more I begin to think,
no, it isn't fleas either. But maybe..I dont know. Does anyone here know?

HAS ANYONE had a similar struggle with identifying a problem like this?

Get a flea comb, run it through his fur, especially places like the base of the tail, in his armpits, under his ears, etc. Somewhere he doesn't lick too often. If there are fleas you'll come up with some flea dirt. And maybe a flea if you're lucky, but usually only flea dirt.

Willowy said:

Get a flea comb, run it through his fur, especially places like the base of the tail, in his armpits, under his ears, etc. Somewhere he doesn't lick too often. If there are fleas you'll come up with some flea dirt. And maybe a flea if you're lucky, but usually only flea dirt.

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Oh bless you. Thank you. Yea I'm getting a comb in the morning. I appreciate the tips on how to use it. (I dont usually worry about fleas because he's an indoors cat, but..now it seems necessary)