Bug on Cat?

[catintime]

Can someone tell me if this is a flea or if this is cat lice? The bugs have been feasting on my cats and I noticed today because one of my cats has white fur and I saw a black bug crawling on her. I finally caught one of them but it didn't seem interested in me, which is weird because I thought fleas liked mammals in general. That's why I thought it might be cat-specific? How do I get rid of whatever bug this is? (Whether it's fleas, lice, or something else) Do I fumigate and then clean the cats? Or do I clean my cats and then have the place fumigated????

 

[Willowy]

Yep, that's a flea! Go talk to your vet about what meds to get, that's really the best way to do it. No point wasting money on stuff that won't work.

 

[Caspers Human]

It looks like a flea.

Cat fleas do not live on humans because we don't have enough hair for them to hide in but they can bite humans if there isn't a sufficient food source for them to feed on, otherwise.

Get your cat de-fleaed. You can give your cat a flea bath or you can send her to a groomer.
Once that is done, apply an appropriate anti-flea product. If you don't know any good anti-flea meds, ask your vet for advice.

When you have done that, it's time to go about getting the fleas out of the rest of your house.
Vacuum the heck out of all your carpets, upholstery, bedding and drapes, multiple times. Empty the vacuum cleaner frequently, putting the contents OUTSIDE in the trash. Don't just toss the dirt into your kitchen garbage can. OUTSIDE it goes! If you don't do this, any fleas that you have vacuumed up can just crawl out of the trash can and go back where they came from.

Wash all your bedding, sheets, slip covers or removable cloth items in good, hot water with soap. Use bleach on anything that can be bleached. Wash, twice, anything that can't be bleached.

Next, get an indoor anti-flea product for your carpets and upholstered furniture. Again, the choice is up to your and, if you don't know, your vet might have advice or, at least, can tell you where to ask for advice.

Some people use diatomaceous earth for flea control but its effectiveness is limited. Yes, it works but it's not an insecticide in the traditional way we think of insecticides. Diatomaceous earth is, essentially, super-duper finely ground sand. (Not exactly but, for our purposes, that explanation is good enough.)

Diatomaceous earth gets down, into the fibers of the carpet where bugs crawl and acts like sandpaper. When a bug rubs against it, it abrades the waxy coating that covers their bodies. When that coating is breached, there is nothing to prevent the water in the flea's body from evaporating and escaping, thus killing the flea by dehydration.

Diatomaceous earth does not work overnight. It takes days and weeks to work. Consider it "maintenance."

Sprinkle a SMALL amount of diatomaceous earth on your carpet, brush it in then lightly vacuum so that you get a thin, even coating all the way down to the base fabric. Vacuum frequently and reapply diatomaceous earth regularly.

Caveat: Diatomaceous earth WILL clog your vacuum cleaner! Use SPARINGLY! Empty your vacuum cleaner every time you use it and throw the contents in the outside trash. If you use too much diatomaceous earth or don't empty your vacuum every time, you can easily clog it up and trash it.

Once you have gotten this far, it's maintenance time.
Keep your house scrupulously clean. Vacuum frequently. (Daily.)
Keep your cats up to date on their flea medicines and, while you are at it, take them to the vet for regular checkups.
Fleas can carry diseases like tapeworms and Bartonellosis.
(AKA: "Cat Scratch Fever" ... It's not just a song by Ted Nugent! )

I know this sounds like a lot of work but, if you want to get rid of fleas, you have to do it.

When I was a kid, a family relative had a dog that got fleas so bad the whole house was infested.
Whenever you walked on the carpet, you could see fleas jumping under your feet and, every time you sat on the sofa, you got flea bites. It took months, probably a whole year, to get rid of the fleas in that house!

Catch your problem, now, and you won't have to go through all the trouble that my aunt and uncle did!

 

[Mietze1960]

It looks like a flea.

Cat fleas do not live on humans because we don't have enough hair for them to hide in but they can bite humans if there isn't a sufficient food source for them to feed on, otherwise.

Get your cat de-fleaed. You can give your cat a flea bath or you can send her to a groomer.
Once that is done, apply an appropriate anti-flea product. If you don't know any good anti-flea meds, ask your vet for advice.

When you have done that, it's time to go about getting the fleas out of the rest of your house.
Vacuum the heck out of all your carpets, upholstery, bedding and drapes, multiple times. Empty the vacuum cleaner frequently, putting the contents OUTSIDE in the trash. Don't just toss the dirt into your kitchen garbage can. OUTSIDE it goes! If you don't do this, any fleas that you have vacuumed up can just crawl out of the trash can and go back where they came from.

Wash all your bedding, sheets, slip covers or removable cloth items in good, hot water with soap. Use bleach on anything that can be bleached. Wash, twice, anything that can't be bleached.

Next, get an indoor anti-flea product for your carpets and upholstered furniture. Again, the choice is up to your and, if you don't know, your vet might have advice or, at least, can tell you where to ask for advice.

Some people use diatomaceous earth for flea control but its effectiveness is limited. Yes, it works but it's not an insecticide in the traditional way we think of insecticides. Diatomaceous earth is, essentially, super-duper finely ground sand. (Not exactly but, for our purposes, that explanation is good enough.)

Diatomaceous earth gets down, into the fibers of the carpet where bugs crawl and acts like sandpaper. When a bug rubs against it, it abrades the waxy coating that covers their bodies. When that coating is breached, there is nothing to prevent the water in the flea's body from evaporating and escaping, thus killing the flea by dehydration.

Diatomaceous earth does not work overnight. It takes days and weeks to work. Consider it "maintenance."

Sprinkle a SMALL amount of diatomaceous earth on your carpet, brush it in then lightly vacuum so that you get a thin, even coating all the way down to the base fabric. Vacuum frequently and reapply diatomaceous earth regularly.

Caveat: Diatomaceous earth WILL clog your vacuum cleaner! Use SPARINGLY! Empty your vacuum cleaner every time you use it and throw the contents in the outside trash. If you use too much diatomaceous earth or don't empty your vacuum every time, you can easily clog it up and trash it.

Once you have gotten this far, it's maintenance time.
Keep your house scrupulously clean. Vacuum frequently. (Daily.)
Keep your cats up to date on their flea medicines and, while you are at it, take them to the vet for regular checkups.
Fleas can carry diseases like tapeworms and Bartonellosis.
(AKA: "Cat Scratch Fever" ... It's not just a song by Ted Nugent! )

I know this sounds like a lot of work but, if you want to get rid of fleas, you have to do it.

When I was a kid, a family relative had a dog that got fleas so bad the whole house was infested.
Whenever you walked on the carpet, you could see fleas jumping under your feet and, every time you sat on the sofa, you got flea bites. It took months, probably a whole year, to get rid of the fleas in that house!

Catch your problem, now, and you won't have to go through all the trouble that my aunt and uncle did!

Thank you very much for this most informative advice. I will keep it as reference.

 

[Caspers Human]

You're welcome!

I didn't mean to over explain but, since you mentioned getting your house fumigated, I wanted to tell you how to get rid of fleas without having to fumigate. Fumigating is time consuming, expensive and an icky, PITA.

I don't think your problem rises to that level but, as they say, "A stitch in time..."