CAT FLEAS - merged

mrsmortenharket

She has lice. I am mortified

I am forever grooming her etc etc.

I feel so terrible & quite ashamed.

Poor Boots

Hope the Frontline comes soon.

Lisa

sandy2_2

Well, never heard of cat having lice. Is it unusual for animals, can humans catch them from the cat or the other way round

Glad you're sorting them out
just googled cat lice and found this
Cat Parasites - Lice


Lice are fairly uncommon in cats, but cats that are in poor condition, or extremely young or old can be susceptible.
Lice are species specific, so cat lice generally do not spread to humans, dog lice generally do not spread to cats etc. Cat lice can be seen fairly easily with the naked eye, as can their eggs or nits. There are three types of lice that can affect cats, two of these bite the other is blood sucking.
The tell tale signs of these cat parasites are scratching, although not necessarily excessive scratching, and a drying of the skin showing an increase in scurf or dandruff. The eggs of the louse are laid directly on the hair, close to the skin, and adhere tightly.

Lice are vulnerable to many of the same products that eradicate cat fleas. It may be necessary to cut away any matted hair from your cat's coat and to continue to use parasiticide treatments for several weeks to completely get rid of the lice. When you have treated your cat you need to make sure that all brushes, combs and your cat's bedding are disinfected.
also this link
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=1&cat=1358&articleid=751

mrsmortenharket

I read that too when I googled! She isn't in poor condition. She is only 11 months old though.

They look like lice though....

She has escaped so need to get her in & groom her again

Lisa

~Chameleon~

They sound like harvest mites to me, and Frontline should clear them no problem

susieb

I think they could be harvest mites, but they are quite small.

lazza_w

HI. I am a vet who, whilst bored, was flicking through and cam accross your thread.
From what you are describing I would be suspicious of ticks.
Try googling ixodes ricinus for pictures.

They are small insects, the females of which jump onto your pet. Once they find some soft skin they will attach and bite on. The female will the feed fro several days, the abdomen getting more engorged until they finally detach to lay their egg.

They can carry some diseases - in theUK Lymes disease is the main significant problem but, as long as they are killed/removed within 24h of attachment this should not be a problem. Other, more serious diesases occur but rarely.

Frontline (ideally the spray, although drops will work as well) should be applied. If any ticks are attaeched do not try to pull them off, as you will often leave the head parts in, leading to sores. The Frontline should kill them and they should then fall off. If not a tick remover can be bought to remove them safely. There are other products that are also effective, but Frontline is the most common to use.

Ticks natural hosts are sheep and deer, so they are not uncommon to pick up in woodland.

To prevent re-infestation you can use Frontline spray monthly.

If you are still not sure what they are go see your vet.

lazza_w

PS make sure they don't attach to you either! They are not adverse to having a nibble on people:D

Cerenia

And its not pleasant if a tick attaches to you - one attached itself to the back of my brother's neck - ended up swelling into a growth full of blood that would seep, and a doctor missed it first time around!

ashleyrossuk

I had a smilar problem with my bunny rabbit last summer (sadly now has passed away)

He had orange litlle bug things on his back, he was otherwise healthy. I took him to the vets and i was told was he had "berry bugs" which we eventually found out came of our rose bush.

we had to give him two baths with special shampoo, which he did not appricate?

sandy2_2

They're also called harvest mites
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvest_mite