Paws and Claws

Fleas can make your pets miserable

by Cindy Anderson, DVM

Common symptoms of fleas—on dogs and cats—include excessive scratching, licking, or biting at the skin. Photo credit: Michael Oxendine at unsplash.com

Fleas are a nuisance. These tiny, blood-sucking parasites can irritate your pets and infest your home — often before you realize they’ve moved in. Many pets are allergic to flea bites, which can cause intense scratching, red and flaky skin, scabs, hot spots and hair loss. Fleas also can cause tapeworms and anemia.

Fleas can live for as few as 13 days or as long as 12 months. During that time, fleas can produce millions of offspring. Though there are many species of fleas, the one that most often affects both dogs and cats in North America is the cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis.

Symptoms of fleas on dogs

A couple of fleas on your dog can morph into many more. Fleas are most noticed on a dog’s abdomen, the base of the tail and the head.

Common symptoms of fleas on dogs include: droppings or “flea dirt” in a dog’s coat (small dark “grains of sand”); flea eggs (tiny, white grains); allergic dermatitis; excessive scratching, licking or biting at skin; hair loss; scabs and hot spots; pale gums; and tapeworms.

Symptoms of fleas on cats

If you see your cat scratching often and persistently, invest in a fine-toothed comb and run it through the fur, paying special attention to the neck and the base of the tail. If you see small, fast-moving brown shapes about the size of a pinhead in the fur, your cat has fleas.

Other symptoms of fleas include: droppings of “flea dirt” in a cat’s fur (small dark “grains of sand”); flea eggs (tiny, white grains); itchy, irritated skin; persistent scratching; chewing and licking; hair loss; tapeworms; and pale lips and gums.

Causes of fleas

• Fleas are easily brought in from the outdoors.
• Fleas thrive in warm, humid climates at temperatures of 65 to 80 degrees.
• Adult fleas spend most of their lives on the animal, laying eggs in the fur.
• These eggs drop out onto rugs, upholstery, bedding and furniture; the new adult fleas will, in turn, find their living host (either human or animal).

Flea complications

• Fleas can consume 15 times their own body weight in blood, which can cause anemia or a significant amount of blood loss over time.
• This is especially problematic in young puppies or kittens, where an inadequate number of red blood cells can be life-threatening.
• Some pets have a heightened sensitivity to the saliva of fleas, which can cause an allergic reaction known as flea allergy dermatitis.

If you need assistance with a pet flea issue, please contact us at Lakelands Trail Veterinary Clinic, 4525 S. M 52, Stockbridge, MI 49285, 517-655-5551.

Cindy Anderson, DVM

Cindy Anderson, DVM, is a graduate of MSU Veterinary College (1992) and has practiced veterinary medicine for over 28 years.