How To Get Rid Of Fleas

If you own a pet you will have fleas in the house from time to time. In some cases you may become infested with fleas. We have had as many as four cats at our house and we have been infested with fleas a few times. We only have two cats now so it is not as bad, but we still have to use the process I am about to tell you about.

You really don't have any control if your pet goes out of your yard, but you will need to spray your own yard about two times during the summer months with a good flea insecticide. If you kill all the fleas in your house with out killing the little pest in the yard you will continue to have a problem inside.

One of the main reasons a house will become infested with fleas is, after you vaccum your house and put the vaccum away, every flea that was in the vaccum bag will crawl right back out of the vaccum cleaner and into the house and start multiplying.

The way to stop this is to take the bag out, spray some flea insecticide in the bag and tape the hole of the bag up. Then spray the insecticide around the house. If you will repeat this process every two or three days for two weeks you will not be infested with fleas any more.

You can resume your normal schedule of vaccuming after you clear up the infestation, but you will still need to tape the vaccum bag up just in case you pet brings a couple of fleas in from outside.

About The Author
Clint Pollard is the webmaster of http://ncave.com/sites/germanshepherd.html.

How To Fight Fleas

The natural way:

• Vacuum your home frequently and seal vacuum bags before disposing.

• Wash the bedding of your dog weekly in warm soapy water. This is where fleas usually breed.

• Bathing your pet weekly with a mild dog shampoo prevents flea invasion.

• Use cedar shampoo for your dog, and put cedar oil in their sleeping mats. Cedar will repel fleas and other insects.

• Fleas are attracted to dry skin, so to avoid it, give your dog Linatone oil mixed with its food. Excessive shampooing should be avoided.

• A mixture of brewer's yeast and garlic, available in powder or tablet form can be given in small doses to your pet. This creates a certain odor in pets, and fleas are surely to avoid them.

• Fresh or dried pennyroyal leaves is a natural flea repellent. Use this in carpets to avoid the abundance of fleas in the home. Do not use it if you have small children around, as this could be toxic.

• A mixture of 60 ml of lavender oil with 2.8 liters of rock salt can also be placed in areas where dogs usually come in contact with and this solution could also be used to wash your dog.

• Planting marigolds in the yard is helpful too, it repels certain types of bugs as well as fleas.

• Boiled lemon or orange peel in water can be used as a dip for dogs and can be used too to soak in dog bedding for a few hours, then washed with warm soapy water.

• Lukewarm water with little shampoo and detergent is a good way to prevent fleas. A dog's body may be dipped into the solution for fifteen minutes and then rinsed. This only works if flea infestation is light.

The natural way of treating fleas is effective only if the level of flea infestation is average to very few. This method usually is recommended for prevention only.

Different commercially available products with chemical contents:

• Advantage. Active ingredient is imidacloprid. This is a flea poison, from Bayer. It is in a liquid form and applied to the skin, at the back of the dog, and works for about a month. This works by upsetting the nervous system of fleas when they come in contact with the liquid. This product is fast acting and is not absorbed into the internal organs and bloodstream of the dog.

Studies indicate that this product is highly toxic to fleas and other insects as well. A dog will be free from fleas in just a couple of days.

Ingredients are: imidacloprid -- a chloronicotinyl nitroguanidine integrated from the nitromethylene class of a compound. This joins the nicotinyl receptor sites of insects, thus upsetting normal nerve transmission which causes death.

A set of two vials costs 15-20 dollars.

• Frontline. This product is very similar to Advantage, but is not water soluble, so alcohol is needed to wash it off. This can safely be used in pups, dogs, cats and kittens.

Efficiency in repelling lasts up to four months.

Active ingredients include: Fipronil 5-amino -1- (2, 6-dichloro-4 [trifluoromethyl]phenyl) -4- (1,R,S)- (trifluoromethyl0sulfinyl) -1H-pryazole-3-carbonitrile 0.29% inert ingredients 99.71%.

Fipronil works as a nervous transmission interruptor, which causes quick death to fleas and ticks. It is proven to kills 96% of fleas for the first two hours and 100% within 24 hours. Ticks die sooner than they attach themselves to the host. Fipronil is from the new phenylpyrazole class.

Very effective and can be considered safe, so long as dogs are not allergic to fipronil.

• Knockout. Performs like Frontline and is as effective, but can only be used in dogs. Active ingredients: Pyriproxyfen: 21[1-methyl-2-(phenoxyphenoxy)ethyoxy] pyridine....0.05% cyclopropanecarboxylate 2.00% inert ingredients 97.95% Also has NYLAR, which is flea growth regulator.

• Biospot. This is for topical application and kills up to 75 percent of fleas, eggs, and ticks. It also is a good repellant of mosquitoes and works for about a month. Temporarily, at times, it turns white hair to yellow. This can not be used in cats and contains permethrins and IGR.

• Proban (cythioate) and Prospot (Fenthion). While not to be used in cats, they are widely used in dogs. This is absorbed by the bloodstream and fleas die due to the poison that is present in the blood. For it to work, it requires the bitting of fleas. There are certain conditions to be considered though. You are injecting a small dose of poison into your dog's body and side effects are not known. Then this does not help if a dog has flea allergy, and can not risk to be bitten.

Generally fleas abound during the summer months, when it is their breeding season. These commercial products can greatly help in fighting heavy flea infestation and needed where severe invasion occurs. However, it is always best to consult with your veterinarian as the choice of flea control will greatly depend on your life style.

About The Author
Jack Russell is a a long time dog fancier, visit his Dog Resources Blog and download his Free Dog Owners Handbook - it's Dog Gone Good! http://www.daveshealthbuzz.com/dogcare/.

Are These Five Killers Chasing Your Cat?

As a cat owner, your first responsibility is to keep your pet healthy. However, even with balanced nutrition and a good amount of love and attention, cats can still get sick. Learn about the most common ailments that affect cats so you can try to prevent them or cure them quickly with the proper medical care when you first spot the symptoms.

Fleas

Although cats and dogs can live with fleas, flea infestations should be controlled for several reasons. The most common flea, the cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis) may carry the Dipylidium caninum tapeworm larvae. If cats eat fleas during grooming, they may become infested with these tapeworms.

Fleas could also transmit other infectious agents to both you and your pet. If kittens are exposed to fleas, they may become anemic. Cats can also develop an allergy to flea bites, resulting in excessive scratching or possibly skin disease. Finally, humans are also susceptive to itchy flea bites, usually on the ankles.

You may suspect your cat has fleas if he seems particularly itchy, or you see bites on human members of your household. To check if your cat has fleas, groom him over a sheet of white paper. Look for a few fleas caught in the comb's teeth or flea dirt on the paper. Flea dirt is actually excrement of undigested cat blood, and appears black and comma shaped to the naked eye. If you place it on damp cotton wool, the flea dirt dissolves into bloody streaks.

To control fleas, all mature fleas must be killed and reinfestation prevented. Many commercial products are available both to kill adult fleas and remove fleas from the environment. Ask your vet for specific recommendations. Make sure what you use kills both the adult mature fleas, as well as the eggs left behind, usually on carpet and bedding. Nothing is worse than to think you have conquered the problem, than several months later to have your family and pets attacked by blood hungry new hatchlings.

Hairballs

When cats cannot digest hair and food debris, they regurgitate hairballs. Hairballs are formed either at the back of the throat or in the small intestines. Hairballs not only sound disgusting while your cat is producing them for you, but they also make an unsightly mess on your carpets and floors. Any cat owner who has had the thrill of watching their pet suffer through the process of hacking up fur balls will be highly motivated to prevent new ones from forming.

The simplest method of hairball prevention is grooming your cat to remove excess hair. The next step involves many products already on the market to prevent hairball build-up such as oils, treats, and diets. If your cat vomits frequently and the problem isn't resolved with regular brushings, you should consult with the veterinarian to be certain that a more serious problem is not the cause.

Overactive thyroid

Overactive thyroid, or hyperthyroidism, is a condition where the thyroid gland becomes enlarged and produces excess amounts of thyroid hormone. The condition is often provoked by a benign tumor on one or both lobes of the thyroid gland. The good news is that thyroid tumors have only a 2-5% chance of malignancy.

Symptoms of an overactive thyroid include: increased appetite or thirst, unexplained weight loss (particularly muscle mass), nervousness or irritability, frequent vomiting, lethargy and weakness, diarrhea, or a coat that looks ungroomed. A cat with the condition may not present every symptom, but the presence of two or more should prompt a visit to the veterinarian's office.

At the vet's, your cat will be given a physical exam. If she notices enlarged glands, a CBC (blood panel) and a thyroid-specific test can make the diagnosis more conclusive. There are three treatments that offer a good chance for your cat's full recovery: anti-thyroid medication, surgery, and radioiodine treatment. Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages, so you should learn more about the disease and its treatments and discuss your options with the veterinarian before making a decision.

Diabetes

Feline Diabetes can affect cats of any age, but is most common in older, obese cats—typically males. There are two types of diabetes. Type 1 is caused by insufficient insulin production while Type 2 results from a body's inability to handle insulin effectively. Another type of diabetes, secondary diabetes, occurs as a side effect of drugs or diseases that impair the natural secretion of insulin or its effects in the body.

The symptoms of feline diabetes include vomiting, dehydration, weakness and loss of appetite, increased thirst and urination, weight loss, breathing abnormalities, and an unkempt-looking coat. If your cat has any or several of these symptoms, take him to the vet. The vet will test for blood sugar levels and sugar levels in the urine. Doing both tests rules out an increased blood sugar level due to the stress of the office visit.

If your cat is diagnosed with diabetes, it is usually treated through one or a combination of five methods: diet and weight control, insulin injections, oral medications, monitoring glucose and insulin levels, and nutrient and botanical supplements. Each method of treatments has unique benefits and drawbacks, so be sure to decide on a treatment plan with your veterinarian.

Feline lower urinary tract disease (FLUTD)

This disease is a painful inflammation of the lower urinary tract that has the potential to be fatal. Feline lower urinary tract disease has a number of causes from decreased water intake and urine retention to viruses, bacteria, or diet. Symptoms that your cat may have FLUTD include inappropriate or difficult and frequent urination, appetite loss, listlessness, blood in the urine, or frequent licking of the genitals.

Vet treatment for FLUTD can include catheterization, fluid therapy, antibiotics, or even (rarely) surgery. At home, cat owners are often encouraged to change their pet's diet and style of feeding (more frequent, smaller meals). It is also important for your cat to drink plenty of water.

We all want to keep our cats healthy and with us for as long as possible. Understanding and being on the lookout for these common ailments will allow the discerning cat owner to take action before a small health problem turns into something more serious. Using good observation skills to evaluate any potential change in your cat's condition will allow you to take simple steps to keep your cat healthy, happy, and disease free. If you notice a continuing pattern of symptoms that may point to flea infestation, hairballs, an overactive thyroid, urinary tract disease, or even diabetes, timely consulation with your vet will allow you both to plan the best course of action. Your happy, healthy cat will thank you.

About The Author
Romi Matsushita craves constant close contact with her calico cat. Find great tips, articles, and cat care advice at http://www.cat-advisors-online.com.