Fighting Fleas in Cats naturally - here's how!

Fleas in cats are extremely annoying, as they are very clean animals that spend a lot of time grooming themselves daily. However, it is not just the cat that suffers from flea infestation as fleas in cats can be a huge burden for the whole family. The severe itching and constant scratching not only drives the poor cat crazy, flea infestation in cats also cause many other problems. 

Although fleas prefer a host, they are not tied to it - so a flea infestation on one cat can very quickly lead to a flea infestation on the next cat and other family members, such as your dog, are not safe from fleas either. If fleas in cats are not controlled, there is a risk of other health consequences. It can lead to serious skin infections should the cat scratch itself too much and there is also a risk of worm infestation. In this Guide, we would like to show you how to identify fleas in cats and how to protect them from them in a natural way. 

What are fleas and where can a cat become infected? 

Fleas are parasitic insects that are divided into different species. Each of these species has a preferred host - a favourite food, so to speak, because fleas feed on the blood of their host. The so-called cat flea favours all feline species as a host, but it also infests dogs and humans. 

How does a cat get fleas? 

There are many different ways your cat can get fleas. Contact with an infected animal, such as a stray cat in the neighbourhood, a hedgehog or rodents such as mice and rats in your garden, as well as an environment contaminated with other stages of the flea development cycle, like eggs or larvae, this can be the start of a usually persistent flea infestation. Fleas are attracted to the warmth and movement of animals and humans, and they also react to the carbon dioxide in the air they breathe. Flea season occurs several times a year, depending on the outside temperature. When it gets colder, the blood-sucking parasites try to get onto a warm animal or into a warm house.

Recognising fleas in cats 

As already described, the adult flea is visible to the naked eye. If the cat scratches more and more, you can brush through the cat's fur with a flea comb and you may see the flea directly on the flea comb. However, you will not always brush out an adult flea with a flea comb, flea faeces are a more reliable method of detecting fleas in cats.

The symptoms of a flea infestation in cats 

The easiest way to recognise a flea infestation is if your cat scratches more often. At the beginning, the cat may only be annoyed by a few fleas and only scratch itself now and again. However, fleas can multiply quickly and so the symptoms will continue to increase. 

Symptoms of fleas in cats include:

• The cat is restless and nervous, changes places frequently
• They scratch and bite themselves more often or rubs their body against objects
• Scratching makes the fur dull or the skin flaky 

Where do fleas prefer to settle?

Flea larvae and flea eggs are not visible to the naked eye and are not usually found on the cat, but in its environment. All reclining areas and all places where your cat spends long periods of time are therefore potentially contaminated with flea eggs or larvae. As the flea likes it dark and warm, you should look for hidden places where there is not much movement when you go looking for flea nests.

Fleas are more often found in the cat’s environment than on the cat itself. On its host, the flea can be found on the back, along the spine, which is why you do the flea test here. There is a saying that for every flea you discover on the animal, another 90 fleas (as eggs, larvae or pupae) are hidden in the environment. For this reason, a well-thought-out approach to environmental treatment is one of the most important defences against fleas in cats.

Is a flea infestation dangerous for the cat? 

For “normally healthy" cats, "a few" fleas are not dangerous in themselves, but they are also very annoying, and even a single flea can be responsible for a worm infestation in the cat. If the fleas get out of hand, they can become a health burden even for an otherwise healthy cat. However, a flea infestation can be particularly dangerous for young or immunocompromised cats. 

Consequences of a flea infestation in cats:

• The flea infestation can disturb the cat to such an extent that its behaviour is affected - it can become easily irritable or start to withdraw more and more.
• Scratching can cause skin injuries, which can become inflamed.
• The blood loss can lead to blood and iron deficiency, which can make the animal very weak.
• The cat can become infected with other diseases and worms via the flea. You should therefore remember to have your cat checked for worms if it has suffered from a flea infestation.
• Fleas can be transmitted from animal to animal and also to humans.
• If the cat has a flea saliva allergy, its reaction to the fleabite is particularly extreme and can last for a longer period of time.

Is a flea infestation dangerous for humans? 

The bigger problem with flea infestations in cats is that the cat can become infected with various diseases via the flea, which can then also be dangerous for humans. 

Fleas are tapeworm carriers. Humans can also become infected. Although this happens rarely, it often affects children. But not only tapeworms (such as the cucumber tapeworm), pose a danger, because the further south you travel, the more you hear about so-called Rickettsiae, which can also be transmitted via fleas and are the cause of spotted fever. 

Unfortunately, some illnesses that were previously known more from the Mediterranean region or as "travel diseases" are now also increasingly occurring in the north and all signs indicate that this trend will continue in the coming years.

When do I have to go to the vet for fleas in cats?

As a rule, you should take action as soon as you notice that your cat has fleas. As soon as you notice that your cat's behaviour changes significantly - for example, it is lethargic and tired. This is a sign that the flea infestation is affecting it more than it should. Keep an eye on your cat - if it scratches itself so much that it bleeds, this could lead to more suffering and serious injuries. Then there is a risk of skin infections and these need to be examined by a vet. If your cat is allergic to flea saliva, even a single bite can cause severe symptoms.

Recognising flea allergies in cats 

With a flea saliva allergy, the body reacts to the protein contained in flea saliva with an allergic reaction. The symptoms that your cat then shows can be extreme and last much longer than with a normal reaction to a flea bite.

• The cat is extremely restless, scratches and bites itself or rubs its body against objects.
• The coat becomes dull and flaky.
• The fleabite sites can be extremely red and swollen, and if the cat continues to scratch and bite, inflammation can follow. 
• Skin crusts may form.
• Localised fur loss can occur, which can spread over a wide area.

Fighting fleas naturally - our expert tips 

There are three important points to consider in order to permanently control flea infestations in cats:

• The fleas on the cat must be treated.
• The fleas in the cat's environment must be treated.
• The treatment of the cat and its environment should be carried out strictly for at least 6 weeks and closely monitored for a further 6 weeks. 

Preventing a flea infestation 

How you can prevent your cat from getting fleas depends on various factors that you should take into account. Firstly, the region in which you live or spend time with your cat plays a major role. In warmer regions, you are more likely to encounter fleas than in cooler regions. If your cat spends a lot of time in places where there are wild animals, the risk of a flea infestation is higher, even if the wild animals are only hedgehogs. Any cat can get fleas, but the risk of a flea infestation can vary greatly from cat to cat. If you live with your cat near a forest and it regularly hunts for prey in the forest, then it may be necessary to protect the cat from fleas all year round in a natural way to prevent flea infestation. However, if you live with your cat by the sea or if your cat is an indoor cat, you may not need to worry about flea prevention at all. Alternatively, you may only need to worry about it when there are temperature fluctuations, for example when autumn turns into winter, because the fleas then try to escape the cold weather into the warmth of the home with our animals.

These different factors determine how often you should take measures to prevent a flea infestation. If you want to protect your cat all year round, our Felins Plus® Defence Complex is particularly interesting for you. If you only want to protect your cat from fleas in phases, then our Felins Plus® Organic Coconut Oil is also an option. However, if you regularly take your cat out for walks in areas where wild animals live, we definitely recommend our Felins Plus® Defence Complex.

Flea infestation in the city cat

If you live in the city with your indoor cat and you rarely go out with your cat, plus there are no wild animals like hedgehogs in the surrounding areas, you can massage our Felins Plus® Organic Coconut Oil into the fur directly before a walk. This masks the cat's odour for a short time and can thus provide temporary protection against fleas. 

What influence does feeding have on flea infestation in cats? 

In addition to the outside temperature, which influences flea activity, the animals own body odour can also attract fleas and this can strongly be influenced by its food. Therefore, it is important to offer a natural food without any synthetics such as synthetic vitamins, flavourings and preservatives. Medication and stress also have an influence on your cat's metabolism and therefore its body odour. The more stressful things affect the organism, the more attractive it is to fleas and other parasites such as ticks, mites and worms. Some animals have a genetically determined body odour that is more attractive to parasites or they have a particularly dense coat in which fleas and ticks can cling or hide particularly well.

To prevent parasites in advance, switching to a natural food such as our Felins Plus® can be a great help. By avoiding synthetic vitamins, the organism is protected from an oversupply, which the detoxification organs would otherwise have to laboriously remove from the body. The absence of preservatives gives the healthy intestinal flora the chance to develop, regulate itself and stay healthy. The selected herbs gently support the metabolism so that the body surface - i.e. the skin - no longer has to support and relieve the detoxification organs, which can have a positive effect on body odour.

Instructions on how to treat your cat to fight fleas 

If your cat is scratching frequently and you have found out that your cat has fleas using a flea test (described above), then you should do everything you can to get the flea infestation under control quickly. Fleas are very annoying for your cat and can multiply quickly in its environment and, depending on the species, can be dangerous for you. 

Fleas in cats - treatment explained in just a few steps

1.If possible, you can brush your cat thoroughly and try to remove flea faeces from its coat in this way.

1. Blow-dry your cat if it allows it. The heat of the blow-dryer air can cause problems for the flea (but it can also be too hot for your cat. That is why you should only do this with the help of a friend, making sure that you always have one hand free to control the temperature of the blow-dryer, the cat's skin and swivel the blow-dryer continuously).
2. Once you have removed the flea faeces from your cat as thoroughly as possible, apply our Felins Plus® Organic Coconut Oil. To do this, melt a small amount of the oil in your hands and rub it into your cat, paying particular attention to the areas where fleas particularly like to be, i.e. the spine, neck and shoulder blades. Repeat this step as required.
3. Start immediately with the environmental treatment.

Fleas in cats - aftercare

• If constant scratching irritates your cat’s skin, you can use Felins Plus® Organic Coconut Oil to nourish the stressed skin area.

Fleas in the home? Environmental treatment is important! 

A female flea visiting a cat for a meal and can start laying her first eggs a short time later - which can be as many as 30-50 a day. As the female flea lays eggs every day, you can easily work out how quickly the fleas will take over your home. The eggs are transported around in your cat's fur and fall out of the fur unhindered. They can therefore be found wherever your cat moves around and especially in places where your cat spends a lot of time, such as the cat bed. 

Environmental treatment is so important because it gives you a chance to intervene decisively in the flea's development cycle. 

The flea eggs develop into flea larvae within a few days, which can actively crawl into deeper objects at home (carpets, upholstery, etc.). Flea larvae feed mainly on flea faeces and small organic particles in the home. After the larval stage, they pupate. This takes about 2 weeks but can be maintained for several months if the environment does not offer favourable conditions. In general, however, it is said that a "flea cycle" at home lasts approx. 3-5 weeks. 

Daily vacuuming and washing blankets, pillows and other textiles can significantly reduce the number of flea eggs in the home and, unlike the flea larvae, they cannot yet actively move around and hide. These thorough cleaning measures also remove flea faeces. As flea larvae mainly feed on this, you are depriving them of their food source. Please bear in mind that you will have to replace the bag of your hoover regularly, because depending on the model, it is possible that fleas can escape from the hoover. As this can be very expensive, you can alternatively try heating the bag in the oven at 80-100 degrees for approx. 20 minutes or placing it in the microwave at 600 watts for approx. 2 minutes. However, you will need to check whether your hoover bag is suitable for this and can cope with it - you should also make sure that there are no items in the hoover bag that could cause problems in the oven or microwave.

Even if you cannot wash all textiles at 60 degrees (this temperature would kill the flea), even at lower temperatures the eggs are at least partially rinsed out during the wash cycle, allowing you to further reduce the flea population. 

Due to the flea's generation cycle described above, you should treat the environment daily for at least 6 weeks and keep an eye on it for another 6 weeks afterwards. Otherwise, it is quite possible that the problem will start all over again, as flea pupae may have survived somewhere in the home, hatch after a few weeks and then infest your cat again. 

The flea's reproduction strategy increases the flea's chance of survival enormously and is the reason why many dog and cat owners are confronted with fleas again after a few weeks, despite successful flea treatment. 

Fleas in bed or on the sofa - what to do? 

If your cat has fleas and these have found their way into your home, then you should assume that the eggs can be found wherever your cat spends time. If your cat is allowed in bed or on the sofa, then flea eggs will also be found here. As described above, daily, thorough cleaning helps to reduce the flea population as much as possible. Of course, you can't put everything in the washing machine (the mattress, large blankets, cushions etc.) - but you can vacuum a lot of things, hang them outside to air out and shake them out, freeze them (for 5-7 days) and spray them with Canis Extra Parasite Environment Spray (but remember to test the material for compatibility beforehand). Anything that helps to reduce the flea population will help you control the fleas.

Fleas in the car 

When treating for fleas, do not just consider your home, but every place where your cat spends or has spent time - including your car, the garden shed, the garage, etc. All too often, fleas become a permanent problem because the cat keeps bringing them into the home from these places. Car seats and upholstery can be sprayed prophylactically every few days for at least 4 weeks with our parasite environment spray and blow-dried. You should also vacuum the car regularly. 

Flea infestation from your own garden 

If your cat keeps bringing fleas home from the garden (for example, because hedgehogs or other wild animals live in your garden), you can only solve the problem if you permanently protect your cat. You can find out which products are suitable and how to use them above under "Preventing a flea infestation". It is almost impossible to keep your garden flea-free if there are wild animals living in it that you cannot treat. The only hope is that a cold winter will solve the flea problem in the garden and it will not return the following year. You can also try planting plants such as peppermint, rosemary or lavender, as these are said to deter fleas.