Oh bugger - fleas!

[LackingInspiration]

Going to see vet tomorrow anyway, for jabs, and will get worming stuff then too. But I have a suspicion our new kitten has fleas. We check her whenever we're stroking her, and haven't seen any of that brown stuff you're meant to look for...and no excessive scratching or anything.

But her bed's got lots of tiny white crumbs on, that look suspiciously egg-shaped!

What should I do? Chuck it in a 60 deg wash? she's hardly been upstairs at all, but ought I to do stuff to us and the children? Carpets? I have no clue about any of this - first house pet ever!

I'm sure the vet will do a check, and recommend a good house spray as well as the medication. They can also supply information leaflets. Do clean the bedding and vacuum. It's possible that a flea laid eggs but is no longer on your kitten. So you won't see evidence of 'flea dirt' in the fur in this instance. In animals with fleas biting them, you can sometimes see small scabs where they have been feeding around the neck and groin.

It's important to treat the home and bedding as well as the animal, and keep up the worming as well as the life cycles are related. And flea eggs can remain dormant for many months without hatching, once they drop off the animal. They have really tough shells, which is why they need a spray that will penetrate and kill them.