How can I tell if my cat has fleas?

[Rollergirl1]

I treat my cat for fleas with Advantage. He had his last lot around 2 weeks ago. However DH said that a flea jumped on his arm in the living room last week and I have since seen what looked like a flea on the kitchen counter. I have checked our cat over numerous times and can't see any evidence of fleas. I have also done the test with white paper and cotton wool and still can't see anything untoward.

I have noticed our cat scratching but I don't know if that's just because I am focusing on it more.

Also there has been another cat that I have caught coming in to the house on a number of occassions. Could the 2 fleas we have seen be coming from that cat?

Anyway, I have sprayed the house with Indorex and am hoping for the best but is there anything else that I can do? Would it be dangerous for me to treat my cat again within a month of the last lot?

Does your cat have light coloured fur? If so you should be able to see flea dirt if you part his coat. It looks like little black specks. The best place to check is the bottom of his back, near the base of the tail.

You're going to have continuing problems if you have other, possibly flea ridden cats, coming into the house. Not just with fleas but also with eg spraying, pooing, food stealing and your own cat's behaviour. (And if you've actually caught one, there could be several - once you get on the local cat radar as Party Central, there's no stopping them sometimes.)

How are other cats getting in? Have you considered a microchip cat flap?

The easiest way to tell if your cat doesn't have light coloured fur is with a flea comb. If any black specs come out of the fur onto the comb then the cat has fleas. I wouldn't treat again within two weeks though. And I'd be very surprised if your cats has fleas two weeks after being treated with Advantage.

He has grey fur so I should be able to see black specks and I cant.

I know the other cat coming in is a problem, it is already eating my cat's food. My cat is such a wuss that he doesn't stop it, though. I came down in to the kitchen in the middle of the night a few nights ago to get a drink and my cat was sat in his bed and the cat-flap went like the clappers so I obviously scared the other cat off. And my cat was just lying there doing nothing. I think I am going to keep my cat in at night for a bit and lock the cat-flap to try and deter the other one.

Sounds like he's probably clear then, Rollergirl.

I was going to suggest locking the flap too. Good luck!

Put the cat on some white paper. Brush/stroke/comb so that you can get right down to the skin (although without hurting it). Put a drop of water on the specks - if they turn red then they are fleas, if they don't then they're just normal "cat dirt".

HTH!

Definitely a good idea to try to deter the other cat......