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MYTH #1:
FLEAS ARE A NUISANCE AT TIMES BUT THEY CAN’T BE DANGEROUS.
It is hard to imagine that something as tiny as a flea could be dangerous. We all know that fleas can make pets itch. Some of us are all too familiar with the
spectacular skin inflammation in a flea-bite allergic pet but many people forget that fleas drink blood and that lots of fleas can drink lots of blood. The physical state of inadequate red blood cells is called:
ANEMIA.
It is easy to under-estimate a pet’s infestation. Only animals allergic to flea bites will itch from their fleas. This means that the animal that is not allergic to flea bites will
not be scratching or losing hair thus the owner may not realize that a heavy infestation active.
LOOK FOR FLEA DIRT
The black, pepper-like specks found in the infested pet’s coat are actually bits of blood that have been sucked by the flea and excreted in a neat little package to
feed the larval fleas that hatch in the environment. Even if live fleas are not seen, the presence of flea dirt means that live fleas are there.
WHO ARE THE VICTIMS?
It takes a lot of fleas to produce enough blood loss to create a life-threatening situation for the host pet but it still happens commonly. The following situations are high-risk for flea anemia:
- Very young kittens being raised outdoors or by a mother cat who goes outdoors. Young kittens are very small and do not have blood to spare. Further, they are
growing and trying to expand their blood volume; they are too young to effectively groom themselves and remove their own fleas. Flea anemia is probably the #1 cause of death in open household kittens.
- Elderly cats that go outdoors. The elderly cat is often debilitated from other
metabolic problems. Grooming is less efficient plus the older cat is just not strong enough to withstand much blood loss.
- Outdoor puppies. Their situation is similar to that of the kittens’. Too small to effectively groom and trying to grow in the face of on going blood loss.
Eventually, the weakness catches up with these animals and they will die.
EVALUATION AND TREATMENT
The good news is that these patients can still be treated even fairly late in the course of the disease. Often they will need blood transfusions or transfusion with blood
substitutes. They also need to have their fleas removed and to be returned to an environment where they will be protected from further infestation.
The first step is recognizing the problem. This is not difficult for a trained veterinary health care worker but may not be easy for an uninformed pet owner. The affected animal will
have pale gums (normal gums are shell-pink, anemic gums can be completely white). In advanced disease, the patient will be listless and even cold. A flea comb can be used to
check for flea dirt. Cats sometimes eat small pebbles or cat litter when they are anemic.
- Be familiar with the normal color of your pet’s gums so that you can recognize a problem.
- Regular flea combing can help nip a big problem in the bud.
A test called a HEMATOCRITor PACKED CELL VOLUME (PCV) is easily done in your vet’s office to assess the degree of anemia. The hematocrit or PCV reflects the
percentage of red blood cells that should be present in a sample of blood. In dogs the normal range is 38 to 57 and in cats the normal range is 24 to 45. Blood transfusion
becomes a consideration when values reach 20 or less.
Ridding the critically ill patient of fleas can be problematic. Often the patient is too sick to tolerate the stress of a bath and is too young or
too small for flea control products. In this situation, your veterinarian will have to use his or her judgement on what is the safest route to removing the fleas. Recently, Capstar ® has
become available. This is a fast-acting flea-killing tablet with no known side effects for mammals. It is labeled for use in animals weighing 2 lbs or more and has been especially
helpful in clearing severe flea infestations quickly.
RETURNING HOME
Of course after all the blood transfusions, heat support, and de-fleaing, the pet will ultimately go home potentially to the same environment
where the infestation occurred in the first place. Usually, topical flea control products will provide adequate future protection and the use of a vitamin and iron supplement will
help the patient rebuild his or her red blood cell reserves.
MYTH #2:
FLEAS ARE JUST TO BE EXPECTED ON A DOG OR CAT.
There are still many people who unfortunately believe that fleas simply go with pet ownership, that there is no way to avoid them. In reality, fleas have been optional for
decades with flea control methods achieving higher levels of convenience and safety each year. The days of sprays, powders, and foggers are largely gone, supplanted by
pills and spot-on preparations. No pet needs to have fleas in the 21st century; an owner has his or her pick of safe and effective products such as the ones shown below.
To view a chart comparing some of the above products, click here.
To review the current special offers on the above products, click here.
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