Info & FAQ
She isn’t the only one thinking about fleas and ticks. Did you know that fleas can transmit diseases to people as well? Typically, these are spread to us by our pets, so let’s keep them healthy and protect ourselves at the same time.
Protecting Our Dogs & Cats
Tapeworms
One of the most loathsome parasites, tapeworms, make themselves at home in the intestines of dogs, cats, and humans. Pets can get tapeworms by swallowing infected adult fleas, which can occur when animals groom themselves, or other animals. Cats can also get the disease by eating infected mice. While extremely uncommon in adults, children may get infected by accidentally swallowing an infected flea, which they can encounter while playing outdoors, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Symptoms of Tapeworms
As tapeworms grow, some of their segments will break off and will be eliminated from the body in the dog's feces. Often, you will see the white, rice-like pieces throughout your dog or cat's feces or in the hair around her bottom. If the worm dies and dries out before or after passing, the segments turn yellow and hard. If the tapeworm segments end up in your pet’s stomach, they may throw up, and you may see a worm in the vomit. Tapeworms can irritate your pet’s bottom, so one of the most common signs that a pet might have this parasite is a propensity for “scooting” its rear end along the floor.
Other signs and symptoms include:
- Weight loss even when eating normally
- Lethargy
- Distended abdomen
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
Mycoplasma haemofelis
Mostly a cat disease but sometimes found in dogs, Mycoplasma haemofelis (M. haemofelis) is a parasitic, bacterial disease transmitted to cats through flea, tick and mosquito bites. An infection of the red blood cells, M. haemofelis, can cause fever and anemia in cats. There is also some evidence that M. haemofelis can infect humans, especially those with compromised immune systems. Because fleas are equal opportunity feeders, an infected flea can transmit the parasite to both you and your pet.
Symptoms of Mycoplasma haemofelis
Cat Scratch Disease
Fairly common in felines, according to the CDC, about 40 percent of cats, especially kittens, have the bug at some point in their lives. Some cats develop serious symptoms. The CDC recommends taking your cat to the veterinarian if it is vomiting, seems lethargic, has red eyes, swollen lymph nodes, or has a decreased appetite. Many cats never get sick, and those that do typically have a fever for two or three days and then recover completely. So your cat may seem perfectly healthy but can still make you sick. “A human might get cat scratch fever even if the cat doesn’t present symptoms.” The CDC says that cats pass the disease on to humans by biting or scratching a person hard enough to break the skin or licking on or near wounds or scabs. In rare cases of human infection, the disease can affect the brain, eyes, heart, or other internal organs. However, these complications are more likely to occur in children under five and people with compromised or weakened immune systems.
FAQS
Fleas do not have wings, so they don’t fly. But they have super-power jumping skills and can jump 150 times their body size. Wow! Think of a six-foot person jumping 900 feet.
Yes! Fleas are free-loaders and hitch rides wherever they go. They can get indoors riding on clothes, people, and objects.
Fleas love to latch on to animals that lay in bedding or grass. Since horses stand most of the time, they leave them alone.
Interestingly enough, some do have a minor effect on fleas, but probably not enough to hold them off entirely. Feeding your pets garlic, bathing in a vinegar solution, or lemon spraying their coats may be another line of defense to include, but these solutions are probably ineffective. And dogs with garlic breath, yuck!
Absolutely! We can protect your yard with our flea control applications. But this term is typically reserved for cheap hotels, where BTW, you can pick up some fleas. Click on the button below to schedule a service.