PARASITES
Fleas are the insects forming the order Siphonaptera. They are wingless, with mouthparts adapted for piercing skin and sucking blood. Fleas are external parasites, living by hematophagy off the blood of mammals and birds. The flea life cycle begins when the female lays after feeding. Eggs are laid in batches of up to 20 or so and they take around two days to two weeks to hatch.
Symptoms:
They can be found in the fur. Their saliva and faeces are very strong allergens so that only one flea-bite can cause allergy, flea allergy dermatitis. Beside bloodsucking they also feed on tear of the cats which may cause conjunktivitis. In the long run animal may become anemic or dehydrated if the fleas feed on it en masse.
Prevention, treatment:
Most important is prevention, namely continuous and regular us of anti-flea products. If they appear it’s useful to clean thoroughly the animal’s bed and enviroment mostly because they lay eggs on the host animal’s bed.
Ear mite infection is one of the most common health problems seen in cats. Ear mites (Otodectes cynotis) are tiny insects that live in the ear canal and feed by piercing the skin. They can crawl deep into the ear canals, where they may be difficult to treat. They can also lead to secondary infections of the ears.
Symptoms:
The most frequent sign is intense itching, characterized by scratching and violent head shaking. You will see a dry, crumbly, dark brown, waxy discharge when you look into the ears. Constant scratching at the ears can cause raw areas, along with scabs and loss of hair around the ears. The initial problem may be complicated by a chronic bacterial infection.
Treatment:
Beside symptomatic treatment of otitis the ear mites must be killed. They can be exterminated by anti-parasite ear drops and thorough cleaning of ears.