Natural Prevention of Feline Fleas & Ticks

Health Concerns

• Cats with a heavy flea infestation can become anemic. Some cats are so allergic to flea bites that one bite can trigger dermatitis. Fleas also can transmit a variety of parasites, including tapeworm and haemobartonellosis, or feline infectious anemia, according to veterinarian Race Foster of Pet Education. com. Ticks, too, can cause illness in cats, including Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

Bloodthirsty

• Unlike ticks, fleas are insects and belong to the order Siphonaptera, or wingless siphon. Their antennae detect heat, vibration, carbon dioxide, shadows and changes in air currents, which alert them to the possibility of a meal nearby. They feed on the blood of animals and can survive several months without nourishment in carpeting, chair cushions and dust.

  Ticks are arachnids, like mites and spiders. They use their Haller's organ, which senses odor, heat and humidity, to find a food source, Foster says. Like fleas, they feed on blood.

Prevention/Solution

• Holistic veterinarian Tracy Lord says healthy cats are better able to repel parasites than cats who are old or debilitated. To prevent fleas and ticks from feasting on your cat, she suggests feeding a high-quality diet and adding fatty acid, probiotic and digestive enzyme supplements.

  Writing for Mother Earth News, veterinarian Christine Makowski suggests using brewer's yeast to repel fleas and ticks. Health food stores sell it in tablet and powder form, and a small amount can be added to your cat's wet food. Your veterinarian can tell you how much to use.

  Makowski also suggests using a lemon rinse to repel fleas and ticks. The rinse is made by slicing a whole lemon, dropping the slices into a pint of hot water and letting it steep overnight. After the pulp is removed, the rinse can be applied to the cat with a sponge.

Habitat

• Even if your cats stay inside, fleas can hitch a ride into your house on your clothing. While they spend very little time on their host cats, they can burrow for months in carpeting and furniture. Ticks await their victims outside on long grass.

  Makowski suggests vacuuming often during flea season and disposing of the vacuum cleaner bags in the trash outside. She also recommends sprinkling food grade diatomaceous earth under baseboard heaters and on your cat's bedding, carpeting, wood floors, upholstered furniture and other places where fleas are likely to hide. The powder, which is made from the fossilized remains of diatom plants, has sharp edges that cut into the fleas' protective outer covering, causing them to dehydrate and die. Most garden centers sell diatomaceous earth .

  Eartheasy.com suggests using beneficial nematodes outside. Garden centers and online retailers sell these microscopic worms that eat flea larvae. Sprinkling diatomaceous earth on the grass and under bushes also will kill fleas in your yard.

Warning

• Just because the label on a flea or tick product says "natural " doesn't mean it's safe for cats. Pennyroyal oil, tea tree oil and d'Limonene, all common ingredients in natural flea and tick products, are toxic to cats, according to Eartheasy.com.