Prevention is better than the cure - Parasites
Written by the naturallypaws.com team of vets. The aim of this article is to give a balanced view between conventional and alternative treatment so that the owner/guardian can make their own choice of treatment.

What are parasites? They are creatures that live off our animals both externally and internally, i.e. fleas, worms, ticks etc. External parasites may be - lice, mange, fleas, ticks, insects - which can cause skin irritation, visual scratching, hair loss. Internal parasites may be - Intestinal worms and heart worms (not presently found in the UK) - which can cause diarrhoea, vomiting, worms may be seen in the faeces or vomit, weight loss, anaemia, general poor condition due to nutrients being eaten by the worms. If our pets were kept exclusively indoors then it would be possible to stop them getting parasites. However most of us prefer our pets to have access to the outdoor environment, which they share with other pets and wildlife. We will never be able to eradicate parasites from the outdoor environment. Therefore pets which go outdoors, are always likely to pick up some parasites. However, even though we have no control over the parasites that live out of doors we can help prevent our cats from carrying large numbers of parasites around with them!! The most common external parasite that affects cats in the UK is the Flea. The Ubiquitous Flea - Written by Evelyn Torbet-Smith a conventional Vet and Partner at the Laurel Veterinary Centre, Bromley. Why is the flea so successful and subsequently such a problem for us? The answer is in it's life cycle. Flea Life Cycle The adult flea must find a host. Once it is on a host, it will immediately take a blood meal. Once this has occurred, it can commence with its purpose for life - reproduction i.e. egg laying. One adult female flea can lay up to 50 eggs per day. This daily egg production will continue for the remainder of her 100 day life span, if she is not killed prematurely by either grooming, ingestion by the host or chemical means. So in 100 days one flea is capable of laying up to 5,000 eggs i.e. a very efficient reproducer. The eggs are tiny, white, ovoid and smooth. They are laid on the host but soon fall from the host into the environment. This can be anywhere indoors or outdoors wherever the host has been. Within a period 2-12 days, depending on the temperature, the eggs will hatch into larvae. The larvae are worm like, with a coat of bristles and are about 2-3 mm long with a 1 mm diameter. They have chewing mouth parts, feeding on organic debris and the blood-containing faeces of the adult fleas. Initially the larvae are white but once they've started to feed they have a reddish brown colour. These larvae will also eat tapeworm segments containing tapeworm eggs which have been shed by infected host animals. These tapeworm eggs then develop inside the developing flea and reinfest the host when the host subsequently eats the flea during grooming. These larvae have an in built safety mechanism which causes them to move away from light. Therefore they move down to the base of the carpet pile, down the sides of cushions in armchairs, down into the cracks between floorboards, below leaves etc. outside and down into cracks in paving. In other words, they end up in inaccessible or less accessible places, where they can proceed with their development undisturbed. In the final pre-adult stage, the "nymph" spins a cocoon (pupa) around itself. In this state, it can survive without eating for up to 140 days. It will only emerge as an adult flea if the conditions are right for its survival i.e. the temperature is high enough, there is reasonable humidity and there are vibrations. The latter signals that there may be a host approaching, on which the emerging flea can jump, bite, get its first blood meal and then commence the cycle with the laying of hundreds of eggs. Understanding the life cycle is crucial if we are to have any success in controlling the flea infestations which our pets may get. If we consider the eggs, the larvae, the nymphs and the adult fleas all as one population, then we can say that most of the "flea population" is in the environment with only a small percentage, the adults, being on the host. We also need to be aware that while there is a cat, dog, rabbit, bird and human flea etc. they are not host specific i.e. any flea type will bite any host species! Several surveys, however, have shown that about 90% of fleas present on cats and dogs in the U.K. are the cat flea (ctenocephalides felis felis). Indoor Environmental Flea Control Over recent years, products have been developed which interfere with the development of the flea egg into an adult flea. These are known as insect growth regulators. These have made huge improvements in our combat against fleas. Mechanical cleaning of the indoor environment, i.e. vacumming is important. It helps remove some flea eggs, larvae and larval food (i.e. organic debris and flea faeces). The vibrations created by the vacuum cleaner also induce emergence of adult fleas from their cocoons, rendering them vulnerable to insecticides. However vacumming, on its own, is inadequate in dealing with an indoor flea infestation. Initial vacumming should be followed by the application of a household spray containing an insecticide to kill those emerging fleas and an insect growth regulator to act on any new eggs subsequently deposited on the furnishings by the pet. Remember cars should be similarly treated if used to transport pets. Examples of such sprays are; Acclaim 2000 (Sanofi Animal Health) Indorex (Virbac Ltd) Staykill (Novartis Animal Health U.K. Ltd) These can be purchased from your veterinary surgery, some pharmacies and some pet shops. Conventional treatment to help prevent fleas on your cat Flea collars are often ineffective especially when owners forget to replace them. They usually contain organosphosphates which are slowly released onto the pet. They should not be used along with other insecticidal products on the pet in case the other insecticidal product is also an organophosphate. In such instances there would be a risk of causing an organophosphate overdose and hence toxicity to the pet. More recent developments in the war against fleas have lead to the availability of safer, easier to use products. Examples of such products: 1. Frontline (fipronil - Merial Animal Health Ltd) 2. Advantage (imidacloprid - Bayer plc) 3. Stronghold (selamectin - Pfizer) These products are all available as small pipettes of liquid for topical application to the skin on the back of the neck. They are all very efficient at killing fleas over a substantially longer period of time than older products. The time interval for subsequent application varies depending on which product is being used and on which species it is being used. Cats are much more fastidious groomers than dogs and usually need products to be applied more frequently. In all cases, the manufacturers instructions should be read and followed. All of the above mentioned products are only available from your veterinary surgery. Each household's needs may differ depending on the number of pets, the size of the house, the medical condition of the family, the medical condition of the pets and the householder's budget. It is wise to seek professional advice on which products are best for your individual situation. Finally but equally important, you must devise a reminder system for yourself to remember when to apply or give the next flea treatment. No matter how effective a flea control product is, it can only be effective if applied and applied correctly. A Holistic approach to flea control - by Graham Hines a holistic vet and owner of Pilgrims Vet Clinic. (www.animalsnaturally.co.uk) The approach is twofold: to reduce the flea population in the environment and to then stop them wanting to infest our cats or doing damage when they do. Indoor environmental flea control Steam cleaning of carpets will kill fleas but is expensive, do this if you have a severe problem or just once a year in spring. Vacuum floors and furniture thoroughly weekly including all crevices where fleas may hide as carefully as possible. Remember to carefully dispose of the contents of your cleaner's bag or put a flea collar in it to prevent this being a source of new fleas. Diatomaceous earth is a fine powder that can be used to kill fleas. It can spread into crevices around walls and the like. It is not toxic to you or your cats unless inhaled but mechanically damages fleas. It should be used sparingly and with care. Some combine it with borax for a relatively environmentally friendly method of control. Borax (a laundry cleaning agent) can be used to wash hard floors (one cupful per gallon) to kill fleas. Remember though that the pupal stages are not killed by this so it can take a week or two to work or longer in cool environments as we wait for them to hatch. Wash your companions bedding in hot soapy water weekly. You may add some peppermint leaves to the bedding to repel fleas. To help prevent fleas on your cat A healthy coat and body is the best defence against fleas. Weak, poorly animals seem to have many more fleas than fit ones. So feed a natural, good quality diet with plenty of yeast and garlic, up to ½ a clove a day depending on the size of the cat!!! Comb your cat as often as you can to remove fleas, drop the removed parasites into soapy water to kill them. Shampooing with a mild soap will also kill them. Remember to rinse well afterwards. Herbal repellents can help. Oils can be used on the coat to repel fleas in cats and the most affective mixture is found in Xenex (available from many vets. Dry herbs as a powder can be combed into the coat and can be found in some stores. You can mix your own: Use equal quantities of Eucalyptus, rosemary, fennel, yellow dock and rue or as many of these as you can find as a powder and sprinkle them into the coat up to twice weekly if you have an infestation. Herbal rinses to use after shampooing that can be used and are best for the cat are lavender and lemon. The lemon rinse is made by slicing a lemon into a pint of boiling water, leave overnight and sponge into the coat. This can also help with other skin problems. Intestinal worms - By Graham Hines
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