Rabbit Fleas On Cats Ears

Please help we have recently moved to the country side and one of our cats has what i believe is rabbit fleas they look like normal fleas but are all over his ears i have an appointment with a local vet on wednesday would go sooner but i m on benefits and don t get any money till then one of my kc cavs has started itching and licking her legs red raw so the fur is coming off.

Rabbit fleas on cats ears.

It is much harder to find fleas on rabbits because their fur is so thick and lush. The good thing is that ime not gospel they don t seem to contaminate the environment to the same extent as dog and cat fleas ie they stay on the host for more of the time. Unfortunately flea combs are ineffective for removing large quantities of fleas or in very long or dense hair. The most common way for a pet rabbit to catch fleas is via a cat or dog.

Sticktight fleas spilopsyllus cuniculi in the uk are found on wild rabbits and are rarely caught by cats but a cat who hunts a lot may catch them. Not all flea treatment products are effective as you have found. Spilopsyllus cuniculi the rabbit flea is a species of flea in the family pulicidae it is an external parasite of rabbits and hares and is occasionally found on cats and dogs and also certain seabirds that nest in burrows. But i d still probably get a flea spray for the house.

Wild rabbits and fleas. But most commonly rabbits will catch fleas from one of the other family pets particularly dogs or cats. They are eradicated with use of a suitable insectide on the ears as you have done. When a cat seems to be having trouble with his ears there could be several reasons a flea infestation being one of them.

The rabbit can even get fleas by visiting a yard or home with fleas or the vet s office where there are other animals present that has fleas. How to detect fleas on a pet rabbit. It can act as a vector for the virus that causes the rabbit disease myxomatosis. I think you could be right rabbit fleas are usually seen wandering around the ear tips of cats for some reason.

Dogs and cats with fleas can also give the rabbit fleas. Once combed out fleas should be drowned in soapy water or alcohol. It s not usually necessary to routinely de flea pet rabbits to prevent fleas. In order to properly treat a cat s ears with flea control products you must first be sure that fleas are the cause of the problem and not mites or a bacterial infection such as yeast.

The bottom line is that your rabbit can still get fleas even if he never goes outside or sees another animal. Therefore as long as you keep all cats and dogs in your household flea free your rabbit is very unlikely to suffer with a problem. Fleas on cats can be an especially irritating problem both for the cat and the owner. In fact cats and dogs should usually be provided with routine flea treatments to keep fleas at bay.

If you have a cat or dog in the household your rabbit s fleas almost certainly came from them.