Fleas and worms are part of life for most street cats. A healthy adult usually copes. A kitten, a thin cat or an old one often doesn’t, and if you’re taking a cat home, they come with it.
The short version
- Scratching and black specks in the fur: fleas. Do the wet paper test.
- Rice grains under the tail: tapeworm. A pot belly in a kitten: roundworm.
- Fleas can kill a kitten through blood loss.
- Never put a dog flea product on a cat. It can kill it.
- Treat with products from a vet, made for cats, at the right dose.
Fleas: how to tell
You rarely see the fleas themselves. Cats swallow many of them while grooming. Look instead for scratching, bald or scabby patches, and tiny black specks in the fur, especially near the base of the tail.
Those specks are flea dirt, flea droppings made of digested blood. International Cat Care’s test: comb the cat over white paper, then put the specks on damp cotton wool. Flea dirt slowly dissolves into red-brown smudges. Ordinary dirt stays black.
Why fleas matter
- Kittens. Fleas drink blood, and a kitten doesn’t have much. A heavy infestation can cause life-threatening anaemia. Look at the gums: pale pink or white means a vet, today.
- Tapeworm. Fleas carry tapeworm eggs. A cat that swallows a flea while grooming gets the worm too.
- Allergy. Some cats react badly to flea bites, with scabs all over the back and neck.
- Your home. If you take a cat in, 95% of the fleas will be in the house, not on the cat. Treat both.
Worms: how to tell
The two most common are roundworms and tapeworms. Cats often show no signs until there are a lot of them.
- Tapeworm. Small white segments like grains of rice, stuck to the fur under the tail or on bedding. Cats get it from fleas, and from eating mice and lizards.
- Roundworm. The most common worm in cats. Kittens get it from their mother’s milk. Look for a round pot belly on a thin kitten, and worms like spaghetti in vomit or droppings.
- General signs. Weight loss, diarrhoea, vomiting, a dull coat, and kittens that don’t grow.
The dog product that kills cats
Many flea treatments for dogs contain permethrin. To a cat, it’s poison. International Cat Care puts it in capitals: never use a dog flea product on a cat. Even a cat sleeping next to a freshly treated dog can be poisoned. Read more in what’s poisonous to cats.
Cheap supermarket flea collars and shampoos often don’t work well either. Buy treatments from a vet, made for cats, and dosed for the cat’s weight. Kittens need products made for their age.
Treating street cats
Regular treatment is easy for a pet and hard for a street cat. International Cat Care’s schedule for kittens is worming every two weeks from 3 to 8 weeks old, then monthly to 6 months. Grown cats that hunt need it every one to three months.
For most street cats, the best chance is the day they’re neutered. Ask the vet to treat for fleas and worms while the cat is in. If you feed a colony, ask a vet about treatments that are safe to give that way.
And you?
Some cat worms can pass to people, and on rare occasions cause serious disease. Wash your hands after handling street cats and their bowls, and before you eat. It matters most around children, who play where cats go.
Questions people ask
How do I know if a cat has fleas?
Comb the cat over white paper and put the black specks on damp cotton wool. If they dissolve into red-brown smudges, it’s flea dirt, and the cat has fleas.
Can I use dog flea treatment on a cat?
No. Many dog products contain permethrin, which can kill cats. Only use products made for cats, from a vet, at the right dose.
What do the white rice grains on my cat mean?
They’re tapeworm segments. Cats catch tapeworm by swallowing fleas or eating mice. A vet can give a wormer that treats it, and the fleas should be treated too.
Snap the cats you look after. Their profile is a handy place to keep track of who’s been treated.
