Pets

How to tell if your pet has fleas.

• If your cat or dog scratches itself, even occasionally, it likely has fleas.
• If you see even one or two fleas on your pet, it probably has a whole lot more. If your pet has dark hair, you may not be able to see fleas.
• Flea dirt (flea poop) in pet's fur -- small dark specks.

How to Get Fleas off your Cat or Dog with a Flea Comb

What To do.

• If your pet has thick hair, you may have to comb it first with a regular comb.
• Pet your pet, and then start combing gently, so the combing feels like petting. Then comb next to the animal's skin, so you get the biting fleas off.
• Comb until you catch flea(s) in the comb.
• Quickly stick the comb under water. Let the fleas wiggle out, or help them if you need to. You'll probably comb out some loose hair too. Poke all this under water, so the fleas can't use it to climb out.
• Dry the comb with the dish towel. Cats hate detergent on their fur.
• Fleas' most favorite places are on the face, neck, and chin and on the back over the hips on either. They like dogs' ears and tummies too. Comb the whole animal. Keep on until you stop getting fleas. You may have to comb the whole animal several times.
• Flush the flea water down the toilet.
• If you get very many fleas, try again the next day, after the fleas have had time to settle down.

How it works: When you comb your pet, the flea comb catches fleas between its teeth. Then you stick the comb into the water, before the fleas can wiggle out and escape. The detergent lowers the surface tension of the water, so the fleas can't capture any tiny bubbles of air. Without detergent, they would live a very long time under water, and maybe float up to the surface and jump out. With detergent, they sink and eventually die.

Pyrethrin