Baby kittens are at a high risk of becoming ill when they have a flea burden

Everyone knows that flea infestations can be bothersome and irritating for your pet, but most people don’t realise that a heavy flea burden can actually be lethal in some circumstances. If you have a young puppy, kitten, or older pet, then they could be at risk of much worse than a few itchy bites.

Fleas, like mosquitoes, are blood parasites. Individually they only drink a small amount – average of 13.6 microliters (+/- 2.7 microliters) of blood per day. That doesn’t sound like much, but 100 fleas will drink 1.36ml of blood per day. In adults, this amount is a mere drop in the ocean, but for a 500g kitten with only 35ml of blood in total, that is a lot (3.8% of their total blood volume per day).  When you are losing that amount of blood, it doesn’t take long to get very sick.

Young puppies and kittens are at the highest risk for flea anaemia. Outdoor puppies and kittens are especially at risk, because they are more likely to come in contact with fleas and develop an infestation. They are also trying to grow, and before 16 weeks of age their bodies are not very good at producing new blood to replace what has been lost.

Older patients  (mostly small dogs and cats) can also be at risk, because they are often less able to groom themselves to get rid of fleas. Also, they are more likely to have chronic disease, which can decrease the ability of the body to produce new blood.

Signs of anaemia to look for include pale gums (normal is pink, with anaemia they can be white), listlessness, and in severe cases your pet may have cold extremities and a rapid heart beat. If your pet has any of these signs then they need to be taken to a veterinarian straight away, where they may need emergency treatment such as a blood transfusion.

If you notice large amounts of flea dirt on your pet, then you need to start flea treatment as soon as possible. Frontline spray is a good option for young pets, as it is licensed for use in puppies and kittens 2 days of age and older. For animals weighing over 1kg, Capstar also makes a good choice, as it provides fast-acting knockdown of all fleas on your pet within 6 hours.

If you have any concerns about your pet, then don’t hesitate to contact your local veterinarian. They will be able to advise you on your pet’s individual case.

To a flea free pet!

Dr. Simon

Photo: clevergrrl

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