Are They Fleas!?

[Paws13]

When I was brushing Snow I kept seeing black dots on over her fur. I'm not sure if they are fleas, flea eggs or just dirt. My mom thinks it's just dirt, but her boyfriend said it may be fleas. I'm not sure what to do. I gave her a bath which she didn't like, but I STILL see the black dots. Are these black dots fleas??Should I take Snow to the vet??

Oh yeah! Just something to say about Snow: she is kinda heavy so she can't clean the back end of her.

[xcolbi]

Does she try and scratch her back end a lot?

[Karen]

Take her to the vet. Unless she's been outside rolling in loose dirt, it isn't "dirt" and a regular bath won't do much to disuade fleas.

[wolflady]

It certainly sounds like fleas. I would go ahead and take her to the vet to make sure and to get a dose of Advantage or Frontline.

**hugs**

[jennielynn1970]

And call an exterminator to give a good treatment to where you are living... you don't want to end up with flea bites yourselves, or getting her re-infested!!

[moosmom]

The way to tell if it's fleas is to comb her. Any "black dots" that are moving are fleas. Any black dots that aren't moving is flea dirt (flea eggs). I'd also take her to the vet.

My cats had fleas recently. Fortunately, I caught it early enough where 2 applications of Revolution did the trick. The problem with fleas is once they get in your house, they multiply and are even more difficult to get rid of.

Good luck.

[jennielynn1970]

The "flea dirt" is also the dried blood from where they bite the kitty...

Be sure, if it is fleas, to deal with it aggressively and make sure the kitty and the home are completely treated. They do come back if they are not all killed, and can do so with a vengence.

[Paws13]

Does she try and scratch her back end a lot?

No, but she scratches around her ear a lot.

[cassiesmom]

what does the inside of her ear look like?

from vetinfo.com about ear mites: "Dark brown to black debris accumulates in the ears of infected pets and the mites may be visible as small moving white specks on the debris. Secondary infection with bacteria or yeast is common in ear mite infections and may complicate the diagnosis. The mites can live on the skin and some dogs and cats appear to have infections that affect only the skin, causing small sores to develop in affected areas. It is important to treat the ears for mites and the whole pet with a product that is capable of killing the mites. Most flea and tick products will kill ear mites on the skin."

Take Snow to the veterinarian.

[Paws13]

I agree 100% with all of you. The black dots are fleas. I try to tell my mom that but she won't listen. She just says "it's not fleas!!!it's dirt!!!just keep brushing her and it will go away!!!"

But she's WRONG!!! I'm going to ask my grandma if she could take Snow to the vet with me