How do you tell if a stray has earmites or fleas etc that might spread to a house cat?
Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 at
2:13 am
I asked about the stray a few minutes ago and I’m also worried about fleas and other problems with bringing a stray cat into my home. I don’t want my other cat to have to suffer for it. Also, are two cats better than one (for each other I mean)? Do they share a litter box and share food and everything (after the stray grows old enough to eat adult cat food, I mean)?
Filed under: Cat Furniture
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
You can tell yourself by looking into its ears for the mites using a flashlight and magnifier. Flea infestation will be pretty obvious as well if you examine the coat with your fingers. If you doubt yourslf, the SPCA will probably have a clinic where you can get kitty checked and they probably won’t charge you for a "look-see" if you tell them the cat is a stray you wish to take in. Cats when properly introduced to one another usually end up sharing food and water dishes as well as the "boop box" when they get past the establishing dominace dance. You might want to considering getting a second box or at
least one in a larger size.
Always assume a stray has all of these things. The first thing I’d do is apply Frontline to the back of his head, and to your house cat, too.
Ear mites are terribly itchy, so the cat would be digging at his ears and there would be lots of crusty brown stuff in them. Fleas are usually easy to find, and if it has fleas chances are it has worms too (most fleas carry tapeworm, and many kittens are born with roundworms). The best way to keep your cat safe is to treat your cat and the new one with Advantage or Frontline (safe and effective against fleas if purchased from your vet) and treat ear mites right away if you suspect them (your vet will have to treat or prescribe medicine). Your vet should de-worm him and give him a good physical exam as well. Make sure to vaccinate the new cat and have him tested for FIV (feline AIDS) and FELV (feline Leukemia) both very deadly and highly contageous diseases found among the stray communities. The litterbox rule is this: one for every cat in the house plus one. Cats don’t like to use a dirty box, especially if someone else went in there first. If your cat doesn’t want to go in the box the other cat has previously gone in (even if you clean it, he may still smell the other cat) he may hold it and end up with a urinary tract infection or start going in inappropriate places. Food bowls should be kept seperate as well to avoid fighting over food. Two cats can be better than one, if they like each other. All cats have different personalities and some get along while some don’t. Good luck!
Fold back the ear and look inside. Is there any dark looking wax? If you don’t see any take a cotton swab and gently swab the ear, be careful not to stick it in too far. If the swab comes up with waxy brown stuff that is ear mites, if not the stray doesn’t have them. You can separate the fur with your fingers, or use a fine toothed comb and look for fleas. Sometimes you don’t see the fleas right away, some signs are hair loss and scabs, or small black flecks which could be eggs. If the cat is old enough you can give it a flea bath, and mites are easy to treat. Either way I’d take it to the vet just for a routine checkup and shots.
As far as putting 2 cats together, I think it’s great for them. It will give your other cat company when nobody is home. I have 7 indoor outdoor cats and they share litter box, food, toys, bed. They were all strays that just wandered up. They may not get along at first, as the older cat may be intimidated or jealous, but usually they are chummy after about 2 weeks. Let me know if you have any other questions!
take the stray to the vet to get it checked out. it should be ok for them to share everything, my 3 cats do.
vet
take it to the vet
Well if the new cat is dirty then for course you have a strong chance that it will give your other cat something,but if the cat is scratching or digging through the fur then I think it just need to be taken to a vet.
Ummm….. well my mother is a veterinarian and i would try checking the cat’s ears. If they look flakey and rough inside them, there is a good chance it has earmites. Fleas, check the cat’s fur. But to be safe, I would take the cat to the vet’s office to have a blood test done to check for viruses, cancer, diseases, diebetes, etc. Its probably your safest bet.
I have two cats…it seems to work out better. If no ones home..they keep each other company! They sleep and nap and play together too! They share the same litter box…and eat the same food. You just have to make sure that you get them on the same diet.
Also…you can usually tell if it has fleas by looking at the base of the neck, on the back. seperate the fur..and you can usually see lil black things crawling around. They have hard lil back shells. look under its belly and in its arm pits! ( do cats have arm pits?? ) LOL do a good search all over.
Ear mites are kinda the same, but harder to find. You really have to take a good look around in the ears!
Hope that helps
Well I have brought 3 strays into my home and as a rule of thumb I keep them confined from the general population until the have been to the vet and have been treated for fleas, worms and ear mites(if they have them), respiratory infections and vaccinated. Usually I keep them confined for 2-3 weeks depending on the circumstances. My last 2 kittens that I rescued off the side of the road were kept seperate for quite a while, one had fleas, ear mites and worms, the other had worms, and a respiratory infection. Now I have 4 cats, only one was a kitten I chose to get from a friend the other 3 were strays that I found.. my first cat was a stray. In any case eventually they all work out the pecking order and get along to a certain extent.. some better than others but nothing bad. People are usually quite surprised at how well my 4 cats and 3 dogs all get along with one another. The cats all share food, and one litterbox.. cats dont necessarily need a companion to be happy but they do coexist peacefully and play with eachother eventually. All my cats chase eachother and play around at night, and none of them ever fight. So my advice to you is if you are getting a stray kitten, prepare a spare room, bathroom whatever area you can to keep the cat in seperate from your other cat until you can get it to the vet and treated. Make sure to wash you hands, keep the litterbox seperate until the stray is dewormed and cleared by your vet.. they will tell you how long to quarantine the stray depending on the parasites or illnesses it may have. Other than that its fairly easy to add a stray to your household.. I have done it 3 times already, and I wouldnt for the world change a thing because I love all my cats they have turned into wonderful companions with such great unique personalities!
To check for fleas-rub the cat vigorously while the cat is standing on top of a white paper towel. If you see any black specks on the towel-dampen the towel. If the black specks turn red/orange then the cat has fleas. The black specks are digested blood. Yes-flea poop.
Ear mites usually will cause a black waxy build up in the ears. However, ear mites can not be seen by the human eye. Your vet needs to do a ear swab and check it under a microscope.
With any new pet (stray or not) you need to have it checked by a vet.
I don’t know what earmites are but you will know if a cat has fleas because it would be scratching a lot. Cats actually prefer to be alone. I have a cat and a stray staying here and my cat doesn’t like having her around. And no, they won’t share anything.
you can tell for fleas if they are scratching or just check the fur if its light enough of a clor and short. for earmites the ears should look like they’re very dirty but they’re microscopic so you should maybe check real close just in case and get some medicine from your vet. and once the 2 cats get to know each other they should get along fine like family and keep each other company depending on their individual personalities. cats are very territorial so you shouldget them separate dishes and boxes, especially since it would be difficult to keep up with only one of each that are being shared.