Holly Hedrick is a 14 year old domestic short hair kitty that presented in late November for decreased appetite and energy. Holly is a strictly indoor cat and had been doing well until recently. She had been eating less of her dry food lately and today she refused her favorite treat- TUNA! She has been sleeping a lot lately too. Her owners know she is an older girl and are dreading the news that will come from her vet visit. Over the years they have cared for pets with kidney disease, diabetes and cancer so they suspect the news will be bad. On presentation, Holly is quiet alert and responsive. The doctor immediately notices that Holly's gums are pale. Further evaluation reveals a mild heart murmur, elevated heart rate of 220 and a low temperature of 98. The staff here at Animal Medical Center always passes a flea comb through the hair coat of every pet and Holly was no exception. Mr. and Mrs. Hedrick were disgusted to see several live fleas on the comb and a lot of flea dirt (feces). Poor Holly had flea anemia. The Hedrick family wrongly assumed that if a pet doesn't venture outdoors, they cannot get fleas so they never followed the recommendation to treat Holly with parasite prevention.
On presentation, Holly is quiet alert and responsive. The doctor immediately notices that Holly's gums are pale. Further evaluation reveals a mild heart murmur, elevated heart rate of 220 and a low temperature of 98. The staff here at Animal Medical Center always passes a flea comb through the hair coat of every pet and Holly was no exception. Mr. and Mrs. Hedrick were disgusted to see several live fleas on the comb and a lot of flea dirt (feces). Poor Holly had flea anemia. The Hedrick family wrongly assumed that if a pet doesn't venture outdoors, they cannot get fleas so they never followed the recommendation to treat Holly with parasite prevention.
Holly's doctor whisked her back to the treatment area to obtain some lab work. A complete blood count revealed profound anemia of 15%. This number represents the percent of her blood that is cells versus fluid. Normal cats range from around 28% to 45% of their blood is cells. Anemia is a lack of red blood cells which carry oxygen to the body's organs and tissues. Signs of anemia include weakness, lethargy, pale gums, low temperature and increased respiratory rate and effort. Holly's serum chemistry was normal which meant the anemia was likely secondary to the fleas. A fecal sample showed another common complication of flea infestation: Tapeworms. Fleas are a common source of tapeworm infections in pets.
The flea life cycle begins when a flea gets on a host (cat for example). The flea bites the cat and ingests blood. Some pets are allergic to flea saliva and become itchy when a flea bites them but most pets do not show any signs of itch or hair loss even with heavy flea infestations. The flea lays eggs in the haircoat which fall into the environment. The eggs hatch into larvae which feed on the flea droppings that fall off the host. The larvae spin cocoons and pupate. The pupae can lie dormant for many months and are resistant to insecticides. This entire life cycle can be completed in only 16 days! Fleas can come in the home on people's clothing or shoes and we often see flea infestations on indoor only cats.
Holly was immediately given a Capstar pill to kill her fleas in about 30minutes. We then applied a dose of Revolution to the skin between her shoulders to prevent the flea eggs from hatching and prevent the fleas from her environment from infesting her again. Next we placed an IV catheter and started her on warm IV fluids. Fortunately she ate soon after admittance so we gave her a dewormer that kills tapeworms. Holly was stronger by the next day and was able to return home without a blood transfusion. Holly's family was informed to aggressively clean their home while she was in the hospital to remove the eggs and pupae from the environment. It is important to vacuum every day and discard the bag or empty the canister immediately. All bedding the pet sleeps on needs to be washed in hot water preferably with a small amount of bleach if possible.
Holly recovered well until a week later when she was rushed in as an emergency due to collapse and muscle stiffness and twitching. Apparently her owner was very disturbed by the flea infestation and by all the dead fleas she had been finding on Holly's bedding so she gave Holly a bath. Unfortunately she used a flea shampoo containing pyrethrins.
Pyrethrin is a pesticide commonly found in over the counter flea shampoos and topical drops. It is a fairly toxic chemical that can be effective in treating fleas. Fortunately we have safer, more effective products like Frontline or Revolution so we can avoid these products.
Holly was immediately bathed to remove any pyrethrins remaining on her skin. Cats are especially sensitive to the chemicals in flea shampoos since they can ingest them when they groom themselves. We resumed IV fluids and gave Holly some sedatives and muscle relaxants to help with her twitching. She was back to herself by the next day. The owner discarded all of the over the counter flea products they had purchased and went home with a one year supply of Revolution to be used once a month.
Fleas are a year-round problem here in southeast Pennsylvania and all pets, including indoor only cats, should be on monthly prescription flea prevention. Every year our doctors treat dozens of flea related problems in our outdoor and indoor pets, often related to not using prevention year-round. Thankfully fleas are a preventable problem and it is unlikely we'll be finding fleas on Holly ever again.