Fleas and ticks are some of the tiniest but most frustrating pests out there. They can be difficult to deal with, hard to spot, and even harder to get rid of, especially if they’re buried deep in your cat or dog’s fur. While these pests can be frustrating and harmful to us, they can be especially dangerous for your pets. Even if you try your best to keep them out of your Alabama home, fleas and ticks can get inside by living in the fur of your pets. Once inside, these pests can become a big problem as they can breed and multiply even during the winter season.
Fleas and ticks can cause skin irritation, infections, and diseases that can seriously harm your pet’s health, require expensive medication or visits to the vet, and in some cases can even be 
fatal or pass a disease on to humans. If you see these pests in your home or on your furry friends, act quickly to make sure you, your family, and your pets won’t be affected.
Common Ways Fleas Can Affect Your Cats And Dogs
Fleas are tiny parasitic insects that survive by feeding on the blood of a host organism like your dog or cat. Different species of fleas prefer to feed on different types of animals, but they can all pose a serious danger to your pets.
- Flea Bite Dermatitis: The most common problem fleas cause is flea bite dermatitis, a skin condition that can develop when a pet is allergic to the saliva fleas produce while biting your cat or dog. Flea bite dermatitis causes your pet to itch and scratch themselves a lot, leading to open sores and scabs that can easily become infected and cause more serious health problems.
- Tapeworms: Tapeworms living inside adult fleas can be passed on to your cat or dog when they consume a flea carrying a tapeworm. Once inside your pet, they can grow up to twelve inches long and cause symptoms like an itchy bottom and weight loss. Although severe, this issue can be easily treated at the vet’s office.
- Flea Bite Anemia: This infection particularly affects puppies and kittens when they are severely infested with fleas. Their red blood cell count decreases because of how much blood the fleas consume. Flea bite anemia is a serious condition that leads to death if not quickly addressed.
- Cat Scratch Disease: Cat scratch disease is a quite common bacterial infection that cats can contract from fleas. The symptoms of this disease, such as vomiting, loss of appetite, and sluggishness, can be serious, so prompt medical attention is important in treating this condition.
A Few Ways Ticks Can Harm Your Pets
Like fleas, ticks are also parasites that feed on other host organisms’ blood to survive. They are notoriously tricky to spot and remove and can go unnoticed and cause serious health problems for your furry friends if not handled promptly.
- Lyme Disease: Lyme disease is one of the most common and well-known diseases that ticks carry. While you may be familiar with the effects this disease can have on humans, it can also affect your pets if they are bitten by a tick carrying Lyme disease. Symptoms in dogs and cats include lethargy, loss of appetite and interest in activities, difficulty breathing, pain, limping, and rashes around the area of the bite. If not addressed, Lyme disease can lead to dangerous health problems like kidney, brain, and heart problems.
- Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever: This disease can cause symptoms like vomiting, loss of appetite, coughing, pain in joints or an inability to walk, diarrhea, swelling in the legs and face, fever, and even seizures in severe cases. Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever can be a serious infection in dogs and cats, but thankfully can be treated quickly with a short antibiotic course.
- Anaplasmosis: Symptoms of this tick-borne disease in pets are pain in joints, vomiting, diarrhea, and neurological disruption. An anaplasmosis infection is determined by blood and urine tests and the vet and is fairly easy to treat with antibiotics.
Get Flea And Tick Control From Bama Pest To Protect Your Furry Friends
If you have cats or dogs, you need to protect them from the dangers that fleas and ticks can do to your pets. A great way to keep these pests from affecting your furry friends is to keep them out of your Alabama home with a flea and tick control treatment from Bama Pest. Our program will help treat current problems and prevent future infestations of these pests so that you can enjoy your home, family, and pets without worrying about pesky fleas and ticks. Visit our website to view more information about how our flea and tick control treatment program works and all of our other services, fill out our contact form, or give us a call at 251-478-7015.
We currently service:
- Mobile County
- Baldwin County
- Washington County
Bama Pest Control is a disabled, veteran-owned small business. We are also HUBZone certified and DBE certified two certifications from organizations helping the disadvantaged, minorities and women maintain their small businesses.
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