Fleas and Ticks on Dogs and Cats

• Scratching, biting, or over-grooming
• Small dark specks in the coat ("flea dirt" — digested blood; it reddens on wet kitchen paper)
• Red, irritated skin or hair loss, especially the base of the tail and belly
• Fleas visible when you part the fur — fast-moving dark insects

One flea becomes hundreds within weeks because eggs fall into bedding and carpets. Treating only the itchy animal leaves the next generation in the sofa. Treat the pet, all other pets in the home, and the environment together.

Cats may over-groom until the coat looks thin rather than scratch like a dog. Flea allergy dermatitis can look dramatic from a light burden.

Ticks look like small grey-brown bumps that grow as they feed. Check after walks in long grass, woodland, moorland and some urban parks — common sites include ears, neck, armpits, groin, and between toes.

UK ticks of most concern for pets and people are Ixodes species. Prompt removal reduces the time a tick has to transmit pathogens.

Your vet can recommend spot-on treatments, tablets, or collars licensed for your pet's species and weight. Many products cover fleas and ticks together. Use cat-only products on cats — some dog flea treatments contain permethrin, which is toxic to cats and is an emergency if applied or licked.

Year-round prevention is advised in much of the UK because central heating lets fleas complete their life cycle indoors through winter. Summer-only treatment is how January infestations start.

Indoor cats are not automatically exempt. Fleas arrive on shoes, clothing and visiting dogs. See cat worming — fleas carry tapeworm, so the two plans belong together.

Use the worming & flea schedule checker for a lifestyle cadence, then confirm the product with your vet. The checker is not a prescription and does not name a brand.

1. Use a tick removal tool or fine-point tweezers
2. Grasp the tick close to the skin
3. Pull slowly upward with steady pressure — do not twist or jerk
4. Disinfect the bite area and wash your hands
5. Save the tick in a sealed bag if your vet wants identification

Do not use matches, oils, or nail polish — these irritate the skin and may cause the tick to regurgitate.

If the mouthparts snap off, do not dig aggressively; clean the area and ask your vet if a lump or redness persists.

According to UKHSA and UK veterinary guidance:

• Lyme disease (Borrelia) can affect dogs and people after an infected tick bite. Not every tick is infected. Fever, lethargy, lameness or a spreading rash in a person after a bite needs medical advice — pets cannot tell you they have a rash under the fur.
• Babesiosis has been reported in UK dogs in some areas. Sudden anaemia after a tick is a vet job, not a wait-and-see.
• Fleas transmit Dipylidium tapeworm when the pet grooms and swallows a flea.

Prevention and prompt removal beat folklore. Garlic, essential oils and brewer’s yeast are not licensed flea control — garlic is an allium poison.

Wash pet bedding hot, vacuum carpets and furniture thoroughly (empty the bag or canister outside), and consider a vet-advised environmental spray if infestation is heavy. Repeat vacuuming breaks the life cycle: eggs, larvae, pupae. Pupae can wait weeks, which is why a single wash is not the end.

Out of hours skin emergencies are uncommon compared with blocked cats and GDV, but permethrin on a cat is not a morning problem — emergency vet.