Little bugs ALL over my cat?

Question

He's always been an outside cat. He's like 12 years old and really dirty. But it's freezing outside so we brought him in for the night and noticed he has really tiny, little bugs all over him. I don't see any eggs or anything, but we noticed these same bugs on him in the summer. We sprayed him with flea and tick killer in the summer and it got rid of them, but they're back and it's - degrees outside? I know they aren't fleas, they don't look like fleas. But if you move a patch of his furr, you can see TONS of them just in that spot... I've seen lice, and it doesn't really look like lice in my opinion. I tried to take a picture, but his furr is orange and the bugs are whitish brown and way tinier then fleas. Is there a different kind of lice?

Answer 1

They might be mites.

Spraying your cat isn't the best way to go, it's probably the least effective as well.

You should use a flea preventative from the vet that you apply monthly to prevent fleas, mites etc.

That reminds me, just take him to the vet and the vet will know what they are.

Answer 2

it sounds horrible for your kitty! just hearing this makes me itch lol so he must be really irritated right now. What do you spray him with? I would suggest some frontline because over the counter stuff has horrible chemicals in them, BUT # 1 you should get him to a vet right away before you try anything....Do the bugs jump? it could be mites or ticks as well. Sounds like mites tho? because mites are tinier, ask a 24/7 vets office and they can sometimes give you an answer without having to take them in but you should make absolute sure with a doc. hope your kitty is okay!

Answer 3

He still could be fleas even though it's freezing outside.



Here's a really cheap & fairly easy way to try to get rid of them (& it WILL work if they're really fleas--i've done it before on my cat): Give your cat a bath in warm water with Dawn dish soap. I don't think it could make your pest problem any worse to say the least!! My advice though, is to go slow when washing him because it's bad enough that cats don't really like water--why make it worse by freaking them out with fast movements??



I still wash my cat with Dawn sometimes because it makes him feel so soft & smell so good!! ...sometimes he gets into stuff that makes him stinky, lol



I hope that helps!! Good luck!

Answer 4

Could be fur mites, but it could be mange. People can get scabies, so I've read, from cats or dogs that are infected with mange. Get your doctor to test you for mange and if you test positive, then you need to get your cat to a vet.

Answer 5

fleas. suprisingly, they can survive in cold weather, and i would imagine that is what it was. use some flea medication, and disinfect your house, vacuum, wash EVERYTHING, even the carpet and furniture. fleas get on everything, and good luck getting rid of them.