Something possibly wrong with my cat....need advice.

I was just brushing the cat tonight and I noticed tiny tiny black specks on the brush. However, they don't move. I know they aren't fleas. I checked for fleas, and I couldn't see any (tho it's hard, because he's all black). He's an all indoor cat, we do have a dog, but he doesn't have fleas...we use frontline for him (the dog). He also had a small matte in his fur, which is very unusual for him. I'd have to say this is the second one in his 8.5 years of life. While checking for fleas, I did find a few scabs with dried blood....looks like he did that while scratching. Then when I proceded to wash him up with a moist cat towel (it's like a giant wipe up to bathe your cat) I found small dots of what appear to be blood. I have also occassionaly noticed tiny dots of blood on our bathroom counters, and each time I check the cat to see what happened, I find nothing. I found a bit of blood today. I'm hoping the vet can see him this week to see what's going on, but in the mean time do any of you know what this may be? Thanks

 

I'm not a vet or anything...but it sounds like a skin condition. Could be allergies, or maybe bad dry skin, if it's a medium to long haired cat maybe you don't brush him enough. My cat is part Himalayan and not quite long haired but has very thick fur, and got something that kind of looked like what your describing, but only on his tail. I knew I was slacking in the brushing department, and started brushing him every day and it went away on it's own. It could be flea dirt, too, though. Fleas can easily come inside I think, like on your clothes or even on the dog? I might be wrong about that though.

 

Are you sure the black specks aren't "flea dirt" which is actually flea poo... and hence dried blood? It will turn red when you wet it if that's what it is. I have dogs and cats and it is soooo much harder to get rid of the fleas on the cats. Dunno why...maybe cuz their fur is so much thicker than my weenie dogs.

 

Thanks for the replies. I thought it was parasitic whatever it was. I'll bet it's fleas, yucky! But I will still try to get him into the vet to be sure, and even if it is we'll have to get him treated, and for frontline they need a prescription. So since there is the blood and such, does it mean he has them bad if that's what's going on? How do you find fleas on a black cat with thick, THICK medium length hair? This could be a nightmare!!
Thanks again!

 

Good luck at the vet and I hope he'll feel less itchy soon! If you bathe him in cat shampoo, the fleas will weaken and you might find some in the water. :shock:

 

Talk about a needle in a haystack! I don't know if this will work with your long haired cat but if I suspect fleas on one of my dogs I comb her with a flea comb while she sits on top of the white dryer. I can see the fleas if they jump off and also see the flea dirt.

 

I'm thinking fleas too. Please update us when you take him to the vet.

 

Thanks for all your help.
I took him in today after work, unfortunately the vet himself was not in today (he was sick) but his assistant confirmed it was indeed fleas, so we put frontline on him today. Now we're going to put a new application on the dog, and she recommended a flea spray to use for the house. I'm still not sure if I'm going to use the spray as I've got a cat, a dog, a bird then also a 6 month old baby. They said it isn't harmful, we just have to leave the room once it's been treated. So maybe I'll send everyone to my parents and just spray the house once and hope for the best. I don't know tho! It's a spray by Adams, and it looked like an aresol can. Anyone used this before? Thanks again!

 

Ive used Adams a lot at the hospitals Ive worked at (its good for killing other bugs too), its an alcohol based flea spray. To be honest if both your pets are now treated with Frontline (from the vet....not bought on line) then it shouldnt be too long till your just not seeing them anymore.

I had a pretty bad infestation a couple of times...my daughter brought quite a few strays home and with having multiple dogs and cats already at the house the fleas spread like wildfire. I just treated them all with Frontline, took about 2 treatments each over 2 months and I never saw any more fleas.

Personally I dont like using any kind of inecticides around the house. Frontline by itself should be effective enough and its about the safest you can get.

 

So, if by chance any are in my carpet....they will just die off if both my pets are treated with frontline? (The frontline I get is from my vet, I read something about a fake frontline being sold on ebay)

I've already thrown the cats bed away, I have my bedding in the wash right now, the dogs bed and blanket is outside waiting to be washed. So I'm washing everything that I can pick up.
My cat sleeps in the cupboard in my bathroom (which is where his bed was) so should I be worried about anything in there? Thanks very much for the suggestions!

 

I think you've covered all of the bases. If you really had an infestation you would probably be noticing fleas and even bites on yourself. We had that problem years ago before the great topical applications and it was really, really hard to get rid of the fleas. Not so bad anymore though...you should be fine!

 

LOL, thanks Coppersmom...I think I'm probably over reacting. It's just that I can't see any of the adult fleas, and I think that's what bothers me. I'm afraid I've over looked it or something. I do see a lot of the larvae tho...so that kinda freaks me out too. I do notice the cat itching, but not the dog. So maybe by some miracle he doesn't have them. He's a light cream color so they should be rather easy to spot, and I haven't seen any on him. So my fingers are crossed! Thanks again everyone for all your help, and for putting up with me!