Okay, my cat seems to have her skin coated with a black, sandy crud. It doesn’t make it to the surface of her fur too easily, so I don’t get any on my hands if I pet her, but if I give her a good scratching, it comes off under my nails pretty easily. I don’t think that it’s dander, because it’s hard like sand, and not soft at all. Any ideas?
Sounds like cat acne. My cat had it under his chin, and it sounds like the same stuff–gritty black particles at the base of the hairs. I don’t know what you can do about it, though.
Could it be flea dirt?
I dunno. This is the first cat I’ve ever had with fleas. She doesn’t have that many, and since I put the drops on her, they’ve been less and less, yet the crud continues unabated.
Yes, it sounds more like flea residue to me. My dog gets it pretty bad during the summer if I don’t keep up with the Frontline. And it does resemble black, gritty sand. And quite a bit of it can build up in between baths. Do you use Frontline on your cat?
I bought the Hartz version of the stuff, which is working better than her flea collar does at getting rid of the fleas.
Is this the polite term for flea crap?
Ack! Please don’t! Hartz’ products are not effective, and in many cases have been shown to be quite dangerous. Just Google “hartz” and “flea” and you’ll see the outcry their products have created on the internet. Hopefully one of the vets here on the boards (CrazyCatLady, do you do vanity searches?) will pop in to offer information.
Switching to a better product might help in the meantime.
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=265126 (in which vetbridge offers some good information on the subject)
http://www.hartzvictims.org/
Use Vantage ™ to get rid of fleas. Works very well
Do you mean flea pschitz? Harldy can you see a flea. Their waste would require a strong magnifier.
BTW many alergens are the waste products of things such as dust mites and other small organisms.
I would disagree. Fleas are fairly easy to see, especially if the cat has a lot. Flea dirt is extremely easy to see just by parting the cat’s fur.
OP: it does sound like flea dirt. That Hartz stuff isn’t worth the bottle it comes in. Spend the $10 per month for a real flea treatment from a vet - Frontline, Advantage, or Revolution. If you are using Hartz and the fleas are merely “becoming less,” then the Hartz isn’t working. Advantage will kill adult fleas within about 12 hours. Then you must retreat according to the directions (not right away; you have to wait - maybe 1 or 2 weeks or longer - ask the vet) to kill any eggs that have hatched since the first treatment. Does your cat go outside? Then she needs to be treated regularly; probably once a month after the initial series. If she doesn’t go outside she can probably get away with being treated initially and then sporadically, depending on how or why she’s picking up fleas.
If your cat’s skin is “coated,” as you say, with black sandy crud, then she has a LOT of fleas. Not just a few. She has many, many fleas. You really should spend the money on a decent flea treatment. She’d probably do well with a bath too. Has your vet offered any suggestions about any of this?
“Baby” fleas are unable to feed on their host. The species has evolved a way around that, however. The adult flea does not fully digest its meal, leaving blood in the feces for the immature fleas to feed on. If you take suspected flea feces and put the material on a wet tissue, a red/brown stain can be seen (from blood) as the material dissolves.
Also, I would second/third/whatever what has been said about Hartz products. The company has a lousy reputation (anyone remember Blockade?). Advantage and Frontline work well.
If the material is not flea feces, then I would consult with your veterinarian.
If it’s the price of the Frontline that’s stymieing you, there may be a way to reduce the application costs. At least there is for small dogs. Frontline for dogs comes in three sizes—the weight of the dog determines which one you use. The concentration of the chemical is exactly the same, the bigger sizes just have more of it. The biggest size contains exactly six times as much of the liquid as the smallest. Since my dog takes the smallest, I simply buy the largest size, siphon off one sixth of the liquid with a 1 ml. syringe, remove the needle, and apply it. Since you can usually skip the colder months, one six-pack box lasts me four years.
I’m not sure if the same thing would work for cats, though. I don’t know if there’s different sizes for cats like there is for dogs. If the concentration in the cat product is the same as the dog product, then I guess you could apply the dog product to a cat. A 3-pack box would probably last a couple of years or more if you could do it this way.
Bullwrinkle.com has the lowest price on Frontline that I’ve so far been able to find on the Internet.
Well, for Advantage (which I have more experience with) it is the same. If you have decent math skills you can actually purchase the large dog size and split the tube over multiple cats. With Advantage you also have a huge safety leeway built in. If you apply too much (within reason) you may waste product, but the pet will be fine.
Do not try this at home. Cat was a stunt cat on a closed test track
I use Advantage, and my cat is flea-free and clean.
I tried the Hartz stuff once, and not only did it permit a flea infestation to return, but it burned off all the hair and left a bald spot (temporarily) at the point of application.
In this case, you get what you pay for. Use the good stuff.
You can usually tell if the dirt is dirt or flea dirt by putting a little water on it. If it turns red, it’s flea dirt (blood).
I have 2 cats who go outside but only into a walled garden, and I only have to use the Advantage about once every six or seven months. Cheap enough. My be always has a deal if you buy six tubes you get one free. Call around.
Oh sorry vetbridge, I didn’t mean to be an echo; I didn’t see your whole post.
Cheap or not, my kitty’s going to have to wait awhile before she goes to the vet. There’s a feral cat who’s taken up residence on my deck, who’s got an oozing sore on his back near the base of his tail. When I get the money up, I’m going to figure out a way to wrangle him into a cat carrier (once I buy one) without losing huge hunks of myself in the process, and get him to the vet and doctored up. There’s not a “no kill” shelter near here, and the local animal control folks have the annoying habit of giving anything that’s not a purebred the needle as soon as they snag 'em, so I’m not going to call them on him. All this, of course, is assuming that he doesn’t freeze to death before then. He won’t come inside, and the one time I carried him inside, he got really upset and demanded to be let out immediately. It’s supposed to get down into the teens tonight, and I put a covered litterbox with some old shirts in it, along with some food out there, so hopefully, he’ll do the smart thing and snuggle down there tonight.
My cat’s had no bad reaction to the Hartz stuff, other than it’s made her neck fur oily. (Haven’t tried to put it on the feral cat, who’s covered in fleas because of his wound.) Bathing my cat’s out of the question as I don’t have one of those attack dog training suits, which would be necessary to accomplish a decent flea bath for her. My cat’s fat and happy (well, she’s happy so long as I continue to provide her milk when she demands it, and lavish constant affection on her), so getting her to the vet to be deflead can wait. (I only put the Hartz stuff on her, because I was tired of them biting me and they’ve since stopped.)
FWIW IF you can arrange to drop a very rotten egg on the feral cat it will feel very unwelcome and leave for parts unknown. It will NOT like to groom itself to remove the residue of rotten egg. Also a bb pellet is supposed to accomplish the same purpose. Sorry no cite, read it on the web some time past.
springears, I’m disgusted.
Tuckerfan, a local animal shelter/rescue group should be able to lend you a trap. It’s not likely you’ll get the big baddie into a kitty carrier.
Re the Hartz product, it was the subject of a class-action lawsuit filed in November 2001. Read more at www.hartzvictims.org