There are two types of lice that affect cats and dogs.
What do chewing lice look like on cats.
You may notice your cat scratching or biting the area that has been affected by lice.
Nits can be seen attached to the individual hair shafts and appear as small white dots.
Treatment for cat lice.
Unlike ticks and fleas they are species specific so different species of lice will attack cats dogs and humans with no risk of cross species transmission.
Felines will itch a lot if infected and their hair will often become very matted.
Pet owners can detect lice early by careful examination of the cat s coat and skin.
Diagnosis is easily made by visually observing lice or their nits eggs in the hair.
Your cat may scratch itself bite itself rub the affected areas or act agitated.
What does a cat s louse look like.
You can distinguish these insects in appearance.
Cats suffering from severely matted fur may exhibit certain symptoms of lice infections.
A cat with lice is intensely itchy.
That means that you cannot get lice from your cat nor can your cat get human specific lice from you.
They tend to attach themselves to areas around the cat s ears head and neck.
Small white and brown patches on the skin and fur should also tell you that your cat might have some lice on her body.
To diagnose cat lice simply observe your feline friend.
If your cat has lice he might not seem too agitated so it can be hard to diagnose the problem.
Fleas are almost black lice are light yellow.
In addition lice lay eggs commonly known as nits.
A cat with a lot of lice can often lose their hair or in extreme cases become anemic due to blood loss.
The best way to prevent lice in your pet is to keep living conditions clean and free of filth.
Feline nits are also visible to the naked eye as they appear like tiny grains white in color.
Detection of feline lice.
This constant scratching should prompt you to check your cat s coat for parasites.
You may also notice matted or balding spots in your cat s coat.
Diagnosis of cat lice.
Adult lice are flat six legged insects with no wings.
The lice found on cats are not the same type of lice found on people but they can still cause irritation by chewing on the skin or sucking blood.
Feline lice are flat wingless and oval shaped insects.
Chewing or biting lice like felicola lice picture 26 below have a large often triangular head that is bigger and wider than the width of their thorax whereas sucking lice louse picture 27 below have a small head that is narrower than the width of their thorax.
The cat lice often look like dandruff to the naked human eye.
Sucking lice which suck blood and chewing lice.
The infestation will be featured in the form of nits lice eggs or matured lice on the skin.
A heavy lice infestation could lead to a scruffy unkempt look and excessive scratching can lead to raw or bald patches.
Chewing lice are tiny flat wingless insects that feed on the dead skin of pets.
The question is how to understand that a cat has fleas or lice many are puzzled.
The affected area may include the head ears shoulders groin tail and anus.
They do not move from one species to another.
