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Picture of insects on my kittens. Not fleas, not lice!

15K views 16 replies 6 participants last post by  My_Cat_Smudge 
#1 ·
I cannot find any info on internet. What is it?
thanks.
A few extra details:
Mother cat lives on my backyard, but I take her home for kittens. She doesn't have any insects because I found spray from Walmart, it works fine:
Natural care+ flea & tick home spray.
I don't want to use it on kittens.
Please look at the picture. they run pretty fast, about 1/16" long.
 

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#7 ·
Since it's a lazy Sunday afternoon and the kittens finally went to sleep, I did a massive google search on bugs in FL. The only thing that came close was an Orange Assassin Bug. Which I doubt very much that is what these are. Your kittens would be screaming.
I asked my mom if she had seen anything like this (she was born in the everglades), but she doesn't remember anything like this. However, she hasn't been back to FL since the early 50's and alot of non-native things have moved in.

I'll keep looking, but I don't expect to find anything. sorry
 
#11 ·
A local feed store may be able to tell you what they are. Take a couple of the actual bugs with you, not just photos. But ideally you should be taking the kittens to the vet, you don't know what kind of disease these bugs may be passing to the kittens. They may need to be treated with something more than just a kitten safe pesticide.
 
#15 ·
My cat is crazy.

It started after I sprayed kittens to get rid of insects.
Mother cat takes one kitten to another room and stays there with the kitten.
Other 4 stay in a cardboard box.
It doesn't make sense! If she wants to relocate kittens for any reason, she should bring them all to another place, not just one!
Maybe the box stinks from the flea spray, I need to get another box.
 
#16 ·
Take a few of the actual insects in a plastic sealed baggie to a local exterminator for identification.(they probably won't charge, they don't in my area just to identify).

Once you know what it is, you can ask a vet what to do. If you can't afford a vet, you may be able to just go in and ask them for advice.
Trying to treat things over the internet. . well, you can get bad and non effective advice, and meanwhile the kittens are suffering.

Enough blood sucking bugs -- if that's what they are -- can really hurt them. When ticks are very numerous outside, a large number can actually suck enough blood to kill a moose calf.

Good luck -- find out what you've got!
 
#17 ·
Try getting a flea comb and comb the bugs out of the kittens fur. If the spray is safe for ingestion I'd spray the comb too. If it's not then when your mother cat cleans the kittens she could get awfully sick. After combing maybe give them a bath? I don't really know what's real safe for kittens that young. My kittens are about four weeks old now, and a bath would be fine for them, but I'm not sure about younger kittens.

-My_Cat_Smudge
 
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