My cat just had a flea bath. What are these red dots on the cloth?

The reddish color in the water comes from the flea poop (or "flea dirt", as it's often called). This looks like little black specks in the fur. The black specks are actually digested blood from the fleas, and will turn red in water. So this is nothing to worry about, just a normal part of having fleas. Once you get rid of the fleas, you should stop seeing the reddish color in the water :) I would suggest using a good quality monthly flea medication such as Stronghold or Advocate - you can get these from your vet. They're generally safer and much more effective than over-the-counter flea meds for cats.

Hello, thank you for using PetCoach. This looks like flea dirt. If you put "cat flea dirt" into a Google search you will see many photos that resemble this. I suggest you get her a GOOD flea prevention and treat your house and/or yard for fleas. You can bathe her if she will let you with Dawn dish soap. Use the dish soap sparingly as it is very concentrated. Be sure to rinse it off thoroughly. You should only need to bathe her once. Bathe her either 24 hour before OR after applying the topical flea medication. If you can't bathe her, don't worry too much about it. Once the medication kicks in and you treat the environment her clinical signs will resolve. I have linked some products for you below: ( https://worldtails.securevetsource.com/itemView/view/223965_HomeDelivery.pml?productId=120766 ) ( https://www.amazon.com/Virbac-Knockout-Treatment-Spray-16-Ounce/dp/B00AT6FY6A/ ) ( https://www.amazon.com/Black-Flag-Killer-Concentrate-Treatment/dp/B071XPK8M8/ ) Be sure to continue to use a topical flea prevention on her EVERY MONTH. Watch her poop closely in the coming months as often cats will get tapeworms from ingesting fleas. If you see any worms (look like grains of rice) on her poop or around her anus you should take her to your vet to get a dewormer. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

I can see where this is frustrating. It is possible that you had flea dirt on your bed. If flea dirt gets wet it can cause red color. I am not 100% sure but I would make sure you do not have bed bugs or anything else like that. I have seen clients bring in there pets for bugs and it is actually a bed bug problem (there pet did not actually have bugs). However like I said fleas could be a cause too. I would recommend taking D'd to the vet for a good check up and applying flea prevention every 30 days.

Poor kitty. It is likely these were just additional fleas that then migrated to the kitties face b/c you were bathing the rest of the body. This is very common. Fleas do have a blood meal so the water will turn red when they are killed. I would recommend rebathing the kitty and gently apply it to the top of the head, use care not to get in the kitty's eyes. Then rinse again. You should also use a flea comb (from your local pet store) to physically remove the fleas that are still remaining on the face where the shampoo can't reach. Your kitty is old enough for a flea preventative, so its best to then get Midnight on a good quality flea preventative. My only recommendations for cats are: Revolution, Cheristin, or Advantage. I hope that your pet Midnight does well moving forward and finally gets rid of these fleas. Take care!

What you are describing sounds exactly like flea dirt. What I would recommend is putting a few of them on a wet paper towel and rub them back and forth with your finger or another wet paper towel. If they turn the paper towel brown or red, then they are likely dried blood and flea dirt. If Bailey had fleas when you started Advantage 2 months ago, there were likely still eggs, larvae or pupae in the house that have now hatched into adult fleas and may be biting Bailey resulting in flea poop even though he is on a flea preventative. I am attaching a handout below that includes some information on the flea life cycle. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1575 I hope that makes sense and answers your question. Thanks for using PetCoach.

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Until you wash her the flea-dirt will remain, as it is the poop from the fleas and won't go away without her grooming it off, or you washing it off. Giving her a bath with warm water and a tiny bit of soap (avoid any flea shampoos as you have already used good products) is a good idea. However I would wait for about a week to perform this bath as you don't want to wash the Revolution off. After you bath her, you can use the flea dirt to monitor if more adult fleas are present. If you don't bath her, which is an option, eventually she will groom it away, and this is ok. Best of luck with Cleo!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It is hard to see the skin in your pictures but it looks like a rash or comedones. If the reddish black things on her skin flakes off or are loose, wet them on a white tissue. If they melt away to a red streak that is flea poop. Flea dips and shampoos are NOT preventatives for fleas and the fleas that hatch on the carpet will jump right back on the pet. Fleas do not lay eggs on the pet but on the carpet. Bed bugs do not live on animals. I recommend a flea preventative like oral Nexgard, Simparica, Bravecto or topical Advantix ii or the Seresto collar. If there are no live fleas or flea dirt then she likely has a secondary skin infection or rash from an allergic reaction the the fleas. I would have her seen by your Vet so she can be provided relief. Also it looks like she has a paw infection which could be from environmental or food allergies. Good luck!