My cat has fleas. Why is the water red when I comb him? Is it blood?

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!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It sounds like Sonny does have fleas. The tiny red dots are flea poops (dried blood) that are now wet/rehydrated. I recommend contacting your vet for flea prevention medication to use every 30 days. Over the counter products don’t work and can be dangerous for cats. If you use a veterinary products you won’t need flea collars or flea baths (which also don’t work). You need to treat all pets in the home every 30 days. You should also get a home treatment, follow the directions and vacuum all flooring and surfaces well then throw out the bag. If you do this every 30 days as directed you should be flea free in 3-4 months. Good luck and kisses to Sonny!

The most likely cause for water to turn red brown when rinsing off an animal is due to the presence of fleas. Flea poop, also known as flea dirt, turns red brown when it gets wet. Some cats may have an allergic reaction to flea bites causing severe scabbing or crusting of their skin and thinning hair. Given the severity of what you're describing, I would recommend that you have Lucky seen by your veterinarian. Left untreated, flea infestations can cause severe anemia. Your veterinarian may recommend checking Lucky's red blood cell level for anemia. They can also recommend flea treatments for Lucky and for your home to help solve the problem. Please keep in mind that many over-the-counter flea treatments are not safe for cats. Please make sure to read all packaging carefully.

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.

The blood is probably from the dead fleas. I would not be overly worried about it. You just really need to get him on a high quality prescription flea medication. There is really no excuse for a flea infestation when there are so many good products on the market. Poor guy must be miserable...... I suggest an oral pill like Bravecto, Nexgard, Comfortis or Simparica. You can try one of these local vaccine clinics to get a product. ( https://www.vippetcare.com/find-a-clinic/32534/ ) ( https://www.ezpetclinic.com/products ) ( https://www.shotvet.com/pages/walgreens-pet-vaccine/ ) If you don't want to do that then you can try using K9 Advantix II from your local Petco or Walmart. ( https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/k9-advantix-ii-topical-large-dog-flea-and-tick-treatment )

Poor kitty. In order to know what the stuff in in her poop, we would need to see it. It could possibly be blood, so its best to get this checked out by your vet if you suspect its blood or if it continues to show up in the stools. You can also take a picture of it if it happens again and share it here on the forum so that we can give our best opinion on what it is and if it warrants a vet visit or not. Often-times it takes several baths with dish dawn detergent to get rid of all the fleas. Subsequently you should also treat the house with a flea fogger (purchased from your local Lowes or Home Depot) or a spray such as Frontline that can be used on surfaces. The bleeding you saw when you washed her was likely mostly the fleas and bloody poop (flea dirt) insteda of Snowball actually bleeding. Check her skin for any signs of a serious infection and have this treated by your vet if needed. Also, if Snowball is more than 2 lbs, then at this age she can have a flea product called Capstar (Nitenpyram). This will kill all remaining fleas within 1 hr, but is not a preventative, so the fleas can get back on her if she is exposed to them again, which is why it is so important to treat your home and not allow her outside until she can get on a regular flea preventative (Revolution). Revolution can be given to kittens as young as 8 weeks of age. : ) The capstar instant flea killer can be repeated daily if needed and again is safe for any kitten over the age of 4 weeks or more than 2 lbs. In order to know what the stuff in in her poop, we would need to see it. It could possibly be blood, so its best to get this checked out by your vet if you suspect its blood or if it continues to show up in the stools. I hope that this helps and best of luck moving forward with your kitty Snowball. Take care! : )

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!