Can Bed Bugs Affect Cats?
WouterBefore you assume that bed bugs are the source of your cat’s itching and discomfort, make sure you check the cat’s bedding. Look for fecal spots, dried blood, shells, or live bed bugs. The presence of these indicators may mean that the cat is infested. Bed bugs are widespread and can affect humans, cats, and wild animals. They are also common in abandoned homes and can persist for years.
Bed bugs usually prefer to feed during the night. However, if there are no available nighttime meals, they will attack during the day. Imagine yourself if you were hungry and couldn’t sleep. You wouldn’t lay your head down and go to sleep until you found some food. Similarly, bedbugs are attracted to warm, moist environments, which they can find by analyzing the warmth and carbon dioxide in human bodies and in pet fur.
Bedbug bites are itchy and can lead to small scratch wounds on the body. Eventually, these open wounds can become infected with bacteria. This can be dangerous for your cat. Bedbugs may even contaminate a food source in your home. A cat can get infected by bedbugs without you even knowing it.
Bedbugs are a common household pest, and they feed on cat blood. While they don’t live inside the cat’s fur, they can be carried into your house from other sources, such as a homeless person’s home. To treat bedbugs in your home, heat treatments, pesticides, or home remedies like diatomaceous earth can be applied. In most cases, the problem will be resolved without the assistance of a professional.
