Fleas can live in the environment, mostly on pets, but they can live in the environment for an annoyingly long time, usually about three months. They have these really protective shells or larval covers that would probably survive the apocalypse, but they are attracted by heat, and that is when they will open up. It's essential always to have your pet on flea prevention, but especially for those three months because if you're constantly cleaning your house, they can live in the sofa, in the carpet, or in the cracks between your floorboards. Trying to make sure that you're removing all of that pupa and cleaning all those areas to try and get rid of them is important.

Fleas are very small, but they're not microscopic, so you can see them with the naked eye. They have oval-shaped bodies with really long legs, and they're usually brown. They're very bouncy, so whenever you see them, they'll usually spring very far out of the way. Their movement is often very characteristic, and they're very itchy. Ticks have more of a flat, round body, and they have really short legs. They're much slower moving and crawling. They kind of crawl between the fur and will then attach. Their appearance will change once they are engorged with blood or they take a meal. They can become much larger, and they're often gray in color. It's important to try to remove the entire body, and if you're uncomfortable doing that, we can help with that too.

I will throw this out there: I am not a groomer. I just know my knowledge from when I come and pick up my cat from his grooming appointment. But I know they do a thorough brushing, usually with a detangler product, and then they will do a bathing, blow dry, and shave. Your preference and the condition of the coat determine how much shaving is involved. Oftentimes, they'll recommend doing an ear cleaning and trimming of the paw pads. Some places will do brushing for you or have some dental gel that they'll put on for a little added bonus for their grooming. I encourage you to call your cat groomer to see what their procedure is, but that's the gist of what to expect. I know there's probably a lot more out there that I am not a pro on, so I will gladly help steer you toward reputable cat groomers if needed.

They will lick themselves. They have a little rough tongue that they'll use to lick their fur and clean off any debris, and if you have multiple cats, I'm sure you've seen them grooming each other. This is one way that they help keep themselves clean. At times, you might see them licking their paws and wiping their face. That is primarily their routine for their self-hygiene maintenance.

For the majority of breeds of cats, just very limited bathing is needed. Keeping up with regular brushing and letting the cat take care of the majority of his or her grooming needs will be sufficient. There might be situations where they have gotten into something that's caused them to get dirty, if there's matting in their fur, or if there's a medical condition, it might require bathing. Then, of course, jump in. Otherwise, nature usually does best and minimal bathing is required. However, if you're like me and have a breed of cat that requires more of what they consider high maintenance, for instance, I have a Persian at home, and he does require a scheduled grooming service. So you'll see things like going in for a maintenance groom where he gets a thorough brush. I try my best to do daily brushing at home. About once a year, he'll go in and get bathing, brush out, and trim, and they'll shave out any mats and clean up the potty patch area so that there's no poop or any areas where litter can get stuck. Whether this is your aesthetic preference or if your cat needs it due to a lot of matting, you will see longhaired cats get what they call a lion cut. So they'll do trimming, usually leaving hair around the face and little boots around the feet. This is something to keep in mind as well. So if you are on the fence about deciding if you want a shorthaired cat or a longhaired one, keep in mind that those longhaired varieties will require more maintenance on your end than a shorthaired cat, which has an easier brushing routine than those longhaired friends.

I will answer this by saying that's kind of what they're known for. They will groom themselves, and they try to keep themselves tidy and clean. You'll notice that they use a litter box and keep their eliminations in a contained, neat area for the most part. I will go out on a limb and say that the majority of cats keep themselves fairly hygienic and clean. Hopefully, that answers your question for those who have that thought in mind.

Yes. Believe it or not, your indoor dog can get it. Mosquitoes do prefer room temperature, so when it's hot, we all see mosquitoes go into our house as we open the door, so even indoor dogs are at risk.

The cycle of heartworm starts when the microfilaria, which is found in the parasite, the mosquito, is injected into one dog, and microfilaria then slowly reaches different stages. There are actually six larva stages before it reaches the adult stage. Depending on the number of heartworms, we'd use that to determine how we stage the pet based on the size of the heart and the vessel issues we see.

Heartworm disease is fairly common in dogs. We see it quite frequently in the southeast of the United States.