How To Handle A Case Of Cat Lice Like A Pro

There’s nothing quite like having a friendly, sociable cat at home – one that likes spending time with you, other pets, and other people. But unless you’re monitoring their movements 24/7, you’ll never quite know just who (or what) they’re running into on their adventures. Specifically, if they come home scratching themselves to death…and now you’re saddled with a case of cat lice.

The good news? Lice infestations in cats are on the uncommon side – less common than infections by pesky critters like fleas and ticks.

The bad news? Left unattended, a bad case of cat lice can end up with your feline buddy losing their fur, ending up with irritated skin, and opening up their risk of worse skin infections. (Not to mention driving you nuts from all the caterwauling!)

So here’s how to figure out how your cat’s landed up with their lice infection – and what steps you can do to prevent another one down the line. (Including keeping an eye on where they like to hang out most often.) Let’s get started.

Can cats get lice? 

Yes, cats can and do end up with lice infections – though it does tend to be less common than any infections from fleas, ticks, and mites. Lice are small, wingless insects that latch onto your cat’s skin and feed on their blood. (Kind of like little vampires!)

Much like the signs of lice in dogs, watch out for signs like your cat:

• Scratching themselves more than usual,
• Losing some hair from the excessive scratching,
• Rubbing their face on the floor
• Red, dry, scabby skin
• Matted fur
• Sores or lesions from biting and scratching
• Showing visible lice in their fur
• Seeming more restless than usual

Can humans pass on lice to cats? Or vice versa?

Thankfully, nope, humans can’t pass lice on to cats – nor can cats pass lice on to humans.¹

The specific species of lice that infects cats is Felicola subrostrata, which tends not to move from one species to another. (Much like all lice.) 

• So nope, if you have head lice, your cat isn’t likely to get it from you.
• Likewise if your dog has lice instead. These critters tend to have their favorite “victims” – and stick to them for good.

How do lice live on cats? 

Cat lice tend to spend their entire life cycle latched onto your cat’s skin – primarily in three stages:

• Adult female lice lay eggs (called nits) in your cat’s skin, usually at the base of their hair shafts.
• After hatching, the nits emerge as “nymphs” and go through several stages of “molting” until they grow into adult lice.
• These newly-grown adult lice continue to lay eggs and infect your cat with more lice.

This entire process takes only around 3-4 weeks – which is why it’s so easy for lice to spread.

Are some cats more likely to get lice than others? 

Thankfully, regular flea and tick preventives can also help prevent lice from spreading into your cat’s skin – and potentially infecting other cats. But even so, you might be more likely to see lice infecting:

• Older cats that might not be able to groom themselves as well as before.
• Sick cats
• Long-haired cats
• Feral cats that are used to living by themselves without human contact
• Stray cats that might not have been living in the cleanest of environments
• Shelter cats that might be living in crowded, unhygienic conditions with other cats

So if you’re considering adopting a cat (or multiple cats) to bring home, make sure you check with the shelter staff whether they include a flea and tick preventive as part of their fees.

😼 Importantly, outdoor cats are several times more at risk for coming in contact with pesky critters like lice – especially if they like to hang out with other cats across their outdoor territories.

“Cats that go outdoors are at a much greater risk of picking up fleas, ticks, or even lice.

These parasites can cause itchiness or other problems for your cat and members of your family.“

– VCA Canada²

So if you’ve got an outdoor cat at home, it makes sense to keep track of where their territory spans.

Meaning, are there any “itch”-prone zones around town where they’re coming in contact with other cats – and picking up an infection.

Which you could do by hovering over your cat 24/7 – monitoring their every move. (Good luck with that. Seriously.)

💡 Or you could join a growing family of loving, responsible cat parents around the world – just like you – who are using cat GPS trackers as a safety measure.

With your trusty Tractive GPS strapped to your buddy’s collar, you can now track your cat:

• In real-time,
• Over an unlimited range
• Across their territory
• Through a Heat Map of their most-frequented spots

🤳All with just a glance at your phone – so you can pick up on whether your cat is heading into any “itch”-prone zones in your neighborhood. (And beyond.)

Discover Tractive GPS

Fleas vs Lice: An important difference

Now when it comes to creepy crawlies that like infecting your cat’s skin, you’ll find lice only rivaled by fleas. Much like lice, fleas like to find a suitable host to live out the rest of their days – feeding, sleeping, and reproducing. (Unlike ticks, which move on from one host to another.)³ 

😮‍💨 And the great news? In the long run, a lice infestation by itself isn’t a major health problem – just a super annoying one. (Since your cat isn’t likely to infect you, thankfully, but mostly suffer scratching and discomfort – while infecting other cats.)

⚠️ The not so great news? Fleas may pass on to humans from cats – resulting in itching and discomfort at best, and bacterial infections at worst.

Here’s a quick distinction to help you understand the difference between these two long-settling parasites. (Skip ahead if you’re grossed out by creepy crawlies!)

Lice…	Fleas….
✅ Don’t usually pass from animals to humans	⚠️ May pass from animals to humans
✅ Can only crawl	⚠️ Can jump
✅ Die after a few days without a host	⚠️ Can live up to 100 days without a host
🤏Nearly microscopic	⚠️ Larger, easier to spot than lice
✅ No major health risk besides itchiness and discomfort	⚠️ Can spread harmful diseases, including typhus and other infections
✅ Mostly transmit from contact with other infected animals	⚠️ Can transmit from outdoor time in grass, forests, or woodland areas

💡See why figuring out where your cat likes to spend most of their time is a smart move? Means you can take action early if it’s a lice infestation…or something worse.

Find Your Cat’s Favorite Spots

Which raises the question…

Where is my cat picking up lice from?

Primarily, cats pick up lice from:

• Other cats, with whom they’re having direct contact – both indoors or outdoors
• Contaminated surfaces, including lice-riddled grooming tools, bedding, or even food and water bowls

In the case of an outdoor cat, it’s pretty obvious they’re running into other cats across their territory. Or being fed by a kindly neighbor who might also have cats – risking the spread of infection.

But if you’ve got an indoor cat that stays 100% indoors – and you don’t have any other cats at home – you might want to do a little digging. (Specifically, are there any spots in your backyard fence that need patching? Your indoor cat might not be so much of an indoor cat after all!)

💡So imagine being able to pick up which spots fall into your cat’s territory and wider range – with just a glance at your phone?

Here it is, highlighted in yellow – on your Tractive mobile app.

Map Your Cat’s Territory

How your vet might diagnose a case of cat lice

Now if your cat’s been scratching themselves raw or losing fur, it’s a good idea to bring them over to your vet for a full checkup. If you’ve got multiple cats at home, bring all of them over. (No matter if they’re itching or not!)

• Your vet will start with a thorough physical exam of your cat’s fur – looking out for nits and adult lice in their hair shafts. 
• They might also run your cat’s fur with a fine-toothed comb to collect samples of lice or nits to inspect under a microscope.

What your vet might prescribe

In general, it’s a good idea to stick to vet-approved products – no matter how pitiful your poor cat might seem during this time. All too often, products like insecticides contain harmful chemicals like permethrin, which can be toxic to cats.

So your vet might prescribe your cat:

• Lice-specific topical treatments, which you can apply as a few drops on your cat once a month – and which can also help prevent other infections
• Medicated lice shampoos
• Flea and tick control treatments
• A bath in lime-sulfur dip every 2 weeks for a total of 3 treatments

Make sure to follow the full course of treatment – even if your cat seems less itchy. Many of these treatments can take a while to be 100% effective, because none of them can entirely get rid of nits.

• Rather, you’re waiting out the cat lice life cycle for the eggs to emerge as nymphs to kill them completely.
• So be prepared to invest at least 1-2 months helping your cat rid themselves of their lice without being re-infected.

How to prevent cat lice from spreading – at home & beyond

Here are a few tips that’ll help you get rid of any critters in your home and outdoors – without compromising your cat’s freedom.

Start with a thorough deep clean

Including your cat’s:

• Bedding and sleeping areas, like your cat’s bed and blanket
• Food and water bowls
• Grooming tools, including combs and brushes
• Toys
• Any favorite pieces of clothing you leave behind when your cat’s alone at home
• Favorite couches or sofas around the house
• Your bed and blankets – especially if your cat likes to sleep in bed with you
• Any other items your cat likes to use, play with, or interact with on the regular

💡 Tossing your cat’s bedding, favorite clothing, and any infected blankets in the dryer can actually help kill any nits as well.

Plus, make sure to wash your hands thoroughly after cleaning these items.

Don’t skip out on regular grooming

If you’ve only been brushing out your cat’s coat every so often, now’s the time to make it a regular habit. (Even more so if you have a long-haired cat at home, since it’s more difficult to see visible nits or lice in their fur.) 

• Regular brushing can help prevent matting and tangling – all of which can make it easier for lice to infect them.
• Grooming on the regular can help you pick up nits and lice even faster, so you can get your cat to your vet and be treated right away.

Don’t skip out on monthly flea & tick treatments

Cat lice is thankfully growing rarer by the day, especially since regular flea and tick treatments can also help curb their spread. With a monthly preventive, you can keep your buddy pest-free without compromising on their freedom.

These include:

• Flea dips
• Medicated baths
• Special anti-pest powders
• Some combination products, which target multiple pests

⚠️ Before you begin any preventive treatment, make sure to get the green light from your vet first. You’ll have to pick the right product for your cat’s age, weight, and what pests you want to target – and understand any safety concerns as well.

Figure out your cat’s favorite hangout spots

Whether they’re an indoor or outdoor cat, your feline buddy is coming in contact with…some cat or the other, if they’ve ended up with a lice infestation. (The question being: where exactly?)

Again, you could figure this out by trailing your cat as they wander through their territory. (And waste a ton of time and energy, since they’ll just give you the slip in under a second.)

💡Or you could just check your cat’s Heat Map and Location History…

…and figure out if your cat’s favorite hangout spots include:

• Your neighbors’ backyards – and their cats
• A cat shelter nearby, where they’ve made some new friends
• A patch of woodland nearby, where they’ve befriended some feral cats
• Anywhere around town they’re coming in contact with stray cats

Which, in an emergency – like if your cat’s gone missing – can help you figure out where to look first.

And for some cat parents around the world, it’s even saved their buddies’ lives.

Discover Location History

Ready to help your cat overcome their “louse”-y day?

Dealing with cat lice can be unsettling – especially if you’re worried they’ll infect you! But rest assured, cats don’t pass lice on to humans, nor can they pick up lice from us.

Rather, cats are more likely to pick up lice from other cats – or contaminated surfaces, including bedding, feeding, and grooming items. Which can turn up as:

• Excessive scratching,
• Hair loss from the excessive scratching,
• Rubbing their face on the floor
• Red, dry, scabby skin
• Matted fur
• Sores or lesions from biting and scratching
• Showing visible lice in their fur
• Seeming more restless than usual

👩‍⚕️Normally, your vet would recommend specific medicated anti-pest products that can help rid your cat of lice when they’re in the “semi-adult” stage. Be prepared to invest at least 1-2 months before your cat is 100% nit-free.

Plus, with a thorough cleanup of their living areas, regular grooming habits, and doing a little digging to figure out where your cat’s been hanging out with other cats – you can help keep your cat free of lice for good.

💡The last of which you can do with just a glance at your phone – if you’ve got a Tractive device strapped to their collar. 

Know everywhere your cat goes

See where they are in real-time, no matter how far they go. Get alerts if they roam too far from home. Find out where they’ve been and discover their favorite spots. Let others track with you. Track sleep and activity.

Discover Tractive GPS

Here’s Dr. Bob Pane from the South Kendall Animal Hospital sharing his expertise on how to get rid of lice and fleas from cats:

And if you’ve liked this post, share it with a friend or a loved one – and let’s help build a safer, kinder world for our furry friends together.