Do Mosquitoes Bite Cats? Is Cat Mosquito Repellent Needed?

When you have a cat, you want to protect it to the best of your abilities. Cats will roam around outside often, making them a vulnerable target for all sorts of diseases and insects. Are mosquitoes included as a possible danger for a cat? Do mosquitoes bite cats or is this a myth? Considering the fact that Amazon sells this lovely cat mosquito repellent collar, chances are that your feline friend could indeed potentially get bitten. Let’s find out!

Earlier I’ve provided a list of pets that might get bitten by mosquitoes in this article, so now it’s time to zoom in a bit more for some purring and meowing. Because kittens need will need some love and protection from their humans. Well, that is if they are actually in any type of danger. Let’s start from the basics, and see if insects will see a cat as a potential target to suck blood from.

Do Mosquitoes Bite Cats?

Despite the layers of fur, mosquitoes are perfectly able to bite cats. This is because mosquitoes use a biting method called probing. The mosquito wiggles its way into a feline’s skin, to bite them in vulnerable area’s such as ears or nose. It is advised to protect cats from mosquito bites using insect repellent.

Despite the fact that mosquitoes will sometimes bite cats, usually, a cat is perfectly able to defend itself from unwanted insects. It’s not required to keep your felines inside, once the sun sets and the evening bugs come out to play. The most you can do is use a natural or organic cat insect spray to protect them during the later hours in the summertime.

Since the nose and ears are the more vulnerable parts for mosquito bites, it’s easy for a cat to defend itself when it hears the buzzing sound nearby. The thicker fur on the cat’s back, as well as the tail, will generally be protected by the layers of hair. So the odds of them being bitten are realistic, but smaller than a human.

How Can I Protect My Cat From Mosquito Bites?

Here are some of the most effective ways to protect your cat from mosquito bites:

• Use natural mosquito repellent products: Try organic cat repellents such as these shampoos;
• Remove any standing water: Have a tiny backyard without any puddles of water;
• Avoid peak mosquito hours: Let your cat inside when the sun sets or during the night;
• Keep mosquitoes outdoors: Mosquito-proof your house with these magnetic screen doors.

While cats are naturally inclined to groom and lick themselves, they cannot avoid insects to bite them, especially near their faces. The nose and ears are especially in danger of bites, which are exactly those parts where cat paws shouldn’t scratch too often. It is advisable to protect an already bitten cat (in the face or ears) with a special cat cone like this, for facial protection against excessive scratching.

Luckily, most cats will be playful around buzzing insects, and the vulnerable parts of their body will detect one very quickly. This makes the likelihood of a potential bite smaller. Cats will tend to chase and kill mosquitoes if they are detected, especially when they are roaming around indoors. And don’t worry about them eating one, that’s just a bit of extra protein for them. To help them out a bit more, using a natural repellent will certainly help. Let’s take a quick look at the best product options for the price.

Best Natural Mosquito Repellent For Cats

For optimal feline protection, I’d recommend you use a natural plant-based mosquito spray. While I don’t have a cat myself, this Vet’s Best Mosquito Repellent Spray works great on my dog. I spray some near the snout and ears, and he’s safe for an entire summer’s day out. Considering the fact that this spray is designed for both dogs and cats, I’d certainly give it a go for your cat(s) as well.

Usually, sprays will be good for a short period of time, while the above spray will have a shelf life of 3 years or longer. The smell isn’t that bad either, it’s more of a lemon-like smell, which won’t annoy your pet either. The smell is quite clean and fresh, not annoying at all.

It’s meant to just directly spray the substance on your cat, which makes using it pretty easy. A quick spray will annoy your cat a bit, but once he or she gets used to it, this will go over quickly. Usually, you reapply this spray every 2-3 hours. This might seem like a lot, but remember you only need to do it in the evening. And it’s what the label says: I notice the smell will last longer than that anyway!

Any other things you need to know? Well, it’s non-chemical and DEET-free. Also, it comes in a useful tiny packaging and is carried with you quite easy because of that. The working product is based on lemongrass oil, which I’ve already discussed as being a great plant for repelling mosquitoes naturally.

Can Cats Be Allergic To Mosquito Bites?

Just like humans, cats can get an acute allergic reaction to mosquito bites. Severe skin itch (pruritus), as well as local swelling, hair loss or change of skin color can all indicate an allergic reaction. Mosquito bite hypersensitivity in cats should be treated with immediate veterinary care, unless the case is mild.

If you’re curious what an allergy looks like, here’s a good case study description of a potential hypersensitive cat. The main steps of identification of allergies are very simple, let’s check them out in a bit more detail:

• Diagnosis of the problem: Damaged nose or ears can have multiple causes. Fungal infections or skin cancer could be confused with severe reactions to insect bites. Usually, the excessive itching will be the factor that distinguishes the bites from the infections. Itches and pain are two different sides of the same coin;
• Managing mosquitoes: It’s always a good idea to remove mosquitoes from your yard ánd indoors. I highly recommend to check out my extensive tests of the most effective anti-mosquito products that help you do this. Prevention is much better than treatment, which makes killing mosquitoes in your local area needed ánd helpful to other pets, as well as humans;
• Excluding other possibilities: Insect bites go beyond just mosquitoes alone. Mites, ticks, fleas or other pests can certainly be responsible for a bite as well. Your cat might respond differently to all of these critters. Make sure the symptoms are related to mosquitoes in order to give the correct treatment. Usually, flea and tick prevention also help against flying insects;
• Symptoms of hypersensitivity: As discussed, these mainly include excessive itches, swelling and redness of the skin, or local temporary hair loss. A normal non-hypersensitive cat will have these responses too, but in much less serious form. The level of agony of your cat will indicate if it’s truly hypersensitive;
• Timeline of the symptoms: This is all about timing. How long ago did your cat develop these symptoms and how have they worsened over time? An acute reaction is often best response to with an immediate visit to the vet. That way, you can exclude possible health dangers.

Does Cat Revolution Repel Mosquitoes?

One of the major brands of pet repellents is called Cat Revolution. This feline product line is meant to protect your cat from fleas and ticks. The FDA-approved Cat Revolution is also known to repel mosquitoes effectively, as well as diseases that stem from mosquito bites, such as heartworms.

The product line is usually marketed and targeted towards ticks or fleas, but flying pests will also be repelled by the sprays and drops. The Cat Revolution line will have options for all types of felines, ranging from kittens to old cats, but also larger or hairier felines. That way you can be absolutely sure your cat will get the correct treatment.

While Cat Revolution works against insects, I’d recommend you keep to just a repellent spray. This is mainly because this is an easier solution for mosquitoes. If you’d like to include the protection of fleas and ticks as well, feel free to give this product line a go.

Can Cats Eat Mosquitoes?

If a cat is feeling playful, it can certainly happen that it will try to eat a mosquito. Cats can try to play with mosquitoes before eating them, just like they would do when eating a spider or any other insect. Mosquitoes are certainly not of nutritional value to cats, who will always prefer their cat food.

Throughout this article, we have discovered that female mosquitoes will, however, try to eat (i.e. bite) cats. A world turned upside down! The predator becomes the prey just as fast. But a mosquito bite will certainly not kill or harm your cat, unless the mosquito happens to carry a deadly disease with it.

It is precisely due to those types of bite-transmitted diseases, that it is essential you remove as much of these insects as possible from your local area. Here’s a long list of effective anti-mosquito products, which will aid you in the fight against these biting little pests. Please note that I’ve personally battle-tested and reviewed all of these products. So you can be sure they actually work as they should. Happy mosquito hunting!