What is this insane bug???

Adasha

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I rescue and I have 18 right now. After the past few weeks of he!!, I’ve figured out a little but not a lot. I’m hoping anyone else has seen this?
Imagine a pile of dust on top of a doorway. Imagine these bugs living in it and then moving to the ceiling in the dust only to fall on the cat and proceed to clear some kind of pathway like a twisted tied braided set of cornrows. You have to look really close or you’ll think it’s losing hair in rows. Nope!
These little bugs are doing this and then get in the skin, leaving their long thick black with yellow spotted antennae sticking out. They chew the ends of the hair, too, so it looks dull.
you can’t pull them out.
the cat hurts and can’t be still.

All I could do was find the antenna and glob Vaseline on it. They get mad and come out quickly and if you dint get them, they go back in. So I had to slather the cats entirely.
They look like tiny shrimp.
Mine are now gone with lots of Vaseline and diatomaceous earth. But I want to know what they are. Took one kitten to the vet. He didn’t see it. Sent us home. It died in 2 days. In my arms. I never want to see these again. I just can’t believe no vet I’ve asked knows.
See photos and realize these are parasites - so you have to have your camera zoomed in with light on.
You’ll see them in the fur but you have to look closely. When you comb the cat the antennae will pop back up. Also, if you’re combing what you think is a matter piece of hair, and they scream, look closely for these shrimp creatures trying to get out of the Vaseline in these photos.
what are they????
 

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Adasha

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hard to see in pics if you had excessive moisture around i would say springtails
I combed the hair before each photo. So anything not straight is a braid or a bug. Look for the first one in the photos. Look for the crazy antennae. They’re really thick.
 

mrsgreenjeens

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I can't see anything that looks like a bug in any of the photos, even the first one, which just looks like a few hairs. I'm not surprised though that your Vet can't identify an insect because that's not their field. Have you tried contacting a Pest Control Company? They should be up on all types of insects and creepy crawlies. Once you know what they are, then you should have more luck in how to get rid of them if they should reoccur.

Did you check do see if they might be springtails based on the above post? (although those don't typically burrow into the skin)
 

Margot Lane

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have you tried contacting any university that includes a specialty in insects?
 
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