Hedgehog in garden

i have been having a usual suspect eating my cats food and sitting in their sleeping room also, and dont know much about hedgehogs, all i hear is that they are full of fleas lol is it ok being so near my cats? it is getting rather fat as it helps itself every night about11pm then goes in the room with cats and sits there for a while and its getting fatter over time, advice on whether it is ok near my cats would be good, i notice my cats are scratching themselves more than usual and at their ears alot

 

The flees that live on hedgehogs feed exclusively on the hedgehogs, so no risk to you or your cats. Make sure the hedgehog gets access to drinking water though, if it is stuffing its face it will need something to wash all that food down.

 

it clears the food and drinks bowl every night then goes and sits in with the cats for a few hours then disapears, i took some pics of it last nite, he is a fatty lol

 

Excellent. I like hedgehogs. We had one in our garden for a few years, and when we'd sit out on the patio on summer nights with our drinks, sometimes it would come over and join us for a saucer of water. I used to give it milk which it lapped up with gusto, but then I read that it is potentially harmful to them as they can't digest it properly, so poor Steven had to make do with water after that, plus any slugs and snails he could find.

 

Your hedgehog is getting fat, you say? Have you thought that she might be pregnant?
I'm not sure what time of year hedgehogs give birth but you might hear the patter of tiny feet quite soon.....!

 

:gnthb:maybe its pregnant or maybe its just fat it seems generally larger than any other hedgehog i have seen and has so much food on tap i think it loves it

 

Great pest control. We only have frogs here, but they're more than welcome if they eat the slugs!

 

I think that Flinty may have a point. Whilst the breeding season is April to September the main period is May and June, the gestation period is 4 and a half weeks and most litters appear in June and July. I think you'll be hearing the patter of tiny feet(?) in the not too distant future.

 

I am so jealous i would love a hedgehog in my garden , i have millions of slugs i wouldnt need to give it extras :skp::wink:

 

i have stopped putting out slug pellets as dont want to harm it, but will it bother going for the slugs seeing as it has food on tap every evening.

 

We have hedgehogs fairly regularly, but our rusty likes to play with them, so I get my Gardening Gloves on, pick them up, talk to them, then place them over next door's garden for safety. The neighbour knows I do it, because I told him.

Re young ones, I found a quite young one in our garden as late as November last and on a Cold night, so got an old shopping bag, put an old towel in it, followed by shredded paper and placed it in there, then in the shed, contacting a local rescue centre next morning. They recently called round to say it had survived and they'd released it the night before.

As for Fleas on cats/dogs, go to the chemist and get some Odourless Garlic Capsules, then put one in the with the food, or get some human shampoo with Tea tree oil in. Two Good cures for and prevention of fleas on animals.

 

Re fleas affecting your cat - despite there being different types of fleas (i.e. the dog flea, cat flea, rabbit flea etc) fleas are not actually fussy about their host and the most common flea (the cat flea) will be the one you mostly come across, be it on a cat, dog, rabbit or hedgehog. True, they would prefer their specific host but they will actually live off any animal - including us until they realise we don't taste that good!
Fleas can also carry disease so it is important that you flea and worm your cats with something from the VET not the petshops (most of them don't work, although Frontline is fine from petshops). You could also go along to your vet to get some panacur wormer for the hedgehog. Although it is not licensed (nothing will be for hedgehogs as their wild animals) it will treat him for worms.
You could also ask your vet for frontline spray for your hedgehog. Again it is not licensed and your vets may ask to see the hedgehog as Frontline spray is a Prescription Only Medicine. Please do not use the spot-on version on the hedgehog as the dose will be much too high.
Just note that although your vets will charge for flea and worm treatment for the hedgehog, they should not charge you to check him/her over, they are not really meant to charge for wildlife.

Hope that helps!

 

Plus, it is important you feed the hedgehog on cat food with GRAVY and NOT jelly. Hedgehogs are unable to digest the jelly and it can be fatal. Also ditto what was said about milk, just give it water to drink.

 

Cor it's huge look forward to seeing if it's pregnant lol. It also looks like it's there to stay