Impossible fleas

Well, basically my cat has fleas and we've tried everything to get rid of them - but nothing seems to work! Here's a list of what has been tried:

- Flea powder
- Frontline
- Flea gel (for back of neck)
- Flea spray
- Tablets
- Flea collar

And various types of each! Just that he's still got fleas after weeks upon weks of trying! We know this because we've bought an ordinary nit comb for people and use it to groom him (as far as he lets us now, he's got fed up of it) and each time we manage to run it through him we get out loads of eggs and at least 1 flea (he only allows us to do it to him a bit). There's a suspicion that he fleas may even have spread to the carpets.

He itches and scratches loads - he's also grooming a lot and sort of.. bites himself when grooming. He never used to do this when we first got him. He's a semi-longhair with very thin fur - and lots of it! So it's difficult to cope with as you can imagine!

Please can anyone give any advice to get rid of them and to stop them from coming back, of they can be gotten rid of!

Are you treating your carpets and furniture? If not, you might be getting rid of the fleas on your cat, but then he's getting reinfected.

Yes, we're spraying the carpets and furniture with this spray stuff and hoovering at least every couple of days. As well as steam cleaning every 4 or 5 days. There is a house at the back with monkeys which he goes into. Could this have any kind of significance?

Having delat with fleas on ocassion (with my dogs), you are going about it the hard way.

You need to get the flea bombs and gas the house. The ones we have used require that we leave, with all of our pets, for a minimum of 4 hours. The heat (or AC) is turned off during that time to maximize the fumes. At the end of that time, you go back in and air out the house for several hours before going back to stay. Food has to be put away before the treatment, but a simple wipe down and vacuuming is all that is needed. Remember to toss the vacuum bags after each use (they can escape from the bags).

While you are away from the house, the pets need to be treated. We use Capstar, a short acting pill, on the dogs, followed by Frontline. There is probably something similar to Capstar for cats, get it from the vets.

Originally Posted by T_D

Well, basically my cat has fleas and we've tried everything to get rid of them - but nothing seems to work! Here's a list of what has been tried:

- Flea powder
- Frontline
- Flea gel (for back of neck)
- Flea spray
- Tablets
- Flea collar

And various types of each! Just that he's still got fleas after weeks upon weks of trying! We know this because we've bought an ordinary nit comb for people and use it to groom him (as far as he lets us now, he's got fed up of it) and each time we manage to run it through him we get out loads of eggs and at least 1 flea (he only allows us to do it to him a bit). There's a suspicion that he fleas may even have spread to the carpets.

He itches and scratches loads - he's also grooming a lot and sort of.. bites himself when grooming. He never used to do this when we first got him. He's a semi-longhair with very thin fur - and lots of it! So it's difficult to cope with as you can imagine!

Please can anyone give any advice to get rid of them and to stop them from coming back, of they can be gotten rid of!

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The very first thing you need to do is TAKE ANY FLEA COLLARS OFF THE CAT. Flea collars are dangerous and can cause serious illness and sometimes death.

Cut the flea collar up and put the pieces in your vacuum. Each time you vacuum take the bag outside immediately.

If you are using over-the-counter flea medications - it's simple - they rarely work. You probably have fleas in the carpeting and furniture and that is why your cat is getting re-infected. As the above poster said, you probably need to do a "bombing".

Several years ago we had a horrible infestation. We took our cat to the vet to be de-flead and had him stay all night. We got professional exterminators in to do our house.

Also, when the cat has fleas and ingests them, it will also have tapeworms so the cat will also need to be de-wormed.

Fleas are tough to get rid of initially, but with patience and perseverance and the proper treatments (not over-the-counter stuff), you will soon be flea-free. It pays to go to the vet and get Advantage or Revolution and treat the cat every month. We treat with Revolution from April until November.

Capstar works wonders to get all the fleas off and then either revolution or advantage, whichever you prefer during the flea months. It is probably true that you will have to "bomb" your house. If I understood your post that your cat goes to a house with a monkey? I would be especially careful to get a flea treatment on them that really works since I am not sure if the fleas from the monkey might carry some different disease to the cat and you. Good Luck. It takes patience but it can be done!