I'm at a loss about these fleas!!! Help help HEEEELP!!!! Grrr.

danimarie

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Ok ... So yesterday I bathed each and every four week old separately, placed them in a fresh clean box with a fresh clean towel, bathed Lily the mommy cat, all extensively with Dawn killing all live fleas and picking them off of each and every one. (which was a pain in the butt, lemme tell ya and took forever)

I washed and bleached all their bedding in hot water, vacuumed their room, then washed and bleached all the towels that were used to dry them off (which were clean in the first place straight out of the dryer).

Today I go in to say good morning....and they are ALL infested AGAIN.

Hours of bathing and washing and cleaning for nothing!

What the heck went wrong!??

I'm at a loss...what do I do?

I have Frontline Plus coming for Lily either Tuesday or Wednesday so she'll be treated....Sophie was treated last week.....but these babies are driving me nuts. I've done the comb thing and it's impossible to get the fleas off, those things freakin STICK to the cats like you wouldn't believe.

Help help heeeeelp!!!!

They're four weeks now, so that's too young to treat with the Frontline and I've called everywhere and can't find the spray, which I'm nervous about anyway.

What should I do?????????

I'm so frustrated after going through all that yesterday just to find live fleas crawling all over my babies this morning!!! I was SOOOO careful!!!!!
 

bnwalker2

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Ask your vet about Capstar. My vet will give it to the babies as young as 4 weeks old. One pill is $2.50 at my vet, and I was told to cut it 4 ways to give to the youngest ones. Momma gets an entire pill. It can be given as often as every day if necessary. It works for 24 hours, and starts working almost instantly. The fleas literally start dropping off.
 
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danimarie

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How do I get them to eat it though???
And what about reinfestation again?

Like yesterday they were free and clear of fleas. COMPLETELY no fleas.

Now they're all back... ahhh!!!

Oh ok, edited, I just read what you said that it can be given everyday.
I'll call today and see what's up.

Is it prescription only or otc???
 
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danimarie

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Ok, I just called and spoke with the vet who says that four weeks is too young for Capstar.

I am calling another vet around 9 in my area to get a second opinion on this...but from what I was told "no vet will give medication to kittens that young".

Ok , well what am I supposed to do then???



Oh boy, I am frustrated today.

And probably a little PMSy.



But this SUCKS!

I seriously hate every vet in this area.
We drove a little over an hour for Sophie's neuter because I hated every vet around here.
 

xxtashaxx

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nearly every vet i know will give kittens that young flee treatments??

the only thing i can think of is that you have such a bad infestation that you will need to treat the hole of your home with a flea product.
another thing you can do is, get a flea collar cut it up to small pices, put a piece in your hover, in between your sofa cushions and just keep hoovering everywhere, and treat your home.
im sorry your having such a bad time of this, i really dont know what else to suggest.
this is what we use, i normally get mine from a vet but did a search and found it can be ordered. not sure if it can be delivered to where you are or not.
http://www.ivet.co.uk/frontline-spray.html
 

anna68

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use a nit comb and drop the fleas into boiling water. Do twice a day for at least a week and the once a day for another 3. Rememer the flea eggs can live for up to 7 years in furnishings so you will need to steam clean the room or remove mum and babies and spray with a enviroment feal killer ( available from your vet). I would not use any chemicals on mum as she is still feeding or on babies.
I have lost a 9 month old pup after a reaction to flea killer so not only use the comb system and steam clean carpets to kill eggs.
Remember to comb mum too.

Anna
 

xxtashaxx

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i have used frontline spray on nursing mums with no ill effects to her or her babys.
any cat/dog can have a bad reaction to a flea treatment no matter how old they are.

sorry edit the post to change the to NO
 

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I went to the vet today to get my babies something for their fleas, and get what it is.... Frontline Spray. They are only a week old today.

I've just read the leaflet, the question and answer bit and it says....

Q. Is Frontline Safe to use on puppies and kittens?
A. Puppies and kittens may be safely treated from 2 days of age. Allow litters to dry completely in a warm well ventilatedarea before returning them to their mother.


That is WORD FOR WORD. The vet says that I need to spray all over the kittens body and massage is into their fur, and also to keep them seperate from each other to avoid licking off the stuff from one another.

My kitties are in very good health apparently so he was more than happy to give me a bottle.

He also said that fleas don't live on cats, they live in the carpet and on furniture. I bought some INDOREX Spray by Virbrac a few days ago which will stop the cycle of fleas for 12 months. He said it should be sprayed into corners of skirting boards and carpets that the hoover can't reach, also under furniture because fleas will find their way to safety. The fleas only go onto animals for blood. To kills the cycle of fleas all animals must be treated medically or bathed daily.
 
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danimarie

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should i get some of that carpet powder that you put into the carpet to kill the fleas then vacuum it up? I just saw some of that at walmart.

I gotta check with the vet about the frontline spray....
 

sadieandziggy

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Apparently most 'over the counter ones' don't really work as well as they should, so I would go to the vet for that sort of thing.

Also, with the power ones, you use loads because it has to completely cover the carpet, and then you have to leave it for 30mins.

With the spray, you can even use it on normal furniture as well as carpets, bedding, bathrooms, tiles..... so it's probably a better way to go.
 

xxtashaxx

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im glad someone else has used the frontline on young kittens, it might help put your mind at rest aswell.
i gave you all the instructions in your other thread. i hope you get it sorted soon, its not fun i can tell ya.
 
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danimarie

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So once again I have a reason to complain about vets in this area.
I hate them. I swear, I'm really starting to consider going to school to become a vet myself. It's like a fast food business these days, no one cares about the animals or is up to date on information that is beneficial to them.

I called a total of 4 today, from this area all the way to the area of my work, which is an hour away.

NO ONE has heard of "frontline SPRAY". Like totally clueless. Also, ONLY ONE heard of Capstar, but they don't carry it.

Totally clueless.
by the time I get this all fixed, they'll be old enough to have regular frontline.

UGH.


So anyway, went and bought some of that powder you sweep into the carpet from a pet store, leave for thirty minutes then vacuum up. I'm doing the entire house tomorrow, as well as bathing the babies and Momma again.....and bleaching in hot water not only their bedding, but mine as well.

I'm really hoping this powder does the trick..... when they're still wet I'll use the flea comb through again (they hate that, but it will help get whatever's left off of them).


It'll just be a daily ritual of trying to get any remaining fleas off for the next month. Hopefully Wednesday when Lily is treated with her FrontlinePlus, that'll help the problem quite a bit. I'm so glad that room the babies are in is so empty because it'll be easier to powder up and seize each and every little flea and egg. (which the powder claims to kill both)

 
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danimarie

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By the way, thanks guys for listening to me.

I am a lil on the high strung side and have OCD about things like this.

The first time I saw a flea on one of the kittens, I couldn't sleep that entire night.



I know I'm flipping, but I will, WILL get this problem fixed!!!!

I've spoken to enough vets, emergency vets, vet techs, and anyone willing to answer the phone at a vet's office over the past week to conclude a flea here or there isn't going to kill anyone as long as it's kept manageable.
 

mom of 4

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There is absolutely no way that I would ever use a spray from a pet store. You don't need to be breathing it nor do your cats.

There are people who spread food grade dichotomous earth into their carpets and swear it works. Food grade will not hurt the pets, if ingested.
 
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danimarie

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It's not spray, it's a carpet powder, like the refresher powders you use. No one is exposed to it and it gets vacuumed all up.
The vets that I called recommended I do this.
 

xxtashaxx

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will you be treating the rest of the house aswell? it is better to, as they may not stay in just the one room.
 
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danimarie

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Originally Posted by XxtashaxX

will you be treating the rest of the house aswell? it is better to, as they may not stay in just the one room.
Yup... I have quite a day worked out for me.

We only have three rooms with carpetting so it shouldn't be THAT bad, and my main concerns are my bedroom and their bedroom (they've never been out in the living room, noone really goes out there actually, but I will give that a going over as well)

<~~ I don't know why I'm smiling, this quite frankly sucks. I can't wait until the problem is just GONE.
 

sadieandziggy

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Just to prove it exists.

I guess this stuff hasn't reached the US yet.

My flea problem seems to have gone now, used the spray in all the rooms last night as well as treating the kittens. They havn't had any reactions.

How is your problem getting on? Has the powder worked?
 

norachelhere

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I know that they are too young for it now but I have been using revolution on my cat. It works quite well - a little product info from thier site:

A: Revolution is the first-ever FDA-approved, topically applied medication for cats that:


Kills adult fleas (Ctenocephalides felis) and prevents flea eggs from hatching.
Prevents heartworm disease caused by Dirofilaria immitis.
Treats and controls ear mites (Otodectes cynotis).
Treats and controls roundworms (Toxocara cati) and hookworms (Ancylostoma tubaeforme).


Q: How does RevolutionÂ[emoji]174[/emoji] (selamectin) work?

A: Revolution enters the bloodstream through the skin. Concentrations of Revolution in the blood and tissues prevent heartworm disease and prevent and treat roundworm and hookworm infections. Revolution selectively redistributes from the blood to the skin and other tissues, where it provides protection against fleas, flea eggs, and ear mites.


Like I said I use it on my cat and it works excellent! Check with a good vet to see at what age you can start using it! Like i said I use it myself and I love it! Good luck!
 
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