Cat has Fleas

I just brought home a new cat, named Taffy, today from a family that couldn't keep her anymore due to allergies. I already have one cat and have had cats in the past but none of them have ever had a flea problem so I didn't realize Taffy had fleas until I got her home and did a little research. I have her in a separate room (actually a bathroom, not the best I know, but I want to try an limit the flea population spreading into the rest of my home) and I treated her with some OTC flea spray. Now I am reading this may have not been good. I used Bio-Spot Flea and Tick Mist for Cats. Has anyone used this with success or had problems?

Another problem I am having is actually removing the fleas and flea dirt from her coat. There is quite a bit of it but even when I brush it gently it seems to irritate her and while she will handle a couple brushes she begins to get snippy if I brush any more. What is the best way to remove the fleas and flea dirt.

Thanks!

There are three main products to treat fleas: Frontline, Advantage, and Revolution. I don't have much faith in OTC flea treatments. Since you've already used the OTC treatment, I would consult your vet to see if it is ok to administer one of the three products without any ill effects. Other than that I would vacuum everything!

When any of my cats get fleas, which is weird because they are all inside only cats, I put the Frontline on, then use a fine tooth comb and a little bucket of sudsy water. As soon as I see anything on the fine tooth comb I dip it into the sudsy water. Most of my cats like the fine tooth comb, I guess I'm helping them to scratch at them. Good luck.

OTC products are usually one of two things - useless or harmful.

You are better to get flea meds from a vet. Keeping the kitty in the bathroom is probably a good idea to keep fleas from getting down into the carpeting of other rooms. Combing is also a good suggestion from the above poster, dipping the comb in soapy water after each pull-through.

Fleas can be carried on our clothing and the little beggers can really jump so you may want to treat your other cats as well so that if any fleas do get on them, the fleas will die.

Bath time........then treat all cats in home with something like Advantage, or Frontline. Flea eggs hatch after 21 days so you will need to treat all for a couple months. My Tuffy had a couple fleas on him last month and everyone lives inside only, so I am putting Advantage on everyone again. I normally treat May through September, flea season here in my neck of the woods. BUT it looks like I may have to treat in October too. We have not had much rain and it has been hot later this year. So fleas stayed around longer then in the past, I guess.

I rescued two cats, both of whom almost died and were temporarily blinded and paralyzed, after using OTC flea treatment.
The symptoms of the poison didn't show appear for days.
I hope your cat hasn't had an ill effects. One of the first signs can be diarrhea.
If I were you, I'd rinsw her with luke warm water. (I know cats don't like this, but it could save her life). You can also use original Dawn dish soap to help get the flea treatment off. It helps to kill fleas as well!

Originally Posted by MissKitties

I rescued two cats, both of whom almost died and were temporarily blinded and paralyzed, after using OTC flea treatment.
The symptoms of the poison didn't show appear for days.
I hope your cat hasn't had an ill effects. One of the first signs can be diarrhea.
If I were you, I'd rinsw her with luke warm water. (I know cats don't like this, but it could save her life). You can also use original Dawn dish soap to help get the flea treatment off. It helps to kill fleas as well!

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Yes indeed OTC flea treatments can be very dangerous.

As for Dawn killing fleas, it does not actually kill them. If you use a fine comb and comb through the fur, then dunk the comb into a container of water and Dawn, the fleas cannot break the surface tension and will drown. The bathing in Dawn won't actually kill fleas.

Thank you for all the responses. I am taking Taffy to the vet today to get her checked out. The vet also asked me to bring the flea spray so she can look at it and see if it will be a problem. I am also planning on picking up some frontline for my other cat Tofu, to prevent her from getting any fleas that may have jumped. I went out and bought a flea comb and have been using it. I haven't seen any live fleas since I applied the spray, just a lot of dead ones, but I hope there aren't any ill side-effects from the spray. I've also been vacuuming a lot and as soon as I am done at the vets today I think I will be making appointments for Taffy to be bathed. I would do it myself, but I've never bathed a cat before and I would be worried I wouldn't do it right. I was thinking of just going to Petco or Petsmart. Has anyone used them before? Or, should I ask the vet to recommend a local groomer?

Your vet will prolly do a flea bath....My groomer uses an oatmeal soap on our cat. But I bathe all the others myself, I cut nails first, and then in the kitchen sink we go, I use my grandkids baby shampoo, it's tear free.Then we go into the bathroom, and I sit on the floor, while the cat cowers in the corner and I point the blow dryer at them and dry. After a couple times they just learn to deal with it.
Best of luck!!

Originally Posted by Yosemite

Yes indeed OTC flea treatments can be very dangerous.

As for Dawn killing fleas, it does not actually kill them. If you use a fine comb and comb through the fur, then dunk the comb into a container of water and Dawn, the fleas cannot break the surface tension and will drown. The bathing in Dawn won't actually kill fleas.

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I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that Dawn itself kills fleas. I meant that bathing them in water with Dawn will drown the fleas. Perhaps I wasn't clear. I was suggesting that she bathe the cat in warm water and use Dawn. I was not suggesting that she squirt Dawn on a dry cat to kill fleas.

Originally Posted by Tofu

Or, should I ask the vet to recommend a local groomer?

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You could ask the vet, or call around and "interview" groomers. Ask how they bathe cats, what they use, how cat's are dried after (do they have a nice quiet area for the cats?), rates, etc. You may need a good groomer in the future.