TheCatSite.com › Forums › Ferals and Rescue › Caring for Strays and Ferals › Need Suggestions for Treating Fleas
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Need Suggestions for Treating Fleas

post #1 of 9
6/30/10 at 6:35pm
Thread Starter 
Hello,

We have about 30 cats, feral and tame, staying inside and outside with a large fenced in area in rear of house. We have purchased Frontline Plus for the tame ones. I have sprayed the yard with Adams Yard Spray but fleas are still re occurring on them. I also have topical Adams spray. Any suggestions on alternative less expensive, safer and more effective methods to treat the friendly ones? Also, how can I treat the ferals? I can get close to almost all of the ferals. My wife and I would appreciate any help for them. Thanks, Joe
Reply
post #2 of 9
7/1/10 at 1:24am
at the moment I have 25 adults and 9 kittens. Best piece of advice is learn to split doses of advantage. The regular advantage is the same ingrediant and all.
for a kitten 8 weeks and up or small cat
.4 ml/cc 1-9lbs
.8 ml/cc over 9 lbs
Apply like you would normally. a cheap source I have used many times is psol.com.au
Ferals I cant help you with as I can get one of my two ferals that come regularly treated but the other hates me since his neuter.
Reply
post #3 of 9
7/1/10 at 3:56am
Honestly, everything doesn't work as well as Frontline / Advantage in my experience so I just deal with the cost of it, if I am quick and careful I can usually get close enough to the ferals to drip the tube onto them.

Ask your vet if they can do a bulk discount on it (or you can find it online), and like mentioned, rather than buying individual ones, buy a large size and dose it for each animal - draw it out into needleless syringes first then go do them at feeding time

You can also use (food grade) diatomaceous earth, I will let someone who uses it explain the hows but it basically dehyrates the fleas and can be used on the cat and the surroundings
Reply
post #4 of 9
7/1/10 at 8:30am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by catsallaround View Post
at the moment I have 25 adults and 9 kittens. Best piece of advice is learn to split doses of advantage. The regular advantage is the same ingrediant and all.
for a kitten 8 weeks and up or small cat
.4 ml/cc 1-9lbs
.8 ml/cc over 9 lbs
Apply like you would normally. a cheap source I have used many times is psol.com.au
Ferals I cant help you with as I can get one of my two ferals that come regularly treated but the other hates me since his neuter.
Thank you for the advice.
Reply
post #5 of 9
7/1/10 at 8:32am
This is the best explanation of how to use Food Grade DE. Basically, you feed it to the animals - easiest if you feed a wet meal and mix it in, but we sprinkle it on dry and it gets eaten (that's to control internal parasites). The issue with free feeding and lots of animals is you can't control how much each animal gets, so using it in the environment is the best idea (and the only way to control the fleas). Problem with outside is you have to reapply any time the area gets wet, and it is not a quick fix, it must be continuously used and works over time as it doesn't kill the fleas (ticks, slugs, whatever's out there) quickly. But you can also use it inside safely. When applied to carpet, you vacuum it up after a few days, and apply again. It also helps to purchase OTC flea collars and cut them up, and put a few pieces IN the vacuum bag or chamber at a time - that will kill any fleas not dead that get vacuumed up.

But here is a great link for info on using it: http://wolfcreekranch1.tripod.com/defaq.html
Reply
post #6 of 9
7/1/10 at 8:37am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by icklemiss21 View Post
Honestly, everything doesn't work as well as Frontline / Advantage in my experience so I just deal with the cost of it, if I am quick and careful I can usually get close enough to the ferals to drip the tube onto them.

Ask your vet if they can do a bulk discount on it (or you can find it online), and like mentioned, rather than buying individual ones, buy a large size and dose it for each animal - draw it out into needleless syringes first then go do them at feeding time

You can also use (food grade) diatomaceous earth, I will let someone who uses it explain the hows but it basically dehyrates the fleas and can be used on the cat and the surroundings
Thanks for the advice. Have you noticed any difference in where you purchase Frontline Plus online? It seems that Frontline Plus manufactured and purchased from outside the country doesn't work as well as from US companies selling this. They are manufactured for Merial in different countries. Just curious. I called Merial in the US and of course they say it is all the same ingredients and quality control.
Reply
post #7 of 9
7/1/10 at 10:00am
I stopped using frontline long ago and most of the other cat nuts(read more then just a couple cats dont use it. but far as advantage I have seen no difference in the one from vet/petstore/online outside the us.
Reply
post #8 of 9
7/3/10 at 5:31am
I always get it from the vet so no idea, sorry
Reply
post #9 of 9
7/3/10 at 12:34pm
OTC flea collars have caused toxic reactions in cats and present a serious strangling hazard as they are not designed like break-away collars. Use a topical solution like Frontline or Advantage instead, and breaking down the large dog doses is a good and relatively cheap idea (our clinic does that).

Other than that the solution is environmental control--if the fleas can't reproduce they soon stop being a problem--but that's almost impossible outdoors....
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Caring for Strays and Ferals
TheCatSite.com › Forums › Ferals and Rescue › Caring for Strays and Ferals › Need Suggestions for Treating Fleas