A few questions about fleas

This morning I rescued a little black kitten who told me her name is Queen Eva. In anticipation of this event, knowing she is flea ridden I went up to the vet clinic yesterday and purchased some Frontline Plus and treated Tolly, Mazy and Jennie.

Tolly and Mazy left the spot alone, but Jennie was very upset about the Frontline Plus. Not only did she keep trying to run away from it; in spite of it making her foam she washed and washed and washed the spot until it was soaked. I applied it high on the neck in the hopes she wouldn't be able to reach it, but she gave it a good try.

This morning she is no longer freaking out about it, and I notice there IS still that tell tale "greasy spot".

First question. Do you think Jennie is still protected, in spite of her efforts at washing it off, last night?

The first thing I did when I got Queen Eva home was give her a bath in warm water and Dawn dish soap. Afterwards I combed her, dropping every flea I found into a bucket of water and dawn dish soap.

When I no longer saw any fleas coming off the comb I rubbed her dry and left her or a while. She's in the bathroom now and for tonight. She has a Castle I built for her out of a large dog crate to live in after her vet tech check up tomorrow, until I feel it is safe to integrate her, and leave her at large in the house. She will not be left un-Castled for at least this whole week, as my work load is very heavy, her timing couldn't have been worse, but she has Chosen me, and that is all about it.

In her Castle, Tolly, Mazy and Jennie will be able to come face to face with her. Until I know her health status as far as URI (and she will have a SNAP test also) I prefer they not have any direct, or close to direct, contact.

Next questions. Every time I go into the bathroom, about an hour after a flea combing session there are more fleas, everywhere. All over the bathroom floor, and all over Queen Eva. After I pick all the fleas up off the floor (dropping them in the soapy bucket) I comb as many as I can find off of Queen Eva again.

Another hours passes and again, there are ton of fleas when I go in.

Is this because the flea eggs are hatching? They hatch that fast, in cycles?

Are they hatching in these quick cycles because I have the bathroom so warm? Since I am wet combing Queen Eva each time, I turned on the heat in there, it is very warm.

I am hoping and praying the vet tech finds Queen Eva to be old enough and at a weight that she can have a capstar tablet, and a flea treatment of either Frontline Plus or revolution.

If the tech thinks she is healthy enough I'll choose Revolution, because that will take care of a lot of other parasites she might be carrying, too, and she won't have to take the Drontal.

I'll load up her first pictures in a bit.

That's interesting Otto. It sounds like what it is but I've never had that sort of experience. Had a really bad infestation once, ... it could be that they ARE hatching, if you're removing all of them, then go back in later and there are that many more? I wouldn't think there'd be any other issue... do you have carpet or tile in your bathroom? (We have carpet)

Ooo I hope you get that taken care of soon, and welcome to Queen Eva!

If she's at least 6 weeks old she can have a drop of revolution.

You have to wait closer to 3-4 weeks for integrating her. This will give you enough time to get rid of her roundworms unless you want to retreat all the cats with revolution or advantage multi for a couple of months. If they offer to do a fecal for worms, don't bother. Fleas always = tapeworms and any cat outside will have roundworms. Do have coccidia and gardia test done.

Otherwise your flea precautions are enough and the adults should be fine for a couple weeks if you get the kitten treated. If not, you can always do another month or two to be absolutely sure there's not a worm risk, too.

Each time you find fleas, you should give her fresh blankets and such and immediately take the flea infested ones to the washer and wash in hot soapy water. Until she tests clear for worms or is treated, don't integrate her with the others. Like you mentioned, don't expose the others to her until she's been cleared of the nasties and cleared of any URI.

The Revolution will also help with roundworms and hookworms, but you'll need to have her dewormed anyway. Also, there's another medicine for tapeworms.

Originally Posted by Snickerdoodle

That's interesting Otto. It sounds like what it is but I've never had that sort of experience. Had a really bad infestation once, ... it could be that they ARE hatching, if you're removing all of them, then go back in later and there are that many more? I wouldn't think there'd be any other issue... do you have carpet or tile in your bathroom? (We have carpet)

Ooo I hope you get that taken care of soon, and welcome to Queen Eva!

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thank you!

Queen Eva has a drop off vet tech appointment tomorrow, I set it up as soon as I knew she was coming home. The bathroom is just linoleum on the floor. No carpet, and I didn't even give her a blankie, though she does have a cardboard box.

She was sleeping on the back of the toilet tank so I guess she was hot, so I turned the heat off. After I turned the heat of, the next time I went in to play and flea-comb her there were way fewer fleas.

So either the heat was making the eggs hatch, or I am starting to make a dent.

I can tell she isn't feeling very well from those fleas. She hasn't eaten much, and she is not very lively. She likes to play, but gets tired awfully quickly for a kitten. I think her gums are a little pale so she may have some anemia from the fleas too.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

If she's at least 6 weeks old she can have a drop of revolution.

You have to wait closer to 3-4 weeks for integrating her. This will give you enough time to get rid of her roundworms unless you want to retreat all the cats with revolution or advantage multi for a couple of months. If they offer to do a fecal for worms, don't bother. Fleas always = tapeworms and any cat outside will have roundworms. Do have coccidia and gardia test done.

Otherwise your flea precautions are enough and the adults should be fine for a couple weeks if you get the kitten treated. If not, you can always do another month or two to be absolutely sure there's not a worm risk, too.

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thank you!

How are the round worms passed from cat to cat?

If it is from sharing litter boxes, I was thinking, once I know she not harboring a URI (and after the drontal and all) I could let her integrate supervised, but keep her in her Castle when I am not home, and not show her where the other litter boxes are so she will continue to use only her own even when she is out and about.

I already bought the frontline plus, so don't want to go spending another fortune on revolution for the three big cats if I can avoid it.

Aren't coccidia and gardia tested through a fecal, the differnce being it is sent out to a lab?

Drontal is for tape worms, it also kills round worms and hookworms, so maybe she doesn't need revolution after all. I'll trust the vet tech's judgment on that.

Originally Posted by stephanietx

Each time you find fleas, you should give her fresh blankets and such and immediately take the flea infested ones to the washer and wash in hot soapy water. Until she tests clear for worms or is treated, don't integrate her with the others. Like you mentioned, don't expose the others to her until she's been cleared of the nasties and cleared of any URI.

The Revolution will also help with roundworms and hookworms, but you'll need to have her dewormed anyway. Also, there's another medicine for tapeworms.

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Thank you! No blankets at all. Just a towel and a card board box, in the bathroom, until I get a handle on these fleas. It may sound stark but it is more than she had before, plus she has me visiting her and cuddling her and playing with her every hour. She had none of that before, either.

She seems to prefer sleeping on the back of the toilet. She was sleeping on the kleenex boxes but she kept sliding off and falling so I took them, and everything else on the back of the toilet, away.

Oh my, she is a little cutie. Hope you get the fleas conquered.

If you have some, you could sprinkle some food grade Diatomaceous Earth (DE) that's found at feed stores and organic gardening centers in the bottom of the box, under the towel. That will help kill the fleas as well. Be sure to get the food grade, not the kind for the swimming pool. It's non-toxic, but if you have any breathing problems, wear a mask when using it.

She looks just like my Squeak when she was a kitten! Thank you for adopting a black kitty!

She'll find the other litter boxes and the other cats will find hers. It took Attitude and Nuts less than an hour once I brought them in the living room, they were afraid of the 'big kitty'(Maude all 14 lbs of her) so they were hiding in the hallway looking at us. Like I said within an hour they had located her litter box and she had discovered theirs, in fact Maude used their litterbox before I even let them in for good, I left the bathroom door open she saw it and knew what it was so why go to the kitchen when she could use one in the bathroom.

She's a cutie and I hope you get your fleas under control.

Taryn

Originally Posted by Taryn

She'll find the other litter boxes and the other cats will find hers. It took Attitude and Nuts less than an hour once I brought them in the living room, they were afraid of the 'big kitty'(Maude all 14 lbs of her) so they were hiding in the hallway looking at us. Like I said within an hour they had located her litter box and she had discovered theirs, in fact Maude used their litterbox before I even let them in for good, I left the bathroom door open she saw it and knew what it was so why go to the kitchen when she could use one in the bathroom.

She's a cutie and I hope you get your fleas under control.

Taryn

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Thank you! They won't use her littler box in her Castle. For one reason it's too small for them and it's tucked away at the back of the crate. They haven't even gone in the crate since I set it up. In Ootay's last 2 years of life she got too old and arthritic to go up and down stairs to the litter boxes, so I put one up here, in my bathroom. She knew it was hers and used it. None of the other cats ever used it.

Originally Posted by otto

How are the round worms passed from cat to cat?

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Eggs in feces, though she could potentially have a few eggs stuck to her feet from being in the litter box or on items in the from from eggs and fecal matter being spread. Just like how fecal matter (and bacteria and viruses) get spread everywhere when we don't wash our hands after using the restroom, cats can spread things through the same method. One BM can have thousands of roundworm eggs in it. (this is why you shouldn't wear shoes inside the home, too!) This means you'll have to thoroughly clean that bathroom a few times so she doesn't recontaminate herself - but at least it should be an easy clean up.

And yes, drontal is a broad spectrum. Vets usually don't use that on kittens, though, because it's a tablet. A liquid suspension is easier to dose down for tiny kitten weight.
Sometimes one dose will get them, but a second dose a couple weeks later for rounds is safer when you have other cats you don't want getting them.

Gardia has a snap test, takes minutes to test for. I can't remember if coccidia does.

If the tech uses revolution right there at the clinic cost will only be a single tube of the kitten dose ~$9-12. This would treat potential ear mites, as well.

For one reason it's too small for them and it's tucked away at the back of the crate.

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Oh, that might not stop them, if you ever leave the door open to the crate!! Callie used to go into the crate (when not in use by "the boys", and back into the teeny, tiny litter box and have her front feet on the ground and use it!! Funniest thing

OOH, and you know how I love black cats! She's SO cute! Welcome to the four cat households .

As far as the flea issue goes, sorry, I have no advise on that, although I wondered about the Diatomaceous Earth, which someone else has already addressed.

Hope the Vet visit goes well. We've got one scheduled today ourselves. "The boys" are due for their annual exam.

Congrats on the little rug rat!

The heat will make any flea eggs hatch. The towel may have had flea eggs on it too, but I am glad that is all taken care of.

Just make sure you other kitties don't mess with her LB & vice versa. I know they didn't mess with Ootay's, but they knew Ootay. This kitty is new and they must investigate her new smells, lol.

I know you must be thrilled!

Originally Posted by mrsgreenjeens

OOH, and you know how I love black cats! She's SO cute! Welcome to the four cat households

.

Hope the Vet visit goes well. We've got one scheduled today ourselves. "The boys" are due for their annual exam.

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Thank you! I've actually been a four cat household several times before I do love having four cats . When one leaves us for the Bridge I simply wait to be Chosen again. Ootay left us for the Bridge in May 2009.

I wasn't planning on having a kitten again though, but Queen Eva thought differently.

Thank you to everyone who replied with help and advice in this thread, it's getting late, I can't reply individually but appreciate all the advice.

Queen Eva had a Capstar, and I have to say if there is such a thing as a miracle pill, the Capstar is it.

Since I sterilized the bathroom while she was at the vet, (removing all eggs) the Capstar took care of her wicked flea problem. She was treated with a kitten dose of Revolution yesterday, not only to kill any flea that might hatch should I have missed an egg or two, (or tracked any into the rest of the apartment, in spite of the care I took not to) the Revolution is also for the roundworms.

Not to mention that Revolution helps with ear mites and hook worms.

Glad she's doing better and is getting lots of love and attention!