Ok to do a flea shampoo a few days after Frontline?

just1cat

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I applied Frontline plus 3 days, not sure its doing much. I didn't have a flea shampoo on hand at the time but now I have some Zodiac flea and tick shampoo. Is it ok to bath the cats now in addition to the Frontline already applied? Cats are adults.
 

otto

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No, don't use the zodiac, throw it away. The frontline plus will take care of the fleas with time, you will need to work on them in the environment too, vacuuming daily, etc. The flea larvae and eggs live in the carpet and upholstery so it is important to vacuum daily and throw away the bag or empty the canister after every vacuum. (I have also read to put a cut up flea collar in the vaccum bag. NOT on your cats though) They will continue to hatch for a while, so it takes time (and monthly treatments with frontline plus) to completely eradicate them.

Please do not use zodiac products or any other of those cheap products on your cats, ever.
 

strange_wings

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We just had a thread about a cat being poisoned by OTC flea products like Zodiac...


No, don't wash your cat in that poison.
If the Frontline isn't working, consult your vet. However, frontline is one of the topicals that takes a little longer to work than some of the other topicals do. It can take 2-4 days for you to see much difference.
If it's not working, your vet can give you capstar to help get you through the time till it's safe to use another dose of frontline or another topical. Ask your vet about topicals for your area, too. In some areas fleas are getting resistant to Frontline and Advantage or Revolution may be needed.

You also need to clean your home. You're going to still see live fleas if they haven't been on the cat, yet.
 
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just1cat

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The house has been cleaned and is continuing to be cleaned and treated. I missed the thread about Zodiac. I never use OTC products especially spot topicals, however, I thought *some* shampoos were ok to use. Thanks for the quick replies. We are not infested with fleas but I am noticing a few here and there and some scratching and licking still taking place.
 

strange_wings

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It just takes a while to get all of the fleas. Itching, in some cats, can take close to a couple weeks to fully go away - but usually it's gone by a week.
 
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just1cat

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What do you all think about using a spray product for the carpets and such? Such as Adams carpet and upholstery spray for fleas?
 

lonelykitten

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I know some people disagree with this but when we got Samara she was flea infested we treated her with revolution and quarantined her but inevitably we got fleas in the house. I used to order very good, yet expensive flea and tick carpet spray. While googling trying to find the product I came across a home flea remedy that said to use regular table salt and sprinkle in your carpets and let sit for a week.

well my poor husband was being mauled by fleas (worse than the cat or dog) so we sprinkled salt and brushed it into the carpet. Low and behold next day he wasn't getting bit. We don't know if it was the salt but seeing as we didn't use any other treatment but salt we believe it was the salt.
 

strange_wings

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^Salt and borax are home remedies for fleas. As is the human food grade diatomaceous earth which is a safe non-toxic solution to use around people and animals.

just1cat - I really don't like sprays. Not only will your cat be walking around on it and licking that residue off of their paws and fur, you will breathe in and absorb some of it through your skin. Do you really want to hang out in an environment covered in pesticide? It would be a heck of a time to find out that you could be seriously sensitive to it after all the carpet and furniture is covered in it.. And what if someone came into your home and reacted badly?

Adams is the stuff in the blue bottle, correct? I seem to remember my parents getting the spray for pets back around the time I was 8 when we got fleas inside. We had a kitten at the time and despite the fact that only the dog and dog's bedding was sprayed we had to rush the kitten to the vet. (kitten was around 7 months old at the time). I still remember him being dazed out and then having a seizure..
 
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