Should I not stress so much?

A month ago when jericho was staying with that girl, she got him dewormed and defleaed(sp). well its been almost a month and i found A flea on his paw..this seems to be like a once a month thing. he gets a flea or two at the most, i bathe him, hes fine for another month and then one pops up.

well, now, bathing him isnt an option because the last time i gave him a flea bath i went into cardiac arrest from an asthma attack. so if i keep brushing him and doing the waterless shampoo and vacuuming him do you think he will be fine? or should i freak out everytime theres just one flea?
i can handle a couple fleas a month because it never has become an infestation, but i dont want him to keep getting worms because of it.

any suggestions?

Yeah, a good flea medication such as Revolution or Advantage? Or even Capstar, an oral medication, quite safe if your kitty has problems with topicals. Sharky told me about a spray called DeFlea, available at Petco, and worked great for me, as I was able to spray not only the kitty, but also the bedding, floor, etc. Since he had a reaction to a flea bath before, I don't know about that though. Out of curiosity though, what did you bathe him with? Some OTC flea shampoos can be quite dangerous...

Have you tried Revolution? You put it on the back of your cat's neck each month. It's what we use. It's worked great for us so far, and we've had 2 huge outbreaks of fleas, and both times they were gone in days. You would have to get Revolution from your vet.

Are you saying that YOU had a heart attack the last time you gave him a bath? If that's the case, can you find anyone who would will be willing to give your cat a bath, maybe with you around to calm the cat, but hopefully not so involved you have another asthma attack? Also, is he an indoor/outdoor cat? I'm wondering how this can be such a long, minor infestation without ever blowing up into somehting more or completely fading away.

Originally Posted by rad65

Are you saying that YOU had a heart attack the last time you gave him a bath?

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Yes I had the attack, the cat was fine, just a little wet for awhile from what i hear. we used this natural chemistry natural shampoo, but i never thought about using a waterless flea shampoo.
He is an indoor cat but we live in an apartment and our neighbors have cats as well, and ive been told that can make it a chronic issue. But yea, like i said its never become an infestation, im good about vacuuming and bathing him so i guess thats what helps keep it to a minimum. I have started spraying him with vinegar water when i see a flea and brushing him and it seems to keep it from getting bad. I just cant believe that with over a foot of snow on the ground that anything is surviving right now..just a little frustrating that we keep going in this circle.

Get a good spot-on from the vet (Revolution, Advantage, or Frontline). If you apply it when there are very few fleas and continue to do so monthly, those products do a very good job of preventing an infestation, and require very little effort.

I'm allergic to flea powders and shampoos, too. The spot-ons don't cause any reaction for me, though.

Originally Posted by RiffxRaff

Yes I had the attack, the cat was fine, just a little wet for awhile from what i hear. we used this natural chemistry natural shampoo, but i never thought about using a waterless flea shampoo.
He is an indoor cat but we live in an apartment and our neighbors have cats as well, and ive been told that can make it a chronic issue. But yea, like i said its never become an infestation, im good about vacuuming and bathing him so i guess thats what helps keep it to a minimum. I have started spraying him with vinegar water when i see a flea and brushing him and it seems to keep it from getting bad. I just cant believe that with over a foot of snow on the ground that anything is surviving right now..just a little frustrating that we keep going in this circle.

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Natural chemistry is the maker of De flea and so I am sure the product was safe for kitty ( outside an odd allergy)

Same company makes the spray Carolina talked about ... where ever you got this should be able to give you that

Please avoid spraying a vinegar mix on the cat

Diotemecous earth food grade can help for carpets and entrances in the home

Originally Posted by RiffxRaff

I just cant believe that with over a foot of snow on the ground that anything is surviving right now.

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Sounds like you got slammed. We only have 5-6 inches in O'Fallon(IL) so we got 'lucky.'

Our fleas disappear for the winter. They come back in the summer but by winter they all go into hibernation. Of course in an apartment things are different(Paul lives in a trailer) since you don't know if someone elses pet has a massive infestation and that is why fleas show up at your place(been there, had that happen.)

I would look into a topical since that is going to be the only way to get them to go away and keep them away on a monthly basis.

I would contact your vet to see what they recommend. Mine uses Revolution and I use it over the summer(well mosquito season mostly) and it keeps the fleas away and prevents heartworm.

I'm sorry you have fleas, I know how frustrating that can be.

Taryn

Aren't O'Fallon and St Louis like 15 minutes apart from each other? That's crazy how big the gap in snowfall is