Can't get rid of fleas

louiethecat

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Hello!    With food and most treatments I much prefer a holistic non poison approach- however every animal is different and there are pros and cons.  For dramatic fast results to get fleas under control for cats I recommend cheristan- a topical for kitties.    it is the topical version of Comfortis- which is a small tablet.     My own cat gets very very sick from fleas and evidently has an allergy to fleas.  I have had animals cats and dogs all my life and have never seen such a reaction.  I had to go full speed ahead with the serious flea killers- and comfortis and or cheristan is the most effective for this one sensitive kitty of mine.

i also in the past had managed part of a shelter before- and we now give them all comfortis upon receiving them (this is a senior dog shelter).  It is worth the expense- as the cost of fleas can get big.  One thing- I would recommend for any animal dog or cat with a very sensitive tummy-  a little Cerrenia (which is anti-emetic) prior to any comfortis.Just for that day.  the comfortis is too expensive to be thrown up.!  After you get things under control- say three months then perhaps if you want to go holistic that would be when to try.  And or just do the cheristan or comfortis for the serious flea months- say May- Sept and go holistic the rest of the time. 
 
 

rosa bood

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Thank you very much. I no longer have a flea problem. My cats are all on Advantage Multi. I have used Comfortis in the past and that worked really well also.
 

krisrivera

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omg rosa me too! i also live in florida and im battling this horrific battle. ive tried everything imaginable and still they manage to get fleas. this never happened when i lived in NYC. idk what to do anymore
 

catpack

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What flea medications have you tried and for what duration?

How have you gone about treating the house?
 

tobilei

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I just about went insane with fleas last year and have a boy who I think is highly allergic to them (jury is still out). We just couldn't get rid of them.

I tried revolution, it was like water to the fleas, did nothing.

Advantage did nothing .

Activyl spot on worked twice but my boy was allergic to it and got really itchy where I put it on his neck.

Advocate worked for 12 months without fail, then suddenly fleas fleas everywhere. I live where it's warm and humid. Winter is cold but not cold enough to kill them off.

My vet recommended Comfortis. I was terrified of it. My boy is very allergy prone. But I can honestly say that after 5 months of 3 weekly comfortis treatments the fleas are gone. I keep a flea collar in my vacuum cleaner barrel to kill any fleas or eggs I happen to vacuum up and make sure I vacuum diligently. Any cat bedding gets washed in very hot water and either left in the sun for a couple of days or put through the drier.

I don't like using chemicals in my babies but it's the only thing that's got them under control for me.
 

howmany

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What is Comfortis?? My husband once had a job writing a pesticide compendium for the federal gov. Of Canada and is no big fan of advantage or revolution but could not belive folks would put what was in over the counter topicals on cats. We are lucky that the cold keeps the fleas to a minimum one treatment in September is usually all that we have to do: I also by the large cat size and divide it up I used to share with a friend when I only had one cat . I grew up in outside of Vancouver and the fleas were gross we treated the carpet ,the lawn ,washed the dogs ,combed and collared the cats . I remember egg killing spray but topicals weren't a thing yet.

But bringing me to my question/ comment a vet tech told me I should NOT measure off or split advantage multi because the deworming ingredients may not be mixed evenly ,as a solution , but more like a suspension. Any science geeks out there who know about that.
 

jaxtabby

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I only applied Confortis to my cats after some research to make sure most had no ill effects. Had little choice as I live in Florida and advantage and the other flea applications no longer work. The Comfortis is sold through Amazon as no vet is required. It killed the fleas on my three boys and two months later not a flea in the house. I dislike putting chemicals on my cats but if you could see how miserable they are when they have fleas, you will do anything to give them relief. Worst is they needed to be treated for round worms afterwards, brought by the fleas.

Take this :vibes: Fleas!
 
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howmany

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So Comfortis is a brand of flea treatment, in Canada the otc ones you see in grocery store ect are hartz or sargents : hartz is the one that bothered him because it doesn't just target exoskeleton. I'm going to pick up so diatomaceous earth for ANTS.

Also fleas can cause tapeworms if your cats eat them, not round worms I don't think unfortunately meds for tapeworm is more$$$ than the round worm stuff
 

catpack

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howmany howmany , Hartz and Seargents products should NEVER be used. I have been witness to cats having serious reactions (including death) to Hartz brand flea medications, even when the "appropriate" one is used.
 

howmany

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@@catpack that was basically how my husband felt about them he was not sure why the were allowed , what do you think of provender topical dewormer in NS you can no longer get it from a vet unless your cats been in to a vet in the last 12 months and I was wondering if it was making cats sick think advantage and revolution also controlled this way but yet hartz which is dangerous is just sitting there
 

catpack

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Advantage II should not require a prescription as it does not contain education for heartworms. Advantage Multi and Revolution do contain medication for heartworms, so this is why the vet visit and prescription is required.

I used Profender 5 years ago and didn't have any issues; however, haven't used it since.

So far, my preferred dewormers are:
Strongid (Basic dewormer)
Panacur (a moderate dewormer, as treats Giardia)
Drontal (Dewormer that as gets tapeworms)
 

jaxtabby

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I had to purchase the Drontal for round worms via Amazon and it came from a different country. You could only get it in like 50 pill boxes. If you are friendly with you bet they might give you a few. Good thing about round worms is it only take one pill to get rid of them. If you cat has lots of fleas, chance are they will also have round worms soon.
 
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SeventhHeaven

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I had to purchase the Drontal for round worms via Amazon and it came from a different country. You could only get it in like 50 pill boxes. If you are friendly with you bet they might give you a few. Good thing about round worms is it only take one pill to get rid of them. If you cat has lots of fleas, chance are they will also have round worms soon.
For all parasite removal Diatomaceous Earth Food Grade only.  Works on giardia as well and candida for humans as well as parasite removal. Dirt that's dirt cheap from health food store bulk section.  I use to purchase Drontal Droncit as well. Google for more info.
 
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menmy3babies

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I always bath my cats in the sink, I put a couple drops of the blue dawn dish liquid in and fill it about halfway up, then I put àring of the dawn around the kitties neck (this keeps the fleas from all trying to run to the cats head, then put kittie in water and wash with the dawn dish liquid, it smothers the fleas and makes them unable to move, after washing cat thoroughly all over, remove and usea flea comb to get all the dying fleas off of kitty, Iits easiest to dip the comb in a dish of hot water to keep removing the fleas from it, then dry kitty off with blow dryer on low setting, then apply some kind of flea med, ive heard tons of good things about the food grade/pet grade diatamatious earth, so try it! I actually just rescued a kitten about a week ago, and am treating him for worms with the same thing! Best of luck!
 

jaxtabby

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I can not see me bathing my large male cats. ;)
 

michigander55

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https://www.facebook.com/AFAHNorwich/

Be very careful of over the counter and home remides for ridding kittens/cats/dogs of fleas. The post I'm not sure I was able to share shows how horribly wrong things can go. Causing possible death in your babies. It's always best to take pets to vets for meds. Especially if they are as bad as you say. Never having had an outdoor cat, we have never had to deal with fleas.
 

michigander55

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All Friends Animal Hospital, LLC added a new video.Like Page
June 25, 2013 ·
Today a case came in that should really be shared. This little baby has fleas. The owner bought and applied Sargeants Flea and Tick according to the label. This is the emergency that resulted. Many people do not know how dangerous some of these products can be. Ironically, although the product nearly killed the kitten, it was still covered in LIVE FLEAS. Please share and help put these dangerous companies out of business. HARTZ is another common brand to avoid. There many others with the same results. It is truly safer ( even though a bit more $) to buy something at your veterinarian. Please call us! We have many good sales on these products and its more affordable than you think!!!
 

drawpoker

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Having 13 (all indoor) cats it gets very expensive when I get the rare flea infestation.  I say rare as it has only happened twice in the past 10 years;  once when a neighbor child brought them in from playing/rolling around with a large dog,  the 2nd time the pet sitter I hired when I was hospitalized was also a dog walker. 

First,  as others have pointed out,  you must remove all stages of the fleas if you are ever to be rid of them.  Which means getting the eggs (larvae stage) out of your carpets,  upholstered furniture,  etc.  Some have mentioned getting the inexpensive form of diatomaceous earth from the hardware store or garden center.   Cheap,  yes,  but also dangerous for cats.  If you  read the directions it says you must use a respirator when applying it to surfaces! So,  if it isn't safe for humans to breathe in,  what does that tell you about the tiny lungs of cats.  Same thing with the Borax mule team laundry detergent powder;  vets say to be sure and remove the cats from the room when using.  And do not allow them to walk on the treated surfaces later.  How can that be managed?   It can't. 

The best thing I have found that really works is a natural form of the D.E. and it safe for the cats to breathe,  walk on,  etc.  It is made by Tropiclean and is called "Natural Flea & Tick Carpet Powder".  It costs $19 for a 11-oz canister (local store here,  you might get it cheaper over the net) but it is worth every penny!  Since discovering this product this year I have been able to completely eliminate the fleas,  in combination with Advantage II applied every 2 or 3 weeks,  in an approximate 3 month window.  Each canister treats up to 550 sq. feet

Just be sure and follow the directions exactly.  No respirator needed and it has a pleasant cinnamon scent. 

As for the various topical products to apply to the cats:   Yes,  it is acknowledged that in some parts of the country the fleas have developed a resistance to Frontline,  the manufacturer is currently working on this problem to find a fix.  As for Revolution,  many vets now prefer this to Advantage II,  think it is a superior product,  but keep in mind it has one big design flaw -  unlike Advantage,  you must give the tube 3 distinct squeezes to completely empty the tube and get the full dose on the cat's skin.   If you have former ferals like me,  or just big difficult cats,  it can be impossible to give all 3 squeezes before the cat makes a run for it.   

Science and technology is changing so rapidly in the field of flea/tick treatment that our local vet's office does not even carry Advantage II for cats anymore.  Their preferred choice is now the Soresta collar.  Pricey,  yes,  but it is guaranteed to work for 8 months,  can get wet,  no side effects.  Bayer,  the manufacturer of Advantage,  has fleas sent to them to be tested from all parts of the U.S. in order to stay abreast of any resistance issues.  The vets have not lost confidence in the product;  it is demand has fallen off since it is no longer a prescription item and people can buy it from many sources at very competitive price  (I get mine thru chewy dot com)  

Paying $45 or $50 every 8 months for the Soresta collar versus paying $9 or $10 for Advantage or Frontline every month (or less) per cat makes good math. 

Just be sure -  whatever newer products you try to defeat the flea curse -  be sure you are getting the genuine article from a reliable seller.    Like all things in veterinary medicine and treatment products, there are a ton of sophisticated crooks out there proffering counterfeits and fakes.   
 

joselle515

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We have 5 cats and a small dog. We had a similar experience with fleas, pesky things. We were also using Advantage and came to the conclusion the fleas were immune to the medication. So we now have our dog on Trifexis, it's a flea/heart worm combo. Our dog hates getting pilled even when we smear the pill with butter.  For the cats we use Cheristin (package directions are confusing. Says it's for cats/kittens over 8 weeks but then says "use a single dose on cats over 20 lb" and doesn't have any guidelines for how much to give.)  This was working great except on our older cat, 16 at the time, seemed to developed a UTI after application. After 2 months in a row of UTI we stopped using it on her. She is now close to 18  (with health issues) so we treat all others and flea comb her. In addition to all that, we purchased a product called "Wonder Cide" and sprayed all beds, blankets, carpets and the back yard. Worked like a charm.  Good luck!
 

jessipanda

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www.littlecitydogs.com

They have a product called lufenuron which is a monthly flea preventative. A yearly supply for cats under 11lbs or dogs under 35lbs is only $25US. For larger cats and dogs, a yearly supply is only $27US. They also sell a product called Nitenpyram, which is similar to Capstar (instant flea killer) but at a fraction of the cost. These 2 products combined should help you defeat your flea battle at a much lower cost. I also recommend using food grade DE inside and outside for bad flea infestations. I had a horrible infestation 3 years ago when all I was using was Advantix on my dogs and these 3 things eliminated all the fleas in about 2 weeks.

Good luck!
 
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