Still struggling with fleas....

Poor Masq... since we got her as a 6 week old kitten she has been struggling with fleas. We have had her de-wormed twice now, and de-fleaed at the vet. but they continue to come back. She gets baths on a regular basis and a flea bath ever 2-3 weeks, the carpeted rooms are vaccuumed and soaked with flea killers directly after she receives a bath,she is also not permited access to those rooms, the rest of the house is tile. i comb her for fleas every night, and change the litter in her litter box every 3rd day.  her blankets and things get washed after her baths as well. She is an entirely indoor cat and im out of ideas. ive used everything from over the counter medicines to vet given things. i just cant seem to get rid of these fleas and im at my wits end here.

other than those fleas she is a happy healthy young cat. she has a beautiful coat, she eats well (and is a little over weight actually), she is absolutley full of energy, and just an absolutley loving and loveable little feline, but i have no idea what else i can do for her, nothing seems to be working. she loves baths so i have filled a tub with water and flea bath, coated her in it as well, and let her play in the water for a while...that didnt work either. I just honestly, have no idea what else to do.....

It's a terrible flea year. Just awful.

My advice: get some Capstar (to save money, you can get the large size and give her 1/4 of a pill instead of buying the small size. I buy it from Amazon), and give it every 3 days for a while. Then go to once a week for a while. This will kill all the fleas that bite her for 24 hours after giving the pill. It can really make a dent in the flea population. You can give it along with any spot-on; it's very safe.

Also, do you apply the spot-on right after giving her a bath? This can keep it from being fully effective because the meds spread in the body oils, and if she's been bathed recently there may not be enough body oils for it to spread. Wait 3 days after a bath to apply it (and wait 3 days after applying it before you bathe her again, if you must bathe her at all).

I find Advantage and Revolution to be the most effective against fleas here. Frontline, not so much. And OTC spot-ons like Hartz or Sergeant are very toxic and not effective. So this is what I'd do: ask the vet for some Revolution and buy some Capstar. Give her a Capstar, then apply the Revolution (if at least 3 days after a bath). Give another Capstar 3 days after. And keep giving Capstar every 3 days as long as you see fleas. If you don't see fleas, give it once a week. And then if you don't see fleas, just give it to her every time you see a live flea. And continue applying the Revolution monthly. Since you live in Texas, you'll probably have to use flea meds all year long.

If you think the fleas have infested the house, call an exterminator. It's the most effective use of your money.

Is she on Advantage or frontline?
 

thank you, she was on advantage but the vet gave us a few applications of frontline, so we switched her to that.
the complex I live in has a mandatory exterminator that comes by every few months.

Well...this is sort of our schedule at the moment...
Monday is laundry day so she gets a bath (I know the soap can dry out her skin, but her fur gets really nasty after a week, often times I just rinse her off), every other wedsnday she receives the medication. She also wears a low potency flea collar to keep them off of her face. The vet recommended it. And I tryy to use to flea comb every nighht before bed.

i would recommend using an insect growth regulator spray also:

precor (methoprene)

http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/precor-igr-concentrate-p-72.html

http://www.pestproducts.com/precor.htm

or 

nylar

You have to stop the fleas from getting in the house, so you need to treat your house for fleas.  You can use diatomaceous earth (food grade) inside, but keep her out of it, so do it room by room.  Brush it under furniture and appliances.  Use a broom to brush it into the carpet.  Leave it overnight, then vacuum.  If you have other animals, they ALL need to be on a flea preventative.  If you live anywhere where heartworm is a problem, then everyone needs to be on a flea and heartworm preventative.  If you own your home or even rent it, have the yard treated for fleas as well.  Wash bedding in hot water daily.
 

How many fleas do you get when you comb?

renting an apartment, wee get sprayed for bugs regularly so its more an issue of getting  them off the cat and out of her things, she is locked out of my room until she is clean and clear

when combing her it really depends on the day.... tonight i got about 10 fleas off of her, but its been as many as 25(ish) or as few as 2 or 3
 

Does she go outside or do you have any other indoor/outdoor pets?
 

No, she is strictly indoor, and my only mammal here. And to my knowledge she hasn't managed to sneak out the door yet.
She's had them when she was given to us, and havnt gone away since.

Sierloveless said:

No, she is strictly indoor, and my only mammal here. And to my knowledge she hasn't managed to sneak out the door yet.
She's had them when she was given to us, and havnt gone away since.

Click to expand...

I suspect that's the nub of the problem - the house is now full of flea eggs, larvae and pupae.  This is a UK link but should help:

http://www.fabcats.org/owners/fleas/info.html