Flea Meds

I decided to go with Frontline Plus for Dogs for my cats (my vet told me what to dose them, talk to your vet first if you want to do this). I went to Pet Supplies Plus first to check prices as they were having a 20% off sale this month. What I had got at Wal-Mart for $39 was $58 there on sale. At Petco was $78. I was impressed that I was able to get it at such a low price at Wal-Mart!

I used the flea comb and soapy water first to kill some of them. I got 1 off Mac and 2 off Mia. They were not happy!!!!! I dont think they have many as they have hardly any flea dirt. Stll have to do all the work though. They didnt fight putting the med on their necks but now they keep shaking their heads. When will the fleas start jumping ship? I think I will wait until morning to start cleaning and doing laundry sense I just put it on.

Most of the fleas at any given time aren't on the cats. They live in the carpet, upholstery, etc. So vacuum a lot, wash the cat beds, all that kind of stuff. Hopefully once the Frontline kicks in, any that jump onto the cats will die, but you still have to get rid of the ones not on the cats.

Usually when using topical flea medication you need to wait 24-48 hours before or after a bath before you apply the medication.  I know frontline absorbs into their sweat glands but Im not sure why you need to wait.

There are not just fleas lurking in your house, there are their eggs, larvae and pupae and whilst it can be as little as 15 days from egg to flea, it can be a lot, lot longer.

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

Gave the cats Frontline Plus Wednesday night. My cats have never had baths ( accept for the day I brought them home) so I didnt have to worry about that before applying the med. They are very good groomers.. Then at 7am Thursday morning I stsrted laundry and cleaning. I got done about 3pm ( I live in a 1 bedroom apartment. Anything that could be cleaned was cleaned. They were still a little itchy yesterday and I found a few sluggish fleas that were easy to kill on Mia. I'm sure they were in the process of dieing sense I was able to catch them. So I vacumed every corner again today and so far they arent itching. Yeah!!!!!! Its so nice to see them lieing around not waking up to itch and see them playing without having to stop and itch!

Ack fleas suck! Luckily *knock on wood* I haven't had to deal with  them this year. I haven't put any flea topicals on any of my pets and my dog goes outside for walks and in our patio area. It's funny because my apartment neighbors on my right side say they are infested and that the common green area that we share is infested. They have one cat and can't get the fleas under control. I have two cats, a rabbit and a dog and not a single flea. She doesn't believe me lol. I don't know what it is though. I do give my dog and my long haired cat regular baths. I wash their bedding every other week and I vacumn every day.

when I did have a flea problem, it was when I first moved into my current apartment. My rabbit was the one that got infested and my dog had a few fleas I noticed when brushing him. I immediately applied advantage to the cats and rabbit and frontline to  the dog. I did that consistantly for about 6 months and I got the whole life cycle. Haven't had fleas since. If you don't have a huge infestation. Just applying the topical consistantly will eventually get all the life cycles. Other pet friendly ways to deal with the environment, is diatomaceous earth or boric acid sprinkled in the carpet. It is safe for pets but does something to the fleas and eggs. You leave it in the carpet for a day or two then vacumn really well. Also washing all bedding in hot water will help too. Oh and for the diatomaceous earth you need to the food grade one not the hardware aka pool one.
 

The problem wasnt really bad, thank goodness. I thought maybe it came from the cats laying in the windows. This is what had happened to my cats several years ago when I lived in a house (my cats have never gone outdoors). I live in an apartment building now. I found out from the lady that had lived across the hall that she had fleas badly this summer. She has no cat now (poor kitty, she released it in the woods behind the apts.    . She moved to another apt. across the road a couple weeks ago ( an extra bedroom). She said she had only found 2 fles when moving so she wasnt worried (i'm sure there were PLENTY she didnt see). I am now sure I got them from her.  They shampoed (professionally )yesterday to get it ready for knew tenants. I will be appyling Frontline monthly from here on out. Don't want this to happen again!!!