FLEAS!

Please help!

I have two cats, Dolly (about 18 months old) and Daisy (about 5 months old), both are treated monthly for fleas with Bob Martin Spot On Treatment. Daisy doesn't go outside very much, she's a bit of a wimp really and enjoys being warm too much. Anyway, they were both treated about two weeks ago, and I've just found a flea and what looks like a fair amount of flea excrement (those black flecks) on her. How is this possible!? She came to us utterly infested - in fact both cats did - she'd been born outside and had never been in a house until she came to us. But I dealt with the fleas and worms when she arrived and since then she's been clear. Until today. Is it possible for the Spot On treatment to just not work randomly? Would you suggest trying a flea collar instead? Any ideas/suggestions more than welcome - really don't want another infested cat!!

Thanks!
Vicki.

P.S. Sorry, forgot to mention, we're in the UK. I know different brands are available in different countries, so any ideas on why it's not working or other approaches would be welcome! 

I don't know about that particular brand of spot-on treatment, but I can say that flea collars are a bad idea. There doesn't seem to be a reputable one anywhere in the world.
We use Advantage now and it works great.
The one time we had fleas the vet told us about the life cycle of the fleas and how they can lie dormant waiting for the right host to come along. Vacuuming daily for a week or so helps to get rid of all the flea larvae. You need to get rid of the eggs and larvae as well as treating the cat.

Don't use Bob Martin. At best it doesn't work (as you have found out) and at worst it can kill your cats. Google it, it's true that this product kills cats. Use a proven safe and effective product such as Stronghold (called Revolution in the USA).

Thank you for the replies.

I never knew treatments could cause harm if used correctly!

Will definitely be looking into different treatments today. 

Vicki.

You can get Frontline at pharmacies or online in the UK or you can get other products from your vet.  If you keep seeing fleas then your house probably needs treating as well.  The FAB have a great webpage which lists products which are both safe and effecitve:

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

Your cat should also be wormed.  You can buy Drontal online but the tablets are huge, or you can get Milbemax at the vet which is much smaller, or you can get spot-ons at the vet that do both roundworms and tapeworms.

OrientalSlave said:

Drontal online but the tablets are huge

Click to expand...

The new Drontal tabs here are now smaller, not quite Milbemax size but a big improvement. Hopefully the same change will be made over there to make it easier for owners to give. 

For all I know the UK Drontals might now be smaller - I've not used one for some years.