At home Flea treatment - Homemade Lemon Flea Treatment -Trial-

I had used that baby soap and I was considering doing one week in dawn and the other in baby soap and switch... I know the spot on is easier but I don't work so I'm sure I have the time to pull out the good old flea comb and go at it. I was just concerned if maybe the baby soap won't work as well as dawns thicker... We also don't have carpet but with 3long hair 1short hair its eaiser to vacume anyways. How ever id like an area rug lmfak

I'd be advocating for a cat specific shampoo - human soaps and shampoos are often toxic to cats, just because we have different physiologies.  Make sure the cat shampoo doesn't have essential oils (like tea tree for example).

Alrighty. I will see what they have... I didn't see much cat shampoo last time I was there so I chickned out.

I would say just go to another vet..... That's crazy talk, IMHO. Bugsy was over 20lb for quite a while and I never had any issues getting flea meds from my vet. I have never even heard of this.
Making you go through all this, putting your cats through potentially dangerous things - such as flea collars, lemon sprays, etc, let alone the grief, and the waste of time for something that could be solved sooooo simply is IMHO unacceptable.
It is me, but I, personally, would dump the vet. This is, in my book ridiculous.
Go to a good vet and get Revolution or advantage - safe, effective, and pain free for you and your cats.

We thought they were good intill this.... My moms cats very very fat to and her vet gave her cat revolution... I also never used the lemon spray and advised my friend who said she uses it to stop... If she will I don't know... Shes always getting new cats and giving away old ones so I don't think she cares... The fleas are almost gone now I have to really search for them on the cats... Dawns done wonders and I closed off the laundryroom and spareroom so they cant let fleas off in them.... Has helped a lot... We think one last bath and a good vacume and done.... Flea collars were on for 1 night and came off also... I didn't know they were bad I see them on cats all the time so I figured...why not? lol Now they just go in the vacume.  We are going to a new vet though... If the fleas aren't gone by payday were taking the big guy in and hoping they will take him.

tammyp said:

I'd be advocating for a cat specific shampoo - human soaps and shampoos are often toxic to cats, just because we have different physiologies.  Make sure the cat shampoo doesn't have essential oils (like tea tree for example).

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Unfortunately, I've seen a lot of shampoos designed for cats that have terrible ingredients. Usually it's the ones for fleas though, and I can't say that I've seen every shampoo!

I'm glad to here that your cats are getting some relief, paws4life!

Your current vet refuses to sell you Revolution for your 20 pound cat because he/she is 'overweight'??? I'm sorry, but that DOES NOT make any sense!!!!

I work at a vet clinic, my boss has been a full time vet for nearly 30 years now and does his best to stay informed on the constantly-changing field of veterinary medicine.  In his opinion, your vet's excuse for not giving you the Revolution based  upon your cat's weight is bogus.

I have a 7 pound domestic shorthair, a 9 1/2 pound domestic shorthair, and a 20 pound Maine Coon.  All 3 get Revolution once a month.  I give them their dosing - as recommended by my vet - as follows:  0.4 mililiter for each shorthair, and 0.5 mililiter for the Maine Coon.  So there is no guesswork on the dosing, I use an actual 1 mililiter syringe (no needle!) to measure out each dose and apply. 

Regarding cat shampoo:  I have never seen anything in a regular store marketed specifically for felines - outside of Hartz or Seargant's.  And both of those brands have numerous reports of pets getting poisoned by and even dying because of the chemicals in their products.  If there are groomers in your area, you could try calling to see what they use.  The groomers I work with use a product called Fresh 'N Clean as their all purpose pet shampoo for both cats and dogs.  We no longer use any type of 'flea shampoo' due to the questionable toxicity.  Any pets that come in for a groom/bath that has fleas is treated with either Capstar or Comfortis before even going anywhere near the tub, and held in the isolation area for their stay.  [this is standard policy, so that other client's pets don't get fleas]  Any further flea treatment(s) is up to the client.

Glad to see your kitties are getting some relief with your efforts.  A little hint that can use the flea collars you took off your cats: cut them into pieces and put them inside the vacuum cleaner bag.  It's recommended that when you have a flea infestation to change the bag every time you vacuum, but that isn't always practical for the wallet.  Take the pieces of flea collar and put them inside of the new bag before installing it in your vacuum, that way if you can't change it there's a better chance of any fleas that survived will die.  (if you have one of those bagless vacuums, I don't know how how well it would work for this)

Thanks and they said it won't cover him properly because he's so heavy. Her words not mine. I haven't been using flea or cat or human shampoo... I've used the blue original dawn with the wildlife symbol on it and watering it down to a few drops to a cup of water its done mericals... Our WalMart has some cat shampoos but the dawns works well and not bothing them incase they are bas I wash them 1- 1.5 -2 weeks. My vacume is a bag less stick vacume and I empty it outside in the outdoor garbage can everytime. It doesn't hold much to begin with and I used the flea collars cut up and have some in my couches to keep the fleas out of my couches and off my company... A friend stayed over and went home with no bites and before she had bites so were doing something right.. The cats also have only a few stragglers left thankfully. At the moment were in debate between two vets we both have different wants he wants to make sure the vet we choose has afordable treatment if our guy gets a stone agian and the vet I like is very pricy its twice the cost of the vet we have atm.

Well going to a new vet for flea treatment doesn't mean you can't go back to the old vet for other problems.

What I'm missing here is that there are prescription oral meds for cats. Are they not prescribed in Canada? Because Comfortis includes instructions for weight ranges up to 24 pounds. And Capstar is used on cats that weigh between 2 and 25 pounds. :dk:

Capstar is one of the few flea treatments that can be used on young kittens.

I don't know where you can order it, but in the U.S. Capstar is sold OTC (without a prescription). It's absolutely indespensible for shelters and rescues (at least in my experience).

It sounds like you've got it under control now. But Capstar might be an option.

OK, I looked it up. Found the Novartis Canada site: http://www.ah.ca.novartis.com/companion/cat/capstar.shtml

Apparently it's only available by prescription there. But the small capsule would cover your large boy, and I'm seeing it sold without a prescription at Petsmart, Petco, and online distributors that ship to Canada. :dk:

Ohhh thanks... I knew there was a pill... But I was just being offerd Revolution and Advantage... I know when I was little my cat had a shot for fleas to... Cant get them now or my vet doesn't offer them.

My vet's never mentioned the pill, either. Maybe we have to ask for it up here? I've got mine on Revolution, but it's a bad season for it this year-I found on on Matt even though he's treated (I guess it didn't bite him yet, because they usually turn up dead while he's on Revolution)

Well, the advantage of Revolution is that it additionally treats for heartworm, roundworm, and ear mites. If you live in an area where mosquitos are a problem, the heartworm protection is nice.

But for the OP, given the vet won't prescribe the Revolution or Frontline, the pills may be an alternative, because they CLEARLY cover cats of that size.

Just wanted to chime in real quick about what soap to use for bathing a cat. Yes, many of the commercial shampoos for humans and pets contain ingredients that may irritate their skin. "Surfactants" are used to produce suds, but have no benefit to the user. And harsh preservatives are often used.

A very gentle, mild liquid soap that can be used is an unscented organic castile soap. It may not have as much sudsing action, but will still clean. Dr. Bronner's Baby Mild Liquid Soap (http://www.drbronner.com/DBMS/OLBA16/BabyMildLiquidSoap.htm) is an example and does not contain any fragrances or essential oils. DO NOT not get the scented kinds like Lavender or Tea Tree. If you find that the castile soap is a little drying to your cat's skin, you can add a couple drops of olive oil to the soap in the palm of your hand before applying. Do not add too much olive oil or you'll get a greasy cat! 

Thanks everyone. Fleas are basically cleared up... One last bath and we should "crossing fingers" be good. I'll ask about the pills and if my vet says they will work on him we will pill them all to be safe.


id like to close this thread

dawn dish soap is fine to use on animals... its what they use in oil spills... but do not use it constantly. I say once a month for an actually bath. BUT you can use it in a separate dish to dispose of fleas that you have combed off.

Doesn't the lemon get sticky on the fur???

Any progress on getting your pudgy cat flea control? You do know that all of the regular flea medicines are available at Amazon. The only one that needs a vet to sell it is Advantage Multi.

Yes, found a new vet

And idk never tried the lemons afterall.. To afraid

You can buy them by mail on ebay. You can get both advantage II and frontline for cas on Ebay. It is usually cheaper to get it there also and it is the same stuff yu get at petsmart or other pet stores.

I meant frontline and advantage II for cats.