Need help ASAP with fleas :(!

I just found out that Mew has fleas and now I see them all over the house. I plan to vaccum and wash all the bedding, but I have a question. I just put flea medicine on Mew and I'm not sure if I should let him go back out in the garden or if I should keep him inside the house. Normally I always apply the flea medicine every month, but I forgot to do it this month. Does Frontline Plus Flea Control take a few days to become effective or is it safe right away. I'm terrifed since it's the first time I've ever had a flea issue and unsure what to do. I would appreciate any tips for getting rid of fleas in the house beside vaccuming if anyone has any suggestions.

I accidently missed Mew's neck because he was panicing and I got the medicine behind his ear instead of behind the neck Will that work alright, or should I try to reapply another flea medicine?

Behind the ear will still work. I know, not easy to apply on some kitties. It is always best to try to apply right behind the skull area if possible and avoid farther down on the neck because kitties can lick it off which is not a good thing. The Frontline plus works within 12 hours. You can also get Capstar from your vet - a pill and will instantly kill all fleas on your cat. http://capstar.novartis.us/

When treating the home with a flea spray, make sure your cat (cat's) are out of the area for about 30 minutes until the product dries. We have had "bug" issues before and have Ortho Home Defense spray on hand and it says it kills fleas too.

You can also use DE granules - which we have used in the past too and prefer over chemicals. http://www.richsoil.com/diatomaceous-earth.jsp The food grade version is safe enough for pets to ingest without causing harm. and I think works better than chemical sprays. Make sure you vacuum well first then sprinkle it in and then use a stiff broom to work it down into the carpet fibers. I would wash the bedding, blankets and floor rugs, if possible too.

These are just some suggestions and you might always want to check with your vet first before using anything in the home so as to be sure it is safe for you indoor pets.

You can still let your kitty outdoors as usual after you apply the product but if you have a flea problem outdoors then I would treat the area too.

This has some ideas for treating your outdoor garden area: http://www.thecatsite.com/a/homemade-flea-remedies

p.s. I am having your thread moved to our Care and Grooming Forum. There are also many other threads with suggestions for flea products and control. We have a search bar above where you can search discussions and threads pertaining to a particular subject.

Feralvr said:

Behind the ear will still work. I know, not easy to apply on some kitties. It is always best to try to apply right behind the skull area if possible and avoid farther down on the neck because kitties can lick it off which is not a good thing. The Frontline plus works within 12 hours. You can also get Capstar from your vet - a pill and will instantly kill all fleas on your cat. http://capstar.novartis.us/

When treating the home with a flea spray, make sure your cat (cat's) are out of the area for about 30 minutes until the product dries. We have had "bug" issues before and have Ortho Home Defense spray on hand and it says it kills fleas too.

You can also use DE granules - which we have used in the past too and prefer over chemicals. http://www.richsoil.com/diatomaceous-earth.jsp The food grade version is safe enough for pets to ingest without causing harm. and I think works better than chemical sprays. Make sure you vacuum well first then sprinkle it in and then use a stiff broom to work it down into the carpet fibers. I would wash the bedding, blankets and floor rugs, if possible too.

These are just some suggestions and you might always want to check with your vet first before using anything in the home so as to be sure it is safe for you indoor pets.

You can still let your kitty outdoors as usual after you apply the product but if you have a flea problem outdoors then I would treat the area too.

This has some ideas for treating your outdoor garden area: http://www.thecatsite.com/a/homemade-flea-remedies

p.s. I am having your thread moved to our Care and Grooming Forum. There are also many other threads with suggestions for flea products and control. We have a search bar above where you can search discussions and threads pertaining to a particular subject.

Click to expand...

I'm really happy to hear behind the ear is effective also It really is difficult applying the medicine since Mew is terrified of it. Thank you for telling me the best place to apply it and that it's effective in 12 hours. I was wondering how long it took to work. I'm glad to know that I should keep Mew out of the area for 30 minutes until it dries up. That is really useful information. I will check up on the DE granules since I would prefer a safe method than chemicals. I have washed all the bedding and rugs. I also vaccumed the house and things are a lot better I will have to treat the garden too. Thank you for the link to the garden treatment! That is super helpful.

jenniator said:

I'm really happy to hear behind the ear is effective also It really is difficult applying the medicine since Mew is terrified of it. Thank you for telling me the best place to apply it and that it's effective in 12 hours. I was wondering how long it took to work. I'm glad to know that I should keep Mew out of the area for 30 minutes until it dries up. That is really useful information. I will check up on the DE granules since I would prefer a safe method than chemicals. I have washed all the bedding and rugs. I also vaccumed the house and things are a lot better I will have to treat the garden too. Thank you for the link to the garden treatment! That is super helpful.

Click to expand...

No thanks needed but THANK YOU!!! Good luck with "de-fleaing" !!!!!! Keep us posted !!!!

Feralvr said:

No thanks needed but THANK YOU!!! Good luck with "de-fleaing" !!!!!!

Keep us posted !!!!

Click to expand...

I do really appreciate everyone's help, especially since I didn't know no to add the flea medicine twice. I might've made Mew sick Everything is going really well ! I think we caught the infestation before it got bad. Since we applied the Frontier, I've searched Mew, and couldn't find any fleas on him! The only thing I saw was flea dirt. I'm really happy about that. I haven't seen any fleas since I vaccumed and change all the bedding. I also searched online and found home made flea traps that I did. It's where you get a bowl of water, add some dish soap in it and shine a light on it. That also worked sucessfully!

That is really great !!!!! Yay for Mew !!! It sounds like you have become the flea bomber and rightly so. :lol3:

I would kindly suggest getting a flea comb if you do not already have one. Looks like this My vet has some that she just gives away that look like this type
Use the flea comb to remove the flea dirt also. This will help clear her coat a bit. You can have a dish of soapy water - Dawn or something of the sort - to dip the comb into just in case you get a flea. BUT, I am certain that the Frontline has and will keep them away since it has been 12 hours. But the flea comb will help remove the dirt and some loose hair in the process.

Feralvr said:

That is really great !!!!! Yay for Mew !!! It sounds like you have become the flea bomber and rightly so.

I would kindly suggest getting a flea comb if you do not already have one. Looks like this My vet has some that she just gives away that look like this type
Use the flea comb to remove the flea dirt also. This will help clear her coat a bit. You can have a dish of soapy water - Dawn or something of the sort - to dip the comb into just in case you get a flea. BUT, I am certain that the Frontline has and will keep them away since it has been 12 hours. But the flea comb will help remove the dirt and some loose hair in the process.

Click to expand...

It is really good news ! He also has stopped scratching as much. I felt so bad seeing him scratch before every 2 seconds. Ha Ha I've never had experience really with fleas, so I'm actually surprised the traps worked and I'm really happy Me and my husband felt more flea's itching us again and we saw  a few fleas. So I vacuumed again today and the itching is gone again I actually don't have a flea come, so I really am going to look into buying one. I've never gotten one since Mew's never gotten fleas before. Thank you for showing me some of the flea combs. I am happy that Frontline is fully effective and will keep Mew safe

jenniator said:

It is really good news ! He also has stopped scratching as much. I felt so bad seeing him scratch before every 2 seconds. Ha Ha I've never had experience really with fleas, so I'm actually surprised the traps worked and I'm really happy Me and my husband felt more flea's itching us again and we saw  a few fleas. So I vacuumed again today and the itching is gone again I actually don't have a flea come, so I really am going to look into buying one. I've never gotten one since Mew's never gotten fleas before. Thank you for showing me some of the flea combs. I am happy that Frontline is fully effective and will keep Mew safe

Click to expand...

The best thing really to do for the indoor environment since you are still seeing some fleas is to treat the floors, cracks, crevices, etc. with the DE mentioned above. The fleas have laid eggs in some places that you may not be able to get too and will be hatching in a couple of weeks. Yes, the frontline will certainly kill off any that get on Mew but in addition to that, I think treating the home with the DE is a very good idea and will blast them all to....... well, you know what. :lol3: :bigthumb:

Flea meds are said to be applied where a cat cannot groom himself and ingest it (can cause copious amounts of salivation), but the meds work regardless of where they are applied.

The meds work within an hour or 2 of application for most of the products out there.

If you continue to treat your cat, the fleas that are around and land on him indoors will also die...clean as best you can; vacuum and wash bedding and such.  I have found if I find fleas early

on (and I typically find them because I react to the flea bites more than my cats!), just treating the cats keeps the house free of infestation.

Good luck.

They can send a man to the moon but can't eliminate fleas; sigh.

Thank you so much for all the suggestion guys !! I believe all the flea's are gone!! I really appreciate everyone's help!