need natural flea remedy please help!

cats4sky

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i have 3 cats. The newest kitten has been with us a little over a month and brought fleas. i really dont have the money for the expensive flea treatment and my biggest concern is all of the cats are constantly grooming each other. so i have the fear of getting the good flea treatment and having one of them lick it and get very sick. i cant stand seeing them suffer like this and i did some searches but cant come up with much...bathing the 2 older cats would probably be hell. can anyone put me in the right direction? thank you!
 

ondine

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There's a product called CapStar which may help.  You pill it (or you can open a capsule onto their wet food).  It kills the tape worms that have a symbiotic relationship with fleas.

If you can get food grade Diatomaceous Earth, you can sprinkle it on their food as well, plus you can use it in their bedding and on carpets.  It is very fine, though, so be careful you don't inhale it.

Vacuuming often will help, too.  The cyclonic action of the vacuum kills the fleas.

If you can bath them, use Dawn dishwashing liquid (the regular blue kind).  It keeps the fleas from jumping out of the bath water and they drown.

Good luck.  I hate fleas!
 
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cats4sky

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thanks, i just gave them a dawn bath and im in tears, i think it upset me more than them. my husband is insisting on spraying them with apple cider vinegar but im not sure that would be safe.
 

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Try and google Lisa Violet Cat House. This is for buying Advantage in bulk and dividing it up by weight. She has it all listed out by dose. What you would do is buy a dose for Extra Large Dogs. ONLY Advantage II NOT K9 or any other. Those WILL KILL a CAT.  After you buy the large dose you put it in a glass or plastic vial and use a need-less, (no needle) syringe and measure out exactly how much to give your kitty according to weight. This is SAFE. If you were to check both Advantage for Cats and the Advantage for Dogs it is the EXACT SAME ingredients just different DOSES.  I do this personally for all my 6 cats and my dog. I get 8 cat size doses from just 1 dog sized dose, the extra large dog. Plus community cats. I would not be able to afford to treat them all otherwise. There are no natural flea preventives I have tried that actually work.
 

ondine

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It probably won't hurt them and I'm not sure it will do anything for the fleas, either. But if you managed just one bath, that should help. Did you see any actual fleas? If they had them, the Dawn would have flushed them off the cats.

If you didn't see any, they may still have flea eggs. The Capstar or diatomaceous Earth will help prevent them from growing into fleas.
 
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cats4sky

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yes i seen a bunch of fleas. i do have some DE coming in the mail and if they got passed one bath maybe it wont be as bad if i have to do it again.
 

ondine

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Good, you got the little suckers.  Have I said I HATE fleas?

The DE will help, definitely.  Just be careful with it.  As I said, it is like flour and you can inhale it easily.
 
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cats4sky

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thanks! i just checked the cats and the one still has them :( 

i guess ill have to give them another bath in a few days...
 

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thanks! i just checked the cats and the one still has them :( 

i guess ill have to give them another bath in a few days...
Can you comb him everyday with a flea comb? Keep a dish of soapy water with you while you do it to dip the comb in and drown the fleas.
 
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cats4sky

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im going to the store as soon as I get out of work (15 mins) and getting a flea comb and will start combing tonight. I feel so bad for my cats. I called my vets office and the receptionist said that advantage wouldn't be toxic if I applied it to the cats and they groomed each other. I cannot believe this since I have read and my husband had a cat in the past that got very sick from ingesting that stuff. im going to do everything I can to relieve my pets the natural way. I am also going to look into Capstar which someone mentioned.
 

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You are essentially feeding your cat insecticide by giving capstar.  What you could do is apply the advantage on the upper back of the cats head. That is what I do, I've never had mine ingest it. I personally do not feel comfortable feeding capstar. I am not sure if capstar has the same ingredients as trifexis or comfortis but I know of several animals that went blind due to having been given them. I know that Bayer Seresto makes flea collars for cats. I've also heard of people placing a baby t-shirt on their cats after applying it.  Or perhaps, crate them until dry usually an hour or two.
 

ondine

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Capstar is powdered nitenpyram, which is an insecticide that kills fleas pretty quickly.  I know there were issues with some pets who turned out to be allergic to it.  Other than that, though, I do not think there were other issues.

Its your choice.  Unfortunately, the chemicals that kill the fleas may very well harm your animals.  But without them, the fleas will take over.  I personally use all these types of products pretty sparingly, including Capstar and Revolution.

For periodic use, the suggestion that you keep them crated until the application dries on their fur is a pretty good one.  That way, they can't lick one another, which was one of your initial concerns.
 
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cats4sky

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yeah, im def going to keep combing everyday and putting DE on the floors, if all else fails then ill get the advantage and i can just separate them in 3 diff rooms for a few hours! i combed tonight and didnt get too much flea or flea dirt so we will see.....i think ill stay away from the capstar. thanks for all the great advice ill post updates.
 
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cats4sky

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thanks. i have been combing everyday and finally got the DE yesterday. i ran some through the cats fur and this seems to have worked the best so far. i can tell they are getting some major relief. i briefly combed kitty tonight and did not get any fleas, and my 2 big ones haven't been scratching or gnawing like crazy!
 

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thanks. i have been combing everyday and finally got the DE yesterday. i ran some through the cats fur and this seems to have worked the best so far. i can tell they are getting some major relief. i briefly combed kitty tonight and did not get any fleas, and my 2 big ones haven't been scratching or gnawing like crazy!
Excellent! Fleas are yucky and it's such a relief to get rid of them, for cats and humans alike 
 

ondine

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Your diligence did as much as the DE.  Keep up your vigilance - if you see a flea, attack.  Vacuum, apply the DE, bathe if you need to.  It is always better to get them early.

Glad things have calmed down.
 

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Glad to hear you are getting it under control. Fleas are no fun. :( Also when you vacuum when you are done be sure to empty the bag or canister outside. That way they won't climb back out. Not sure if they can but I don't take chances myself. 
 

ondine

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Glad to hear you are getting it under control. Fleas are no fun. :( Also when you vacuum when you are done be sure to empty the bag or canister outside. That way they won't climb back out. Not sure if they can but I don't take chances myself. 
I've heard that the cyclonic action of the vacuum kills the fleas but I'm with you.  Not only would I empty the bag in the trash outside, I'd spray the whole trash can with deadly poisons! 
 
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