fleas

 Hey, I have a couple of questions about treatment. I normally have the boys on revolution, but the vet won't give it to me without seeing them, and My dad's got my carrier.

I bought and applied Spot On last month, which failed...I bathed them last week, which helped. I'm keeping them at bay with daily combing , but I'm trying to figure out when to book the appointment for the revolution if I applied Spot on on October 9th. 

Also, is there anything that I can do to help keep them at bay that I'm not already doing? Are envinronmental sprays toxic to the cats? Last time I used a flea spray, I had the cat foaming at the mouth, but the spray was meant to be used on her, and she licked it, so I don't know.....The floors are all hardwood anyway, so that helps

I would go with the Diatomaceous Earth food grade. This link below is one that has a good explanation on how to use it properly. It must be food grade though.
http://www.diatomaceousearth.com/natural-flea-control-for-cats/

What spot-on treatment did you use? You are just a few days away from being able to use another product since you did the treatment on Oct. 9. I prefer Frontline Plus and you can order on-line. In fact, you really don't have to wait till the 9th of November since you are still seeing fleas. It is already Nov. 4 anyway so if it were me, I would go ahead and apply a product that will surely work for the cats. And, then do the environment with the DE.

I think I might go the DE route for the house. Does Capstar work? It claims to immediately kills the fleas. Or Frontline, which I can have in a day or two. 

I lent my Carrier to my dad, and he's not given it back yet, so I can't travel with them, but I want them on something soon. The Zodiac will be worn off in a day or two. I regret using it-they have bald spots at the site of application and I'm lucky that's all they got, given some of what I've read.

OH - isn't Zodiac OTC? If so, stay away from any flea product OTC and from the chain stores. Always best to get the products from the vet or one's that a vet would approve only. The Capstar http://capstar.novartis.us/dogsAndCats/dogsAndCats.htm is a pill that will kill the fleas within 30 minutes but will not give any lasting effect such as the spot-on treatments. It says that you would have to give a pill everyday to continually kill the fleas. So best to use a monthly spot-on treatment for fleas. Since you have the Frontline coming, then I would use that right away. It will begin working within 12 hours of application.

I have always used Frontline in the past, but recently have had better luck with Revolution.

Regarding household sprays: Your cats should be fine as long as you keep them out of the room where you apply the spray for the amount of time listed on the bottle (usually two hours or so). Only about 10% of the flea population is on a household pet at any given time. The rest are in various stages of development in the carpet, between floorboards, etc, so treating the house can do a lot to speed up eradication. Besides using DE or a flea spray, it is suggested to vacuum frequently. I have seen some suggestions to cut up a flea collar and put it in your garbage/vacuum canister to deal with survivors, though I myself have not tried this.

CanOpener said:

 
I have always used Frontline in the past, but recently have had better luck with Revolution.

Regarding household sprays: Your cats should be fine as long as you keep them out of the room where you apply the spray for the amount of time listed on the bottle (usually two hours or so). Only about 10% of the flea population is on a household pet at any given time. The rest are in various stages of development in the carpet, between floorboards, etc, so treating the house can do a lot to speed up eradication. Besides using DE or a flea spray, it is suggested to vacuum frequently. I have seen some suggestions to cut up a flea collar and put it in your garbage/vacuum canister to deal with survivors, though I myself have not tried this.

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I've heard about frontline being less effective lately, so I decided to go with Revolution after all. The house if full of DE, in every crack and crevasse, and I bathed the cats with Dawn again. Spot On wore off now, and I've found myself a vet that will travel to my house and administer and sell me the revolution for the cost of the med and one exam,(but he'll exam both cats) so I'm very happy  They'll both be flea free in a day or two(finally!)

He said that for flea eradication I should use the Revolution every 2 weeks-I've never heard of that before? I'm not sure if I want to take that advice, or go with every three as the package says.....

Matts mom said:

 
I've heard about frontline being less effective lately, so I decided to go with Revolution after all. The house if full of DE, in every crack and crevasse, and I bathed the cats with Dawn again. Spot On wore off now, and I've found myself a vet that will travel to my house and administer and sell me the revolution for the cost of the med and one exam,(but he'll exam both cats) so I'm very happy  They'll both be flea free in a day or two(finally!)

He said that for flea eradication I should use the Revolution every 2 weeks-I've never heard of that before? I'm not sure if I want to take that advice, or go with every three as the package says.....

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I would trust your vet. Mine told me to do every three weeks instead of every four. The manufacturer directions on medications are general rules. They tend to err on the side of caution particularly when they're for things like flea meds which are often administered by pet owners with little professional oversight (my vet sells me a six month supply of Revolution at once). A good vet should have the clinical judgement to know when to make an exception.

I don`t get it.... what`s the point of bathing your cats with Dawn??    All that`s gonna do is make any topical flea med less effective.

zoneout said:

 
I don`t get it.... what`s the point of bathing your cats with Dawn??    All that`s gonna do is make any topical flea med less effective.

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The dawn kills the fleas and eggs already on them- This reduces the flea population, and gives the cats some relief from bites for a day or two but doesn't replace medication. Essentially, it's buying time until the vet gets here tomorrow with the flea-killing topical.

Matts mom said:

He said that for flea eradication I should use the Revolution every 2 weeks-I've never heard of that before? I'm not sure if I want to take that advice, or go with every three as the package says.....

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I am not advising you against your vet here but..... that would be for a mange infection AND it would be every three weeks, not two. I would not, personally, use it every two weeks for fleas. Once a month Revolution is perfectly fine for flea eradication on cat's. Don't waste your money.

zoneout said:

I don`t get it.... what`s the point of bathing your cats with Dawn??    All that`s gonna do is make any topical flea med less effective.

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Dawn detergent kills fleas on cats. You leave it sit for five minutes but a couple minutes really does the trick. Also - you should not bathe a pet for at least 24 hours after administration of the topical. After that, you can certainly bathe a pet. Most people will bathe with the Dawn first THEN immediately, once the cat is dry, put on the topical.

Thank you, Feralvr

I was a little surprised to be told to give it that soon since I have always been advised to give it once a month, and that's what the package says. I have used Revolution twice before on cats who got fleas, and it cleaned them both(different cats) up in a matter of days...so it seemed 'off' to me. Plus, this is a new vet, whom I am dealing with only because my Dad has been borrowing my carrier for his new puppy, and this vet does house-calls.

Feralvr said:

Dawn detergent kills fleas on cats. You leave it sit for five minutes but a couple minutes really does the trick. Also - you should not bathe a pet for at least 24 hours after administration of the topical. After that, you can certainly bathe a pet. Most people will bathe with the Dawn first THEN immediately, once the cat is dry, put on the topical.

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I have never heard of this. It kinda sounds like an urban legend. Have you experienced good results with it?

I totally disagree with bathing a cat right before applying a topical like Frontline since the skin oil acts as a carrier which is key in distributing the active ingredient over the entire body.

Matts mom said:

 Hey, I have a couple of questions about treatment. I normally have the boys on revolution, but the vet won't give it to me without seeing them, and My dad's got my carrier.
I bought and applied Spot On last month, which failed...I bathed them last week, which helped. I'm keeping them at bay with daily combing , but I'm trying to figure out when to book the appointment for the revolution if I applied Spot on on October 9th. 
Also, is there anything that I can do to help keep them at bay that I'm not already doing? Are envinronmental sprays toxic to the cats? Last time I used a flea spray, I had the cat foaming at the mouth, but the spray was meant to be used on her, and she licked it, so I don't know.....The floors are all hardwood anyway, so that helps

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Frontline will control fleas on cat without a scrip.

zoneout said:

I have never heard of this. It kinda sounds like an urban legend. Have you experienced good results with it?

I totally disagree with bathing a cat right before applying a topical like Frontline since the skin oil acts as a carrier which is key in distributing the active ingredient over the entire body.

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zoneout said:

I have never heard of this. It kinda sounds like an urban legend. Have you experienced good results with it?

 

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 I did have excellent results with this method back when Midnight first came into the house as a little feral kitten. He was completely infested and Dawn took care of the problem. I followed the above instructions, and took him to the vet a couple of days later for his Revolution and de-worming. 

I don't think I left it on long enough this time, as a few got through, but they both feel much better, and they get their meds today at 4:30 anyway, so we're blitzing every piece of fabric in the house with either vacuum, dryer, or washer/dryer combo today. Got a new vacuum especially for the job.

zoneout said:

Feralvr said:

Dawn detergent kills fleas on cats. You leave it sit for five minutes but a couple minutes really does the trick. Also - you should not bathe a pet for at least 24 hours after administration of the topical. After that, you can certainly bathe a pet. Most people will bathe with the Dawn first THEN immediately, once the cat is dry, put on the topical.

Click to expand...

I have never heard of this. It kinda sounds like an urban legend. Have you experienced good results with it?

I totally disagree with bathing a cat right before applying a topical like Frontline since the skin oil acts as a carrier which is key in distributing the active ingredient over the entire body.

Click to expand...

Yes. I was a groomer for years and the dawn was always on hand for pets that came in with fleas. It really does work. Yes - the oils in the sebaceous glands are helpful to spread the topical. If there is a heavy flea infestation, we always recommended applying the topical within 24 hours of being dry. Typically, it is recommended by the manufacturer to wait at least 48 hours after a bath to give the glands time to produce more oil. Some cats/dogs are more oily than other's and the oil returns to those glands almost immediately.

I just went through 3 months of battling fleas on 7 cats.  They are indoor but the dogs must have brought them in.  First, my husband bought and applied Spot On when I was gone.  Completely ineffective.  The vet told me to wait 4 weeks.  I waited 3 and reapplied Frontline Plus to all 7 and pills to the dogs.  Frontline takes all 3 months to kill the cycle so be patient, and COMB, COMB, COMB and flush them down the sink in the meantime.  Get Mycodex spray from the Vet.  DO NOT SPRAY on the the cats.  Vacuum everything and wash all bedding, blankets and everything loose; keep the washed items separate.  Put the cats in a room and don't let them out until this spray is completely dry.  Spray baseboards, cat furniture, under sofas, chairs, carpeting, bedding, drapes.  You may need to get a second spray (about $30 each).  Then let the cats back out.  Note:  Vet yelled at me because I washed my dog and then put stuff on.  He said you definitely need the oils in their skin to spread the drops so washing your pet destroys the oil for awhile, so wait to wash.  Hope this helps.  It is month 4 and the fleas are gone.  Whew!  Expensive but worth it (go without a treat that you usually give yourself).

If you go to, I believe it's called, www.vetshopmax.com, 

you can buy Revolution without a vet prescription. It's based in Australia, and you don't need a vet approval for it in Australia, just here in the US, so you should be able to order it from there without a problem. 

It also may help you to look over a previous forum post from this site on fleas:

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/254624/why-does-frontline-and-advantage-not-work-for-fleas-now/30

Good luck!!

Thank you, Lunarlris, I did actually look at that site, but it takes up to 20 days to ship to Canada, and I already had fleas. I have them on it now, and a couple of tubes standing by for next month. The vet comes back on DEC 2nd to give them their shots, and I'll buy some more again while he's here.

How in heaven's name have any of you managed to bathe a cat? I wouldn't likely survive the experience. My eyes woulds would scratched out.

Also, when I went to get Revolution while visiting in the US (I live in Haiti) I was told by several stores that I had to take my cat into a vet, which, of course, I couldn't do as my cats are in Haiti. They said that if I used the Revolution and my cats didn't have worms (I wanted it for fleas but apparently it deals with worms too?) I could harm the cat by using it. The vet would have to confirm that I needed Revolution upon examination of the animal. I choose to purchase Advantage II instead. 

Does any of this sound familiar to any of you?

Have any of you treated your cats for ringworm with natural or easy to access meds? One of the ferral cats I have adopted has patches of fur missing with itchy looking skin exposed. I suspect ringworm but can't easily access a vet or prescription meds. I have to go the natural way.

Thanks for any suggestions. Kinda frustrating being in a country like  Haiti and not have medical access for ourselves or the animals under our care.