Losing my mind over fleas. Could use some advice.

I just made this account to ask this question, so forgive me if I'm not in the correct forum, breaking any unwritten rules, etc. I did search the forum a bit, but couldn't seem to find any others with a situation similar to mine, so forgive me if this has been answered.

I have two cats. 10 and 14. We've dealt with fleas multiple times over these cats' lives. By dealing with them, I mean, we would always catch the signs of fleas, buy the Advantage or Frontline drops, give them each a dose, and things would be hunky dory. Things didn't seem to work so... smoothly, this time around though.

I live in Florida, and the weather is heating up noticeably around here at the moment. We were expecting fleas to come anytime, but as it turns out they may have come a bit sooner than we anticipated. I first noticed that the cats might've had fleas when I found the typical 'black dandruff' in places where my cat had been laying. I didn't know at the time what that meant, but after some Googling, found that the cats had fleas.

So okay, the black dandruff was new, but we figured we would just give them the Advantage drops again and as per usual, things would be fine, right? This is where details get murky because I'm not quite sure what went wrong, if ANYTHING went wrong. When we bought the drops this time, and the time came to use them on the cats, we had a different person help us. My mother is normally the one who applies the dose to both cats and has done so many times over the years. At this time, she was sick and bedridden, so I asked my grandmother to help me do it, since I simply couldn't trust myself to apply it correctly. I don't believe she appiled the drops as well as she could have. I've read a few things and some people have said that the drops still work fine when applied to mostly the fur, or poorly applied in general, but I've also read people who say it doesn't work at all if not applied directly to the skin. However, keep in mind, this was just on one cat where this problem likely occurred. The other cat had the drops applied without much issue. This detail is important.

I was still noticing the 14-year-old cat who got the iffy dose scratching two weeks after the application. This made me worry. The drops are advertised to provide 'protection for one month' so I didn't know what was going on. So, we went against the advice of pretty much everyone, including professionals, and bought ONE dose and split it between the two of them. This caused my 10-year-old cat to briefly become ill. Basically warning us that we were going overboard. That satisfied us a bit, but I was still seeing dandruff around, and when I used a flea comb we had previously bought on my 14-year-old, I was pulling live fleas off of her. This was only a couple days after the second application of Advantage. So something wasn't working here.

This sent me into a complete overdrive. We went out and bought the Spectracide indoor/outdoor spray, and sprayed EVERYWHERE. When I suspected that might not be working, we bought a tiny bottle of insect growth regulator and mixed it with the spray, and sprayed again. We also vacuumed and shampooed the carpets.

For some reason, I was still pulling live fleas off my cat. So I looked into something ELSE I could buy, and came across Capstar. I was ready to buy some of those when my friend who had been listening to my fears throughout this whole ordeal gave me some that he still had left over from when his cats had gotten fleas. (to be fair, i'm not quite sure if it's actual brand-name Capstar, but it worked the same way. Killed the fleas on the cats and likely didn't provide any further protection) We gave them the Capstar pills this past Friday, I believe. Things seemed fine. No more dandruff, happier cats, etc.

Since then, we've still been vacuuming, cleaning, spraying, and I even went out and bought Hot Shot Flea and Bedbug Killing Powder, which from what I can tell, is almost pure diatomaceous earth, and spread it all around my room, where the fleas seemed to be most active.

Before spreading the DE, I had actually physically seen three fleas in my room, and killed all of them. This made me panic at first and wonder if all of our work was actually doing anything, and then I thought about how since we've given the cats the pills, they've been spending a lot more time in the living room, and so any remaining fleas in here might simply be trying to rely on me as a food source. That's what I've been trying to convince myself of anyway.

My problem stands here currently though. We haven't quite treated the living room as heavily as my room, simply because it didn't seem like it required as much attention. Not to say we completely neglected it or anything, but I haven't spread the DE in there, mostly out of fear for the cats since they've been hanging out in there. We will continue to treat the living room likely much more heavily now, as well as my room still, but I've been noticing my cats scratching a couple times in the past two days, and it has me extremely worried. to the point of having a panic attack. This whole situation has actually led me to go to the doctor and get prescribed strong anti-anxiety medicine, that should tell you how badly it's affecting me.

After ALL OF THAT, my question to anyone who thinks they can help is this; what can I do to the cats if they happened to pick up a couple stragglers? It's not been very long since we last gave them the drops, however, we do have the Advantage spray, where you spray down the cat and dry off after five minutes? That stuff. I have an urge to use that on them, but I also don't want to possibly make them sick. So if I shouldn't use the spray on them, what should I do then? Even if they have a couple fleas still on them? Just let things go? Wait until I can use the drops again? What if the fleas start breeding again in that time? Should I just try and vacuum every day? I thought we had the situation under control but I'm at more of a loss right now than I was before we had even bought anything. Any help anyone could provide would be really appreciated, and I'd be perfectly fine providing anymore details if need be.

Tl;dr: I have a minor flea problem and I'm going insane over it, and I feel like I need someone with more knowledge on cats and pet health in general than myself to help curb some of my irrational fears.

You are in Florida and fleas will be a constant.  I would advise using Advantage II drops which are EXTREMELY safe and can be used as often as once a week during infestations.  I live in Georgia and we have a pretty good flea problem too, and I use it every two weeks on the cats who are allergic to fleas, and every 3 weeks on the others.  It's not a war you just win and be done with.  It's an ongoing border skirmish between you and the fleas.  They will continue to get into your house, so you need to make your house unfriendly territory for them to live in, while still being friendly for the cats and humans living there.

Advantage II is the best spot on product because it contains the growt inhibitor in addition to the product that kills fleas.  In addition, the diotomaceous earth is excellent and if you get the FOOD GRADE DE, you have nothing to worry about, it's fine if they eat it, it actually deworms them if they eat enough.  It is not a poison, it kills the fleas by getting in the little cracks in their exoskeletons and drying them out.  Wheether you have carpets or wood floors, just spread it liberally, sweep it in (so it gets in the cracks in the floors etc.) and put it under the sofa cushions and everywhere the cats sleep. 

If your fleas start becoming resistant to the Advantage II, you can alternate with a few of the other vet recommended products just to keep the fleas on their toes.  The flea life cycle is about three weeks so thats why I use the Advantage II every 3 weeks during flea season (i.e. most of the year!)  It does say it protects UP TO FOUR WEEKS but it doesn't promise to protect for the entire four weeks. Don't worry if you see the occasional flea, just keep up the good work.  It sounds like you are doing just fine!

Thank you for the reply. I'm actually not certain if the drops were were using were Advantage II. I wasn't even aware there WAS an Advantage II, the 'II' part is causing the confusion I guess. That's good to know though.

I'm not entirely certain if the DE product i'm using is food grade, i'll have to buy some of that specdifically next time i go to the store, that was why I haven't used it in the living room quite yet. Again, good to know.

I'm likely going to give in and use the Advantage spray on them if the scratching gets too frequent, but it is good to hear form someone who has likely dealt with something similar as me.

It's also good that my cats don't seem to be allergic to fleas, otherwise I would've likely burnt the house down by now.. Thank you for the information, and I'd still welcome anything else anyone could provide.

I actually do have a follow-up question though. Should I still use the Advantage spray on the cats right now? I mean, would it pose a health hazard? Or should I hold off and see what happens for a while first? I just wouldn't want things to advance if it can be prevented, but i wouldn't want to jeopardize my cats' well beings for that either.

I don't like the Idea of spraying cats. They lick themselves, and I worry about them ingesting the stuff. I used the revolution drops from my vet. Then I took some salt and Borax powder mixed, and put in cheese shaker, and sprinkled like mad! The fleas should be dying from the flea treatment, and anything alive will dry out from the salt and powder. You will need to vacuum and repeat sprinkling a few more times. I used a cheap flea collar in my vacuum bag just to kill any live fleas when I vacuumed. I  felt it worked quite well. You just have to keep up with the vacuuming!  I used to use the flea bombs, and they will just about any critter, but I  worried about the cats, and myself to be truthful. Also mop, maybe use a citrus oil, as fleas don't like that, but neither do the cats!  I remember years ago, coming home from a vacation, and the fleas were rampant! Back in the 60's, you could buy DDT. I REMEMBER MY MOTHER AND I JUST RANDOMLY TOSSING THAT POWDER ALL OVER THE RUGS!  AAUUGHHH!  Good luck, I know it is sometimes harder in humid areas, and this year the warm weather came early in California, and lack of rain and not so cold winter.  I bought the DE at my local pet shop.

I guess maybe I have been underplaying how important vacuuming could be. I'll be sure to keep that up and do so as much as possible. I'm just really irrationally worried about some stragglers making their way onto our cats and therefore eventually starting the whole process all over again, you know? Hence why I was asking about the Advantage spray. I was planning to use that as a sort of 'buffer' between now and the next time it'll be safe to use the drops. I've tried asking other people what they thought and I either got 'don't do it' or 'just give them a little spritz'. So I might just pass on that and maybe leave the cats alone for a while despite how tough on my mental state that could be. Meanwhile I'll keep up the vacuuming and spraying around where I can, I suppose. The thought of my cats having any fleas on them at all makes me nervous as all hell but my cats' health is paramount and I'd rather be uncomfortable than possibly harm my cat in any way. It would be quite the situation if after all of this it ends up being ME who harms the cats more than anything.

This is what 'm telling myself anyway. I really hope I'll survive this. I can't believe I'm stressing so much over something that seems so minor when you look at it objectively. Regardless I appreciate the help, you guys. And I'll happily take any other advice you might be willing to give as to how to further go about this.

Jebb, don't feel bad about vacuming' I am the worst! My old boyfriend used to kid me that I didn't know what it was! So he vacuumed. It does help, and the last time the fleas started coming, I got on it - everyday! And you know those fleas disappeard !  The only thing you might worry about, besides the cat's discomfort, is their age. Everyone always worries about the baby kittens, but our older little guys can also become anemic! You may want to give your cats some sort of tinic to keep their iron up. Ask your vet.

I live in Florida and have been fighting the fleas for 30 years now and I still find a flea here or there. Though it's nice to think you can completely irradiate them in this climate I have never been successful. My cats though do go outside and sunbathe in my backyard garden. The only thing that has worked for me with 85% effectiveness is yard spraying, daily flea combing, advantage treatment regularly and borax on the rugs. This climate stinks for flea control they are here 365 days a year.

I know the sentiment about Florida weather, believe me. I've never been a fan and I've lived here all my life. We've always dealt with fleas fairly easily and it's only here recently that things started to go south(no Florida pun intended).

Something about seeing all that dandruff, just watching the slow - yet apparently effective - methods we're using to take care of the issue. Still seeing them every so often even with all the work its done. Seeing my cats scratch and wondering if that means there are stragglers, etc. It's.... it feels like it's killing me, really. I don't remember the last time I've stressed over something quite this badly. Even now my 14-year-old was let outside and I'm just sitting here stressing over her and if she might pick them up again, and what to do if she does.

It's tough. Real tough.

Not much to add to add this excellent advice. I had to bomb twice and gave the cats Revolution (also protects against ear mites and heart worm). I would think that the few fleas you still see on the cats would be killed, along with their children (children?) by the Revolution.

And it's not a small problem you're so upset about. Fleas do propagate fast. It sounds as though you are going to win this one.

Outdoor cats exposed to the elements year round are administered Revolution or Advantage every 2 weeks when they've been excessively exposed to rain/moisture that stripped their skin of sebaceous oils, the resevoir of topical medications that continuously stay in their glands for the 30 day period, unless excessively bathed, swimming, or doused by rain.

So, it is safe to apply every 2 weeks, at the most frequent dosing.

Comfortis is a prescription adulticide that is fast acting, killing before adults can lay eggs, lasts 30 days, is a chewable tablet that can be hidden in a small portion of canned food, or split and pilled directly by hand, to the back of their throat, and chased with water. It must be given with food, so ensure they ate prior to administering, but it is very effective and has not been in use long enough to create populations of fleas that are insusceptible to it. Capstar is only effective for 24 hours, so the eggs and pupa in the environment and on your cat can still mature and emerge to adults, finding your cats, and the infestation persists.

Environmental control is very critical, as the flea poop is digested blood, emitted all over the house and cat, and it feeds the larval stage of fleas before they mature to adults. The black dandruff you saw is flea feces. Once they're feeding long enough to defecate that amount of blood, fleas have been on your cat and in the environment for many weeks. Vacuuming daily is good, and hot steam cleaning carpet, rugs, and any fabric furniture. They love dark areas, so moving furniture and vaccuming/steaming under them is imperative.

Eggs and larva are susceptible to diatamaceous earth. Pupa are impenatrable, and this is the stage that can sit for a year, in an unoccupied vacation home, for example, waiting to mature until it's warm and a host is sensed nearby. If your cats go outdoors at all, treatment around the perimeter of the home and throughout the yard is imperative. Yard spray with an IGR is best, such as Virbac Yard Spray, and apply when you know it will not rain for a few days while it takes effect. DE and sprays can be washed away by rain. Then reapplication is necessary.

In the south, we keep all cats on year round parasiticide, rather than treating once we see the fleas or worms. The climate is too temperate and ideal for parasites to consider stopping meds. Revolution is our staple as it kills fleas, their eggs/larva, heartworm larva, ear mites, and hooks/rounds in the intestine.

If maintaining topical parasiticide is not an option due to health or allergies, a Program injection will keep flea eggs from maturing for 6 months. When an adult flea takes a blood meal from the cat, they have ingested the Program, and once that flea dies, it has not proliferated and produced more fleas. Combined with a periodic Capstar, or a monthly Comfortis tablet, these 2 measures of killing fleas and eggs can keep a flea infestation from happening.

If your cats act lethargic at all when you have applied topical suspension, or the Advantage Spray, wash them immediately with Dawn soap, to strip their skin of the medication. Lethargy is an indicator of a neurological toxicity, more likely to occur when overdosed, or when medicated with non-feline friendly parasiticide, permethrin and pyrethrins.

After winning the indoor battle, the outdoor battle, and the 2 cats battle, you just have to maintain the parasiticide every 3-4 weeks, now that you know your particular environment may have fleas whose majority of population is not as susceptible to Advantage or Frontline anymore. Revolution may be your best topical option; it is better tolerated by sensitive cats who had irritation from Advantage Multi topical, and eradicates fleas.

Comfortis is our preference through spring/summer/fall, as well as our shelters/sanctuaries locally with large population of cats to manage. We've used Comfortis before it was labelled for cats, after feline practitioners had good results, especially for their patients that couldn't be on topical meds and had no other option for adult fleas 7 years ago.  Just can't emphasize enough that it must be given with food though.

Good Luck, and may the force be with you

You're all really helpful, thank you. You've given me peace of mind, even a bit.

I really was curious about just how long our cats had had fleas and knowing that they had to have had them for many weeks i oddly... comforting, in a way. simply because we will now be more perceptive of the signs.

I'll admit though, I'm still reeaally wary to have my cat around me and in my room, which is the room we've treated the heaviest, simply because it required the most. I'm not really sure if ANYTHING will make me less anxious to have her in here, simply because it was when she was in here so often that I started noticing the flea feces. She wouldn't even have anymore on her at this point but still. I've even been prescribed anti-anxiety medicine, if that's any indication to how I'm handling this situation.

We did give them the spray I was asking about, and they seemed to take it fairly well, other than getting annoyed for a bit.

I'm still nervous about it all though. No real clue about how bad the problem was to begin with is part of that. Stressing over a repeat, etc. I'll be keeping up what I'm doing but wow it's hard. Especially since our income situation is fairly poor right now. I'll just have to hope we're doing enough, it... seems likt it at least.

Thanks again.

(I know some forums really frown upon double posts so my apologies if this is one as well.)

Just figured I'd give a slight update. We've still been vacuuming and I essentially coated the inside of my closet with DE. I haven't physically seen a flea in two days and my room seems fairly clear now. Like i mentioned before, we sprayed the cats with the Advantage spray yesterday morning and things seemed pretty good.

I'm hyper-aware of any warning signs right now though so seeing my 10-year-old scratch herself twice today just made me go 'oh god'. I'm likely just going to attribute it to dry skin though, since not only did we spray them with the Advantage spray but we also rubbed some Dawn dish soap on them the night before. It could also be new fleas biting and either dying off or making their home, can't really say. I'm not quite certain about the 'protection' the spray provides so there's really no way to tell. I don't wanna do anything else to the cats now though, just on the off-chance I make them sick, but I will be keeping a close eye on them, even if that'll cause me more nervousness and anxiety than it's likely worth.

Oh, and more vacuuming. Can't do that too much, right?

Scratching can be treated...it can take a while for the inflammation flea bites cause to diminish to the point you no longer see them itchy.

I understand you funds may be limited but 2-3 days of corticosteroids may help your itchy kids. Ask your vet if they can prescribe any without an exam. If they've been to the vet in the last year, had their hearts listened to (ausculted), and have no heart disease, your vet may be fine filling or calling in a Rx of steroids.

The Dawn will strip their coat of the Advantage drops you already placed. The Advantage continues to work, while adult fleas keep hopping on from matured pupa/larva in the environment. Until all the existing pupa are done emerging and dying, you'll see fleas even with the Advantage treatment in place. Avoid Dawn unless you run out of flea treatment or place an excess amount and see the aforementioned neural toxicity symptoms in the previous post from insecticide toxicity.

Stay with it, consistently, both environmental and host control, and you will eradicate the current population. You're doing the right treatments so far. Time does tick slowly when we're grossed out by the parasites we live with, until they're under control. The continued monthly application of the topical drops will help prevent a future infestation this season (at least through November, every month).

^ Thank you for the advice. I appreciate it.

Figured I'd bump the thread with a bit of an update. Since my last post we've continued with the treatment of the house and to a lesser extent the yard - at least until yesterday when we treated it again with an Adams product. I still haven't physically seen a flea in about a week, that's partially from my cats staying clear of my room for the past while.

However there is a slight problem. Likely just me worrying too much but still. I've noticed them scratching more frequently again. Both cats, not just the 14-year-old. Meaning, it's getting close to us needing to reapply the drops, especially if what you said in the above post is true and the Dawn will wash them away. That's a bit concerning but it could also explain one or two things.

I've began noticing the 'black dandruff' from my 14-year-old again, so I'm almost certain either she picked some up again or we simply never got rid of all of them. Could possibly be the pupae that hatched, I'm not sure. Regardless, it's almost unanimously decided amongst everyone involved with this that we should wait until this coming Wednesday to buy the drops again. Both because we'll be financially better and it'll be around the time for it again - if we were to follow the once-a-month schedule.

My concern is this; in the meantime until then, what should we do? I don't mind keeping up the vacuuming and just general treatment of the house until then, but is there anything that could be done with the cats? Should we just wait? I could maybe convince everyone here that we could possibly buy flea collars or something in the meantime but aside from that, I'm not sure what else we can do - or even if we SHOULD do anything else. I'm also questioning the effectiveness of the Advantage spray we were using, or possibly the way in which we applied it. Maybe we did something wrong there, not sure. I would respray them but I really don't want to make either of them ill again. So what else could I do? Or should I just play the waiting game and just keep up with the cleaning of the house and maybe the day we get the drops do an even more thorough cleaning with shampooing the carpets and such? I'm scared at how bad things will get if we just leave them alone on the cats, even if it is just six days or so. What do you guys think?

Also, I really am thankful you guys are indulging me in my time of crisis over something that really shouldn't deserve such worry. Aside from the pills my doctor has prescribed, you guys have been the biggest help I've been able to come across.

hi, I mix hypoallergenic baby powder and dried cat nip (7:1).  I mix and over cast it on my carpeted areas, let set for about 30 minutes and vacuum up.  I stopped using flea drops since most will damage your pets immune system, last thing I need is my babies left vulnerable.  I also keep organic catnip plants in pots outside my front and back doors.  Indoors & outdoors in the warm months and indoors during winter months.  Don't forget if your in the country you can get winter fleas..  But anyways I hope your babies are doing well, rubbing the catnip plant into my hands a little and petting my cats paws seems to help us.  

Have a great week,

Gesseppe and family

Investing in non-topical flea management may be your best bet then. As detailed previously, above.

Comfortis is a prescription adulticide that is fast acting, killing before adults can lay eggs, lasts 30 days, is a chewable tablet that can be hidden in a small portion of canned food, or split and pilled directly by hand, to the back of their throat, and chased with water. It must be given with food, so ensure they ate prior to administering, but it is very effective and has not been in use long enough to create populations of fleas that are insusceptible to it.

Flea collars are a waste, usually ineffective, unless Rx Seresto brand, and shouldn't be used with topical ointment/spray. The flea collar is another form of topical and can be in excess to the point of toxicity when used with the other topical treatments.

The Comfortis is very very effective, and used by shelter vets, as it can be the most value, saving money compared to repeat doses of topical flea treatment, especially while they treat topical skin issues then need medicated shampoo, stripping a neurotoxin with dish soap, or a fast kill of lice/fleas with insecticidal shampoo and combing.

With oral route, you can also help your cats by washing off all the flea eggs and the feces (dried blood, "black dander/pepper" as you dubbed it), no longer worrying about stripping her coat of the sebaceous oils holding meds as you'd be killing the fleas as they feed and ingest the Comfortis. It lasts despite repetitive bathing/water exposure.

I'll definitely look into the Comfortis then. I have a friend who has three dogs and two cats and he's the one who lent me the Advantage spray, as well as two pills that I previously assumed were Capstar but are likely Comfortis or something similar since he has assured me that it offers extended protection. I know for people it'd usually not recommended to share medication of any kind but I figured in this case it might be warranted for the cats.

As for the flea feces, I'll try to wash my cat of as much of it as I can(not with a full bath since she wouldn't have any of that, but I'll do as much as she'll tolerate). Aside from that I'll keep up with treating the house with a product that is essentially all DE(don't think it's food grade though, sadly). Along with the vacuuming, of course. I know I'm worrying too much about it all but I just can't really help it. Hopefully things will end up fine though. Thanks for the help, again.

I think most DE you buy at farm stores is food grade, and even the non-food grade is not poisonous, jut probably not as finely ground.  I knwo you can get 20 lbs at Tractor Supply for $12.99 and that should last awhile.  It's the same brand I photographed earlier but in a paper bag instead of a neat little plastic jug.

Bumping the thread for another update/relaying of some concerns.

So we have still continued the treatment of the house, treating it as if it were an infestation and vacuuming pretty much any time we feel up to it, still spraying the Spectracide whenever and wherever we can, we've only let up a bit since giving the cats their dose of advantage on Thursday but I'm still really anxious and paranoid about it, so I won't be relaxing completely for a while.

I just had a couple lingering concerns, well, more than a couple, but most of those are irrational and things I'll likely just discuss with the shrink tomorrow.

My cats have been fairly okay since the Advantage on Thursday, and I've even started letting my 14-year-old back in my room whenever she's wanted to. She even slept in here last night. Still too paranoid to let her on my bed, but baby steps, you know. She's sitting beside me on a pillow she's using as a bed, and about ten minutes ago I saw her scratch what looked like the same part of her neck twice in thirty seconds or so. Normally this wouldn't concern me but I'm hyper-aware of any signs that anything could be even slightly off-kilter. So I suppose my question would first be this; does Advantage provide reliable extended protection? I know an above poster said that if the cat goes outside the effectiveness is decreased slightly and as such can have the treatment reapplied more frequently than the directions say, and she has gone outside twice since Thursday. But if there were in fact still fleas in the environment that somehow survived everything I've done to the house thus far and decided to munch on my cat, would the Advantage still be in my cat's system and therefore kill any off? I tried Googling around and looking for this myself before asking about it but the best result I could find basically said 'eh, Advantage might work for a while'. I guess I just wanted some more... anecdotal evidence if you will, even if that can be of dubious reliability as well sometimes.

My cat still also has some residual flea feces on her fur - which doesn't surprise me that much frankly since she has just been grooming less, likely from age. I suppose I'd just like to be assured that it IS in fact residual and not the product of some new annoying visitors. I also have the Advantage spray still, if i needed to use that, but I'd just like to know for sure one way or the other before I bother her anymore with this stuff, you know?

I guess you could say that I'm no longer quite losing my mind over these fleas, but they're still making me quite paranoid and are influencing my behavior with my cat still. But like I said before, baby steps.

Thanks again.