Help - my cat has fleas again!

Pumpkin has been my kitty for about two and a half years.  I adopted him not long before moving to the place we live in now.  He had tapeworms at the time....and his vet gave him a topical medicine that wiped those things out.  It worked like a charm but I noticed that while he doesn't have tapeworms (I do check his stool alot because of chronic tummy issues) he's got fleas again.

Last year I posted about how he had fleas (this was about June or July) and I got Advantage for Cats from the store after the vet's office suggested that treatment.  Pumpkin had a reaction to it and I washed the medicine off with a sponge bath of warm water and Dawn dish soap.  That worked like a charm and he didn't have fleas either.

Then Winter set in and he developed dry skin.  He always has it bad that time of the year, so I assumed that was the reason for his scratching.  Even in the Spring and early Summer he has dry skin, just not as bad.  I've been checking him for fleas but didn't see any until yesterday. 

I don't want to use medicines that can be harmful so I did more research and found a cat owner website (may have been this one, can't remember) which suggested a bath with Dawn dish soap, a thorough vacuuming of the entire house, wash bedding, etc.  I did all of that and thought he was doing better.  However, I checked Pumpkin a short time ago and found another flea on him.  I thought I got them all because I was very thorough when I washed him.

I would have dunked him in the sink but that would have been extremely difficult for both of us.  He threw a fit about the sponge bath, just like last year.

I don't know what else to do.  I will not get that Advantage medicine because of his reaction to it last year.  I just did a mountain of wash (his bedding) and vacuumed like crazy.  I am so exhausted and concerned.......I don't want this problem to get worse and want to nip it in the bud.

I'm going to call the vet in the morning to see if I can pick up some topical medicine that is not nearly as strong as Advantage but will, at the same time, kill these blasted fleas.  Last year, someone here suggested a product called "something" earth, but I can't find it in the store.  "Diametaceous?" (spelling?).

Help!  I so want to be a good kitty mommy but feel so inadequate.  I do not let my kitty out at all and am not sure how he got these again, unless it's because a neighbor brought a kitty to visit, and another brought his little dog who happens to adore Pumpkin, or maybe they got tracked in?

Thanks!

I spoke with the vet's office and they suggested a topical medicine called "Easy Spot."  From what she told me it's similar to the Advantage in that it's applied the same way, and same schedule (every 4 weeks, three doses altogether).  Has anyone heard of this medicine?  I ordered a package and will get it this afternoon.  Thanks.

They could've hitched a ride with the neighbours' pets for sure. It's certainly not your fault that he got them. It sounds like you're very careful and caring.
The earth pesticide you're thinking of is diatomaceous earth
Can you please let us know what the vet says about a treatment that's less strong as Advantage? I'm curious because I use that on my cats and they've always been fine. They get a little lethargic for a day after the treatment, but then perk up again just fine.

ETA: looks like we posted at the same time! I haven't heard of Easy Spot. I hope it works out OK for you and Pumpkin.

pushylady said:

They could've hitched a ride with the neighbours' pets for sure. It's certainly not your fault that he got them. It sounds like you're very careful and caring.
The earth pesticide you're thinking of is diatomaceous earth
Can you please let us know what the vet says about a treatment that's less strong as Advantage? I'm curious because I use that on my cats and they've always been fine. They get a little lethargic for a day after the treatment, but then perk up again just fine.

ETA: looks like we posted at the same time! I haven't heard of Easy Spot. I hope it works out OK for you and Pumpkin.

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I didn't hear about Easy Spot either, until the vet's assistant told me about it.  I've been thinking about calling them back and would like to speak with the vet myself because I still have questions about the stuff.  I got it this afternoon but haven't tried it yet.  One thought that occurred to me after the fact is that the Advantage affected my asthma.  They said it doesn't smell but I could smell it a mile away.   Between that and Pumpkin's reaction I took it back.  That was about a year ago. 

I know this stuff is less expensive than Advantage, not sure about it being less strong. I have no idea if it smells or not.

I'll post again after I talk with the vet.  Part of me wants to get rid of the fleas immediately, but part of me is scared of making him sick with this stuff.  I want him to get better. 

Well, dint know if it's "easier" on a cat than Advantage, but my cat tolerated Revolution better than Advantage. It is a prescription however there is no strong odor (the smell from a little drop of Advantage is shockingly bad, as you noted), and it's not greasy like Advantage. My vet will allow any of her patients who have been seen within the past year to buy it at the office, she later writes up the prescription. And it works great. Really great. If you prefer a pill, there is Comfortis, but the things are HUGE and they actually smell like pesticide. Ew. Cap star is often used but it only lasts 24 hours, so I'm not sure it's appropriate in your situation.

If the fleas are in the house, Precor 2000 is a long lasting, great product. I got mine from Amazon.

Fleas suck. And it's going to be a whammer of a year for 'em already, I can tell. [emoji]128529[/emoji]

Easy Spot's main component is fipronil which is different than what's in Advantage so maybe your cat will tolerate it better. I've used both and I liked Easy Spot more because it was less greasy than Advantage. I use Revolution now though because it covers heartworms and intestinal parasites too. It's also a smaller volume of liquid so it doesn't gunk up too much of my cats' fur. There's also Vectra which is an amazing product for fleas. It kills all stages of the flea life cycle so when used on a regular basis it will take care of any persistent flea infestation. Also, Vectra will kill fleas even before they bite the cat which is incredibly advantageous if your cat has a flea allergy.

There are many different options out there and it may take some time to find the right one. Just be sure to avoid products with pyrethrins/pyrethroids in them. Those chemicals are essentially pesticides and can be very harmful.

If you do try the diatomaceous earth make sure you get the food grade, you can usually find it in garden centers.  There is another type which is used for pool maintenance.

misterwhiskers said:

Well, dint know if it's "easier" on a cat than Advantage, but my cat tolerated Revolution better than Advantage. It is a prescription however there is no strong odor (the smell from a little drop of Advantage is shockingly bad, as you noted), and it's not greasy like Advantage. My vet will allow any of her patients who have been seen within the past year to buy it at the office, she later writes up the prescription. And it works great. Really great. If you prefer a pill, there is Comfortis, but the things are HUGE and they actually smell like pesticide. Ew. Cap star is often used but it only lasts 24 hours, so I'm not sure it's appropriate in your situation.

If the fleas are in the house, Precor 2000 is a long lasting, great product. I got mine from Amazon.

Fleas suck. And it's going to be a whammer of a year for 'em already, I can tell. [emoji]128529[/emoji]

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If the ant invasion we had a few months ago was reminiscent of what happened to ancient Egypt in Scripture, then I can totally understand why it's going to be a "whammer of a year" for those fleas!  Pooey! 

I'm going to have to apply the medicine today.  He's scratching more and I was considering a warm water (no soap) bath that the vet's office told me I could do, but I believe it's beyond that.  I never heard of the other meds you mentioned but will keep them in mind should this other stuff not work.

Please pray he doesn't have a bad reaction to it.  Will post later after I give it to him.

Don't worry, I will avoid anything with pyrethrins/pyrethroids like the plague.  I will never consider getting Advantage or anything like it ever again.

Does Easy Spot smell bad?  One of the reasons I couldn't stick with the Advantage was the odor.  It aggravated my asthma.  And it claimed that it had no scent.  Yeah, right!  Hmph.

CatLadyVetTech said:

Easy Spot's main component is fipronil which is different than what's in Advantage so maybe your cat will tolerate it better. I've used both and I liked Easy Spot more because it was less greasy than Advantage. I use Revolution now though because it covers heartworms and intestinal parasites too. It's also a smaller volume of liquid so it doesn't gunk up too much of my cats' fur. There's also Vectra which is an amazing product for fleas. It kills all stages of the flea life cycle so when used on a regular basis it will take care of any persistent flea infestation. Also, Vectra will kill fleas even before they bite the cat which is incredibly advantageous if your cat has a flea allergy.

There are many different options out there and it may take some time to find the right one. Just be sure to avoid products with pyrethrins/pyrethroids in them. Those chemicals are essentially pesticides and can be very harmful.

Click to expand...

Yea, that's what I like about Revolution--much smaller amount to apply. Plus it kills flea eggs and not just on contact. If your cat drops dander, the medicine in the dander will kill fleas and eggs in sleeping areas etc--pretty impressive considering how much time a cat can spend sleeping in a favorite area!!

So far, so good.  It's been nearly two hours since I applied the stuff and he only seemed mildly irritated.  He's been jumping from one bed to the other but my Pumpkin was doing this before I gave it to him.

I didn't notice an odor too, which is good because of my asthma. 

Hopefully this will help clear up the fleas.  I have more vacuuming and wash to do as well. 

It's been nearly 24 hours since I gave Pumpkin the Easy Spot, and it wasn't nearly as uncomfortable as the Advantage was.  However, I just found a couple of fleas on him near his eyes and nose. 

How long does it take for this stuff to kick in?  I have more vacuuming to do and wash and have been doing my best to keep up with it. 

One thing I noticed re. his behavior is that Pumpkin seems to be sticking closer to me than normal.  Yesterday he acted like he didn't want me out of his sight.  Today he actually fell asleep in my arms, which he never did before.  I don't know if it's because as I write this, it's his nap time or something else.

He's eating and drinking ok.  He's not lethargic or anything, Just seems a bit more clingy than his usual self.