Help! Any recommendations for killing flea EGGS? Stupid things keep coming back.

tominhouston

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Hello, it has been a while since I was last here. The problem this time is fleas. :(



I have two indoor cats, but in April (when it was still cool out), I allowed them to go out on the enclosed patio to enjoy the sun. Unfortunately, one of them brought in fleas.



I didn't notice a problem until two weeks later when I pet one of my cats to discover she was "wet". I looked at my hand and it had blood on it.



I got her to the vet the next day who gave her a shot to kill the fleas & eggs. She gave me a package of Frontline Tritek for Cats: $125 for eight tubes. Ouch!



Totally worthless. Doesn't do anything but upset my cats. Money wasted. I've dosed both cats every 30 days since late April, but they don't even stop scratching after it's applied (and they hate me all day afterwards.)



I bought them flea collars, tried flea powder, repeatedly wash my bed sheets and everything they sleep on, flea-sprayed the carpet, their resting places and my work area. I vacuum every day and haven't let them outside since that day in April. I even tried spraying their brush with flea spray and giving them a thorough brushing. Still the fleas persist.



Years ago when they were kittens and too young for all these toxins, I shampooed them using Dandruff shampoo and it seemed to work. But they are too big for that now and would tear me up if I tried (but I may still try as I become more desperate.)



My cats are starting to hate me and cringe when they see me coming for fear I'm going to put more crap on them. I agree, enough is enough. :(



Worthless flea sprays: HotShot & Bengal.


Worthless flea collars: Hartz for Cats.


Worthless flea treatment: Frontline Tritek for Cats



Every time I think we've turned a corner, they reappear a day or two later, so obviously I'm getting the fleas but not the eggs.



Any recommendations for killing flea EGGS? Thx.
 
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evamilly

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I use Advocate spot on for my cats, one of my cats is indoor/outdoor she never gets fleas but I apply it every month, I also treat my indoor cat monthly incase the other cat brings fleas inside! You should treat your carpets/ sofa etc as fleas can live for sometime in your home. Good luck
 
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tominhouston

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Thanks. It looks like I'm going to have to try giving them an actual bath and shampoo them with dandruff shampoo (cheap, seems to kill the fleas and soothes their scratching).

They are NOT going to like it though and probably won't trust me again for days. :)
 

catapault

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Here's the technique my son-in-law used. Get a bucket. Fill it partway with lukewarm water. Grab the cat, hold its front paws together, and sit it down in the bucket. Cat doesn't have room to struggle, one hand will control it (holding front legs together and down in bucket) and with other hand you can use some small container to scoop up water to wet cat, shampoo, etc. Rinsing is difficult as is drying afterwards - you might want a second person to assist you.

Good luck. Let us know how it works out.
 
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tominhouston

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Thanks for the tip. I had planned on using the kitchen sink as I lack a large-enough bucket.

Holding their front paws definitely won't be enough. I will have to get help from someone. :)

Thx.
 

angelinacat

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Fleas and flea eggs can be awfully difficult to kill--even with the best shampoos, etc. 

When I used to wash Toogie--a long haired Maltese--who was very allergic to fleas, and to the remedies of the time, I used Dawn dish washing liquid, and a bit or rubbing alcohol in the water.  The alcohol kills the fleas.  Of course I was very careful of his face and mouth.  Then, as I dried him off with towel and flea comb, any fleas found straggling on the towel or comb, went straight into a cup of the alcohol. 

While Toogie may not have particularly enjoyed baths, he learned that he felt better afterward, to the point that when he decided it was time for a bath, I would find him either in the sink, or in the tub.  I just wish I had thought to photograph one of those.  *Sigh*

Good luck to you with your babies.
 

nansiludie

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What is the brand of the dandruff shampoo? I personally do not bathe any cat in any shampoo other than baby shampoo or dawn dish soap. Have you tried Advantage flea topical? I've always had good results with it. Do watch your cats carefully after applying any flea pesticide product as reactions and sensitivities can occur in any product. Do you have a flea comb? It is a little double sided comb that has very,very fine teeth that catch fleas, might be less stressful than bathing them. Also you'll need to treat your home and the cat beds, not only the cats. If you can vacuum the floors and under and around beds,dressers,etc that would work nicely. Make sure to empty the bag/dust bin outside your house afterwards. Another thing I wanted to add is that I strongly suggest you stay far away from any Hartz products as they are known for causing bad reactions and even death in cats and dogs.

These flea combs work nicely 
This is the Advantage, you may find all these things cheaper in stores, but I use amazon so you can see the actual product, I'm talking about. 
 

nansiludie

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I forgot this, for me, Frontline never worked well against fleas, I'm in Kentucky, I only use it during tick season on the colony cats as it works well against ticks. I've noticed the flea would come back within two weeks. I've not ever used or heard of the specific Frontline you mentioned but I've used regular Frontline and Frontline Plus. Vectra is another flea topical and also Revolution, I've heard good things about Revolution but you can only get it at a Vet's office and its pricey. It does cover more parasites than a usual flea topical, it works against, worms, ear mites and I believe heartworms, not sure on that.
 
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tominhouston

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Fleas and flea eggs can be awfully difficult to kill--even with the best shampoos, etc. 

When I used to wash Toogie--a long haired Maltese--who was very allergic to fleas, and to the remedies of the time, I used Dawn dish washing liquid, and a bit or rubbing alcohol in the water. 
Thanks for the tip. I'm most worried about getting anything in their eyes that might sting.

I considered making "baths" a regular thing when they were kittens but didn't. Maybe if I had, they wouldn't be so hydrophobic today. Even shaking my hands dry near them, a single droplet can send them running. :)
 
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tominhouston

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What is the brand of the dandruff shampoo?
Thanks for the info. I don't remember the specific brand of dandruff shampoo I used all those years ago, but it was bound to be the cheap store brand.
 
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tominhouston

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I've not ever used or heard of the specific Frontline you mentioned but I've used regular Frontline and Frontline Plus.
Frontline has phased out their other products and now only makes "Tritak" (or so I've read online.)

Total waste The cats stink and haven't stopped scratching at all. But at least it's expensive as hell. :(
 
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nansiludie

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Frontline has phased out their other products and now only makes "Tritak" (or so I've read online.)

Total waste The cats stink and haven't stopped scratching at all. But at least it's expensive as hell. :(
Really? I've bought mine, the regular version at Walmart, Pet supply stores, amazon and I've not heard of that yet.
 

evamilly

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You shouldn't need to bathe them, I'm not sure dandruff shampoo will kill fleas anyway, it will just be traumatic for you and your cats. Try different spot on, tell your vet the spot on they have prescribed has been ineffective, they may issue you with another type/brand. You also need to flea bomb your home!
 
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tominhouston

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I washed both cats this morning. Quite an adventure. :)

I used the 2-basin kitchen sink, filling both with warm water and poured cupfuls of warm water from one side to the other. It was safe to pour clean soap-free water from the second basin over their heads, which I only did once each.

The first one broke free in mid wash and I found myself chasing a soaking wet cat around the apartment. :) She cried, but amazingly, never tried to claw me, meaning she wasn't terrified. She even seemed to enjoy being shampooed at times.

I was more prepared with cat #2 who also struggled but never broke free. When she cried, her sister cried too, so I had cats crying in stereo. What a racket. :)

Cat #2 put up a bit more of a fight, but again, never clawed me. She hissed a couple of times when I had to get aggressive with her, but she was a good cat and never tried biting me. After a good lather of dandruff shampoo over the body and under the neck, I ran through their fur with a fine-toothed comb. Surprisingly, only about 5-6 fleas turned up between them.

Both were towel dried and seem much happier now (though the second is still in hiding. Cat #1 was just in my lap.) Neither are itching.

For good measure, I then took a shower myself followed up by re-vacuuming the entire house. I sure hope that does it. I'll let you know.
 
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nansiludie

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You'll still need to apply some sort of flea topical as there are still fleas, flea eggs and flea larvae, not in any set order. In your house. I just remembered that I used to use Raid Flea Spray on rugs, carpets, under furniture, etc after vacuuming to kill any fleas, be sure to do so in a well-ventilated area and to keep the cats out until its completely dry. It may help to confine them to a single room and once its dry, treat that room once you let the cats out of it. Do not spray it on the kitties though.
 

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I got rid of my indoor fleas pretty quickly by buying a cheap 1 gallon pump sprayer at Home Depot also:

Bifen IT to kill adult fleas.

http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/bifen-it-p-226.html

Nyguard IGR to give adult fleas birth control and eggs/larvae unable to become adults or hatch.

http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/nyguard-igr-p-423.html

You can check the prices on other sites like Amazon to see where it is cheaper. I usually buy these on Amazon or domyownpestcontrol.

Just make sure to follow instructions on how much to put inside pump sprayer. I think it is 1 oz Bifen and 4 ML Nyguard per 1 gallon of water. It will have a residual effect so it lasts a few months. I only needed to spray 1 time. The Frontline Plus got rid of any fleas dragged in if people brought them in from the outside. You can also use Revolution or Advantage 2, but Advantage2 only lasted 3 weeks instead of a month back when I used that brand.

I put my cats in another room while I spray the other rooms. Then I waited for the rooms to be all dry before letting them back to the rest of the house. I sprayed the room I locked them in last. You may still see fleas once in awhile because of pupae popping up new fleas but they won't survive long.

For me the harder part was getting rid of the outdoor fleas from the backyard. Even if you get rid of indoor fleas and you never let your cats outside, you can still drag in fleas yourself. I bought a hose end sprayer to saturate the outside soil and have a lesser chance of fleas to hop on me. The pump sprayer would be fine too but it would be slower and also have a higher chance of fleas hopping on you because you have to be closer to spray. I just used the hose end sprayer when yard had a lot of fleas and then switched to pump sprayer as a preventative measure when I had next to no fleas in yard. I have to spray because feral cats, raccoons and squirrels run around in my neighborhood.

 

robin young

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my 9 yr. old male traditional Siamese has been mad for 3 days after his flea bath.  they don't stay indefinitely do they
 

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For the house, you can buy Precor 2000. It's actually pretty good. A good sized can costs $25 +-, and treats a 2 br home or apt. For the cat, I like Revolution better, for high summer. You can save the Frontline for winter, as a precautionary use. That's the combination I personally recommend.

You can buy Revolution online at places like Drs Foster and Smith. I think they contact your vet for the prescription. It is less expensive this way. Some online per pharmacies consider Revolution to be a heart worm medicine, so you might need to look for it.

Did your vet give your cats tapeworm medicine?
 
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robin young

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hi misterwhiskers, we gave him a flea bath due to an open window and bugs came in
he is improving now.  he's not scratching and itchy.  my husband said "he doesn't like us," and is freaking out.  the cat seems to be getting back to normal I just wish my husband would do the same
 
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