flea concern

i just took my kitten to the vet yesterday and it turned out he had a few fleas so they treated him for it and now, a day later, i found another flea on him. how can i get rid of them? im not seeing them anywhere else and they are very small but he aggressively bites himself til he bleeds when he has them. plus since he's solely an indoor cat i don't get why he would have them again after such a recent treatment

It takes a while for flea medicine to work so be patient Many people expect an immediate result after one treatment but that simply doesn't work. If the prescribed a flea treatment, like a monthly topical liquid or a pill, follow the prescribed directions on how to give it to the cat and how often. if the vet didn't prescribe a flea treatment, ask for one. There are several out there that are good: Capstar, Frontline Plus, etc. Do not use OTC flea treatments such as Hartz as many do not work and are even dangerious to cats.

A flea bath can help. Have a profressional groomer do this if you don't want to attempt a bath at home.

Vacuum your home thoroughly to remove fleas and flea eggs. Try to wash everything your cat sleeps on in hot water to fill fleas and eggs. Comb your cat with a fine toothed flea comb. Dunk the comb into a cup of hot soapy water in between each swipe through the fur to kill any fleas and eggs that get caught in the comb  There are additional suggestions here:

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/cat-fleas

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/how-to-treat-fleas-in-young-kittens

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/homemade-flea-remedies

Flea medication kills fleas AFTER they have bitten your cat. If you have fleas in your house, or flea eggs and larvae,

there will be months of new fleas hatching. These newly hatched fleas will die only after biting your kitty...

This is why it is so important to also treat the environment.

Vacuum like MAD! Every day! Wash anything you can, alternatively put stuff in your dryer on hot for 15 minutes.

Use diatomaceous earth. (Food Grade!)  And then, keep it up! Educate yourself on the life cycle of the flea, and you will get the importance of continuing the flea treatment.

I'm not an advocate of commercial flea stuff, but you can't have a cat suffering from fleas either...

I've not used the commercial pesticides for over 10 years now. I live in South Florida, and my cats go out in an enclosure.

IF I'm diligent with my regimen, we have an occasional flea. IF I slack, we have trouble, which happened twice. (LOT'S of work!!)  But I'm just too afraid of the pesticides after my Bella had a reaction. Scared me to death, literally!

Good luck!

In order to avoid getting fleas, you need to watch out for the three types of prevention - household treatment, animal treatment, and outdoor treatment (though that's more if you live near the woods, in my opinion). 

Right now, if the kitten is old enough, I would definitely start with the drop-treatment - the stuff you put right on their backs. (I'm actually hoping they've started making a chewable prevention for cats, like they have for dogs.) And if you feel brave enough to bathe the cat, use the blue dawn dish soap - seriously! But don't bathe the kitty until at least 48 hours before or after you put the drop stuff on, or it'll wash right off.

Also....... there's this medicine called CapStar. I brought home a puppy infested  with fleas a few years ago... everyone got it. CapStar is a short-term solution to fleas on the animal - but it won't get rid of the fleas if they're still living in your house. (For CapStar, there's a large dog and a small dog / cat box)

Just because your cat may be indoors doesn't mean there isn't an outside outside of your home. (Ask me how I know, hahaha)

Hope this helps!