Flea treatment that can be taken with flea medication

I’ve recently discovered that my cat has fleas.   I don’t know how long he’s had them as he doesn’t have any of the symptoms of fleas – or should I say any of the symptoms that I was looking out for – in that he doesn’t excessively scratch, there hasn’t been a sudden increase in grooming etc., I’d never actually seen them on him or any traces of eggs/larva and the like.  I’ve been applying a spot on since he arrived to us around seven months or so ago so I assumed all was good.   

HOWEVER, through my random cat related searches, I recently learned what flea dirt is – and Scraggles has it – not in abundance – but I would say he certainly has quite a bit of it – going down his spine especially it seems.   I’ve always just kind of thought it was actual dirt as he does spend time outside and is in general a big smelly tom cat – and never anyway connected it to fleas.   Now that I have, I’m a bit grossed out. :\

I discovered this the week leading up to Christmas.  Scraggles has a total aversion to anything “medical” in his food – he would, I’m fairly certain, rather starve than eat food that has any sort of wormer or tablet in it.   So I went straight down to the vet who gave me Broadline, which I put on him Christmas Eve.  I wasn’t expecting it to shoot out of the syringe so quickly – and I think it didn’t quite cover him how it ought.

And then today I decided to give him a thorough combing as he still has that dirt in his coat, despite grooming – he is a long haired cat and I was literally parting the hair bit by bit and combing through.   Scraggles wasn’t exactly enjoying this process so I had to get his favourite treats beside me as I sat on the ground and went through him and then let him walk off as he wanted – he never refuses his treats so when he walks off I know for certain he’s had enough – I’ll continue again tomorrow.  As I did this I saw no eggs, no larva, none of those white “grains of rice” that the internet tells me to look out for, no cuts, no red bumps, but… I’m nearly certain I saw a little something running for cover…

My question is – because I can nearly safely say I didn’t administer the Broadline correctly yet I don’t want to chance anything and overdose him again by giving him a second treatment – is there anything at all that I can give him that is safe and can run concurrently with medication??

My vets are closed ‘til Tuesday and I’m having a look around Amazon – before I order a Ferplast Flea Comb and Johnsons 4Fleas Room Flea Fogger  is there anything else I can put in my basket?

All his bedding is currently as we speak in a boil wash – I’ve the hoover out but I think we’re lucky that only our upstairs landing and stairs are carpeted – the rest of the house is either laminate flooring or tiles.

I know now that the spot on treatments I had been using were more than likely keeping them at bay as such but not actually killing them – but is there any harm in maybe using one of those again also?

I basically don’t want to sit around for another four weeks knowing that there’s the probability of an infestation yet can’t medicate him because it’s not due.

Scraggles did have a flea collar for a while but he came home late one night without it and in a bit of a strange mood so I figured something happened and haven’t put one on him since.   Also I very very much doubt he would take kindly to any sort of bath.

Any help is hugely appreciated!

Hey,

Sorry to hear you're going through this. I likewise failed to recognize what "flea dirt" was on my cat, and waited a month before I took action. I'm dealing with an annoying flea problem right now, so I'm right there with you. Little buggers are relentless.

I wrongly applied this toxic SentryGuard topical, and after applying it I realized it was causing toxic reactions in 50-60% of cats. So, within an hour, I washed my poor cat with Dish Soap thoroughly to remove it before it soaked in. It left a greasy coat on her though, but I was really eager to begin medication with professional Advantage II. So I waited about 3 days after the SentryGuard was wrongly applied and then washed off, and put the Advantage topical on. Some people would have probably recommended against it, but I went ahead and did it anyways. I carefully monitored her after application for 24hrs, noting any drooling, dizziness, and change appetite. Thankfully nothing.

I would say to be careful, and if you have waited too long to wash the cat off, to wait at least 2 weeks from application. My vet recommends waiting only 3 weeks between applications even when regularly applying, particularly because (1) topicals lose effectiveness after 3 weeks, and (2) when flea infestation is present, cat needs 100% protection.

Hang in there, you'll be able to treat soon.

Thanks for getting back to me Tuneuronerd!  

I must look up your Advantage II recommendation as I rang my vet once back open Tuesday and they said that it should be O.K. to reapply the Broadline – which I did late Tuesday afternoon.   That night Scraggles didn’t seem to be quite himself and was acting in a way that I thought looked like he had a stomach upset.   Then Wednesday afternoon he had diarrhoea the poor poor creature.   He came running into me after looking so afraid at what just happened – I wiped him down with some wipes which wasn’t enough so I had to stick him in the bath – this was his first time ever being in a bath and he was traumatised – but I have to say – with all the valid excuses he had to claw at me, he didn’t  

So I’ve been watching him and he’s been drinking a lot and then today (Thursday) seems to be completely back to himself – I’ll be going through him again tomorrow maybe for fleas once he settles a bit more and a couple of days have passed since applying Broadline and I’ll see if he needs to be treated again in two weeks with something else or if I’m happy to wait the full three/four weeks this time.

I asked in a pet shop about their more natural remedies but they recommended against them as Scraggles might start to clean himself with them and with the medication it just might be too much for his system – this was before I’d spoken to the vet and before the upset stomach and diarrhoea – so I’m glad I didn’t go at that and I won’t be looking at them again now for a bit.

I don’t know fully if Broadline is the culprit for the diarrhoea but I’m guessing it is.   There is another option which is that Scraggles is on dry food – and has gained weight with it – I’m trying to convert him to a wet food diet – but he hates it it seems.   I’ve been trying the past week different flavours to see if he takes to any – he hasn’t – but I’m wondering if this might have also upset his tummy – for the moment I’m going to have to just stick to the dry food again for the next while – then try another brand of wet food and see how it goes.

I’m confident enough anyway that either of those caused it – and it seems to have been just one bout of it – but I’ll be keeping an eye on him and looking into Advantage II like you suggested as maybe another option when it comes time to retreat.   I’d thought Broadline might be the miraculous cure-all for me as it treats for worms also and it doesn’t have to be put into Scraggles’ food – but back to the drawing board it seems…

Thanks again for the reply! – good to know I’m not the only one going through it!

Not a problem. In Week 6 of my current battle against the fleas- it has taken weeks of vacuuming, spraying, bombing, and treating my poor cat with topical to get the numbers down. It's definitely a process- I hope your place didn't get hit too hard.

I'm not sure what could be causing the gastrointestinal problems; it could be a mixture of the food regimen and the medication? I've heard that the best direct topical treatments are Revolution, Advantage, and Frontline (though multiple posts have mentioned Frontline has a growing resistance to it in many flea populated areas). You could also try a pill, such as Comfortis, which can be orally administered and provides protection within a few hours up to a month.

Most options are monthly, and again if the flea population in the environment is hefty, you can typically reapply at 21-25 days instead of waiting a full 30 without aversive effects. Like you've been doing, anytime you apply a new med, just watch the cat carefully for a few hours after and make sure they're not behaving erratically or manifesting and major physical changes.

In terms of treatment regimen options, the ones I mentioned are pricey. Advantage II runs around 80-100/6 months of treatment packs. Frontline can be even more pricey. Revolution does wonders but is likewise expensive. Those are some things to consider. Effective oral treatments like Comfortis run around 90-110/6 months. Many require a vet prescription. But they are expensive for a reason- they work. I'd stick away from flea collars given their inconsistent results. The only good collar I've ever heard of from a vet was the Seresto 6-month collar which was also around 80-90 bucks.

Anyways, best of luck in your battle. Make sure to check around your home for any fleas and if you see any, hit the vacuum routinely for a week or two. Wash all bedding and any other fabric that sits low to the ground (the little buggers aren't Olympic high jumpers, but they can clamber up short distances with a leap or two). If you bomb, be prepared for them to still be around as well. Flea bombs do a nice job of coating the live adult population and slowing egg development and larvae, but they do not impact the cacooned ones. Vacuuming will help hatch those suckers. Once kitty is treated, she'll be a killing machine for you. But that's only once you've started getting them hatched and out of hiding.

It takes work but you got this. If it's just on the cat, then excellent. Get him squared away and you'll be set! Best of luck!

Thanks again Tuneuronerd – really great advice and thanks for taking the time to share it! Things have taken a bit of a turn though this end this morning – Scraggles is completely not himself and I’m quite worried. After seeming to be totally back to his normal self yesterday, this morning I woke up to find him downstairs having made a bed for himself on a laundry bag, awake, but just not moving from where he’s lying. This is totally not normal behaviour – he didn’t come up to the bed at all last night – usually he kind of potters around in and out of the room as he pleases – and then wherever he is in the house he either comes in to the bed in the morning when it comes close to feeding time or once he hears me up and about he comes to me meowing for food. Now to see him lying silently on his bed? And, no matter what sort of grumpy mood he’s in, he purrs when I pet him – he’s not purring at all when I sit beside him or pet him this morning.  He's not at all interested in food (completely unlike him).  He's not opening his eyes fully but when he did I think I saw his third eyelids showing more than normal.

I’m very worried to say the least and hope I haven’t overdone it all with him. The flea problem will be taking a back seat for the time being while I keep an eye on him and try to judge when best to phone the vet…

Call the vet ASAP - I'd actually take him in right now, he could be having a reaction to the flea application - any topical, oral application of flea treatments can cause typical or not-so-typical reactions, from mild to severe, this is the nature of flea/tick medications.  Please don't wait on this, best to play it safe and have peace of mind for having him examined.  Third eyelids present are not likely due to his change of diet.

Also, one really shouldn't re-apply topicals sooner than 30 days, especially if the two are different products, brands, formulations, ingredients.  I always suggest owners get their flea treatments from the vets, safer, and a guarantee if the product fails.  Lastly, please, no flea collars, ever - not only are they usually completely ineffective, but they are delivering a constant substance (usually carcinogenic) to your cat's skin and it's being absorbed, think of the accumulation of that and a topical and...

Thanks Cat-tech – I have indeed actually called the vet and they have booked him in for the next available appointment - it isn't until a bit after lunch though unfortunately so it's been a horrible waiting game – I've been watching him since and no improvement – maybe moving his head a little more so hopefully it's not worsening – but certainly not getting better.

Fortunately the flea medication I gave him was indeed from this vet (his usual one) and I had rung them before applying Tuesday so there is that guarantee that you mentioned.   And he hasn’t worn a flea collar since about maybe four months ago when it fell off – I can only thank my lucky stars I didn’t also try any “natural” flea treatments and that the pet shop advised me against them in this instance.

I’m so worried and feel so helpless for the poor mite.