OMG Make the FLEAS STOP

So my one year old Siamese mix got fleas a few weeks back. I had her on regular monthly dosing of topical Sentry Fiproguard Plus and she's strictly indoors so I have no idea how she even got them in the first place. I attempted to get rid of them by giving her next month's dose early and doing a full cleaning of my apt(wash everything, vacuum every surface and change the bag, wipe everything down, etc.) She still had fleas. So then I spent a chunk of change on a Seresto collar that's supposed to last 8 months. Though the majority of fleas have gone, I still regularly find a few fleas on her every other day or so. It's driving me bonkers.  

 I have now spent well over $100 trying to get rid of them and I vacuum every day to keep cleaning. I don't know what to do now because as a grad student I can't afford to shell out anymore on stuff that might not work. 

 Does anybody know why these products may not be working for my cat and what I can do about it? I live in GA and the pet store lady said many products just don't do a great job with pests down here but I refuse to think there's no solution and I just have to accept picking fleas off her until I move.

Are the fleas living in your carpets or furniture? My cousin had to rip out her living room carpet when her dogs got fleas. The things can be as hard to get rid of as bedbugs. I've never heard of the flea medication you meantined. Is it a pet store brand? I tend to avoid those in general since I saw what pet store treatment can do to the animal. I saw a cat with sores on its neck where it was applied. Anyways I've had luck with Revolution and Advantage multi. I also read someone on here used dawn dish soap to kill fleas.

Ugh, I sympathize with you so hard. My My indoor only cat got fleas in December after I'd watched my neighbour's new kitten for a weekend. Fleas were the last thing I ever thought I'd had to deal with, and it's no joke when people say the experience is incredibly terrifying and stressful. I washed and vacuumed and sprayed everything, got my cat flea drops, and continued washing and vacuuming every three days and brushing him with a flea comb every evening. I also sprinkled diatomaceous earth around my baseboards and in corners that were harder to reach with the vaccuum. There was a considerable difference almost instantly, but about every week or so until just recently I would be horrified to find one single flea when I'd comb him. Thankfully because he's on a flea treatment the flea wouldn't jump and was dazed because it was dying.

Anyway, what I'm getting at is, fleas are horrible, awful, nightmareish creatures, and their life cycle means that you may still see the odd flea for several weeks, as eggs you weren't able to reach or pupae that couldn't be destroyed continue to hatch. They say it can take at least 8 weeks for a flea problem to be completely gone, but is not unusual to take longer. It's hard not to get discouraged when you think about the fact that it could take months to get back to normal, but as long as you're consistently vacuuming and have your kitty on their flea treatment, you WILL beat the fleas. Those are the two best and most effective things you could possibly do.

Also, I forgot to mention that I'm unaware of the flea treatment you mentioned. But as the other poster mentioned, Advantage, Frontline, or Revolution are the best on the market, though you'll have to get them from a vet (at least that's how it works where I am in Canada). If you are unable to get treatment from the vet for whatever reason, I'd suggest Zodiac, which is sold at any pet store. I know people do not like over the counter drops from pet stores, and I'm quite leery of them too, but if that's all you're able to get at the moment, it's probably the best and most safe, as it's got the same active ingredient as what's in Advantage. Definitely, definitely stay away from Hartz though.

As  Blackdahlia mentioned:

Zodiac   'Infe stop ' is the best product safest sold in Pet stores it's recipe is comparable to Advantage

it's the box with Gold stripe 3 tubes per box -no odor - inexpensive. Not their other products

Not recommended for kittens or cats under a year.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=zodi...AUICigD&biw=1366&bih=657#imgrc=ny6LnuMhov9UbM:

Just so you are aware~

*Capstar another product made for emergency infestations product sold at Vets inexpensive tablets- just googled

Walmart possibly carries it now?? hmmm  Normally sold through Vet's only.  Kills ALL and any

fleas on host(kitty) for a total of 24 hours solid and that's it.

Flea collars my    here they're called a Poison necklace all of them.  Animals

are having seizures.

Youtube has shocking true videos of pets suffering or even death from

over the counter flea treatment products other than purchased from the Vet or above described  Zodiac.

Not sure if you can get it where you are but the comfortis pills work wonders. They work so much better than any topical flea treatment iv ever used. They also last much longer and are cheaper to.

Seventhheaven said:

As  Blackdahlia mentioned:

Zodiac  'Infe stop ' is the best productsafest sold in Pet stores it's recipe is comparable to Advantage
it's the box with Gold stripe 3 tubes per box -no odor - inexpensive. Not their other products
Not recommended for kittens or cats under a year.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=zodi...AUICigD&biw=1366&bih=657#imgrc=ny6LnuMhov9UbM:

Just so you are aware~
*Capstar another product made for emergency infestations product sold at Vets inexpensive tablets- just googled
Walmart possibly carries it now?? hmmm  Normally sold through Vet's only.  Kills ALL and any
fleas on host(kitty) for a total of 24 hours solid and that's it.

Flea collars my  :2cts:   here they're called a Poison necklace all of them.  Animals
are having seizures.
Youtube has shocking true videos of pets suffering or even death from
over the counter flea treatment products other than purchased from the Vet or above described  Zodiac.

Click to expand...

Yeah that's why I no longer use the rings of fire as my old cat seemed to think they were. She scratched her neck and chest bald because of the itching from the collar's toxins (this was before revolution was available)

    (did not work above)

Infe Stop   https://www.google.ca/search?q=zodi...AUICigD&biw=1366&bih=657#imgrc=TCO4dRnxJcXJYM:

Zodiac  topical

blackdahlia said:

Also, I forgot to mention that I'm unaware of the flea treatment you mentioned. But as the other poster mentioned, Advantage, Frontline, or Revolution are the best on the market, though you'll have to get them from a vet (at least that's how it works where I am in Canada).

Click to expand...

LOL. We buy Revolution online in Canada because they do not require a script from a vet!

Primula said:

LOL. We buy Revolution online in Canada because they do not require a script from a vet!

Click to expand...

I've noticed those websites, haha! There's one called Canada Vet or something to that effect but it's actually aimed toward Americans who want to buy Canadian/without having a prescription. The first time I tried to buy something from there I was really confused when it popped up with that warning.

Seresto collars are quite safe and effective---they have the same active ingredient as Advantage, plus a low dose of a tick-killing chemical, but it's a steady dose instead of one big dose once a month. They aren't like the old toxic flea collars. I use them for my dogs. If the cat tolerates it well I'd keep it on her. I would also keep some Capstar around and give her one whenever I see a flea, or just once every week or two just to be safe. Don't bathe the cat or take the collar off because this will interrupt the flea-killing action until the active ingredient has a chance to buld up again.

Since you live in an apartment, the fleas could be coming from another apartment nearby :/. Or they could be in the carpet. Get some borax, put the cat in another room, and rub it into the carpet very well, then vacuum it up. That should leave enough in the carpet to keep the fleas from nesting but not enough to hurt the cat. Diatomaceous earth will do the same but is sometimes a bit harder to find. Vacuum often, and use the borax or DE every few times. That really should take care of the problem, but if it's in another apartment you might have to appeal to the landlord to get it sprayed.

It is true that the common flea-killing chemicals are becoming less effective in some places, especially in the south. But they can't become immune to vacuuming .

blackdahlia said:

I've noticed those websites, haha! There's one called Canada Vet or something to that effect but it's actually aimed toward Americans who want to buy Canadian/without having a prescription. The first time I tried to buy something from there I was really confused when it popped up with that warning. :slant:

Click to expand...

We love canadavet.com. It's such a drag taking a cat to the vet when it doesn't need to go. So buying without a script is so convenient. Also in
Canada you can buy 12 vials & in America you can only buy 6. And it's still expensive in Canada, but less than here.

Nobody here has mentioned DE (diotomaceous earth) yet and it's the best and least toxic way to manage fleas in the environment, especially if you have carpets.  I too live in Georgia and the fleas are a bigger problem because we rarely have a complete freeze for several days at a time.  They can ride in on anything including YOU.  We have lots of info about it here on TCS.  You can purchase it at Tractor Supply Co. (there are lots of those around Georgia) or order it online.  Just make sure it is the FOOD GRADE DE.  It looks like dirt.  Hope your carpets are not white.    Once you break the chain of flea, egg, larva, new flea, you will not need to have any flea product on the cat.  I do recommend the Capstar tablets when you are seeing adult fleas on the cat.  In 24 hours, those are gone.  Then you just have to deal with the eggs and larvae, which DE does well with, and so does Advantage (imadocloprid, same chemical that is in the Seresto collar.)

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/324879/fleas-but-not-on-the-cats

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/254624/why-does-frontline-and-advantage-not-work-for-fleas-now

There was a summer when I was growing up that all of our neighbors and us had fleas. We as kids were constantly tracking the fleas in our houses from all of our neighbors pets and it was a vicious cycle. My dad was an exterminator and he took it upon himself to rid the neighborhood of the fleas. The biggest thing he realized was happening was that even though everyone was vacuuming daily, was the fleas were still alive in the vacuum, thus every time someone vacuumed the fleas and eggs were just getting out again. He suggested everyone sprinkle flaw powder on the floor and the vacuum thus killing the fleas. Eventually doing this daily and keeping all our pets powdered ( long before Frontline or anything) we were able to get the fleas under control.

There was a study done that showed that a beater-bar vacuum will kill about 98% of fleas that get sucked up, but, yeah, for 100% killage it wouldn't hurt to either vacuum up some borax, DE, or flea powder, or put a cut-up flea collar in the bag/canister.

Red Top Rescue said:

 
Nobody here has mentioned DE (diotomaceous earth) yet and it's the best and least toxic way to manage fleas in the environment, especially if you have carpets.  I too live in Georgia and the fleas are a bigger problem because we rarely have a complete freeze for several days at a time.  They can ride in on anything including YOU.  We have lots of info about it here on TCS.  You can purchase it at Tractor Supply Co. (there are lots of those around Georgia) or order it online.  Just make sure it is the FOOD GRADE DE.  It looks like dirt.  Hope your carpets are not white.    Once you break the chain of flea, egg, larva, new flea, you will not need to have any flea product on the cat.  I do recommend the Capstar tablets when you are seeing adult fleas on the cat.  In 24 hours, those are gone.  Then you just have to deal with the eggs and larvae, which DE does well with, and so does Advantage (imadocloprid, same chemical that is in the Seresto collar.)

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/324879/fleas-but-not-on-the-cats

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/254624/why-does-frontline-and-advantage-not-work-for-fleas-now

Click to expand...

Yes to DE!!!

Not challenging just sharing saw this about the Bayer Seresto flea collar      some cats experience negative reactions....some

are OK apparently. Mixed reviews.

https://www.amazon.com/Bayer-Serest...iewpnt_rgt?filterByStar=critical&pageNumber=1