Nasty Disgusting FLEAS

I am totally at my wits end here with these little itty bitty pests. I've been battling them for about a month or more. ALL my cats have been on Frontline plus for months. They even have flea collars on. I bathe. I spray. I hand pick them off. I have bombed the house more than once. I spray. I vacuum. I spray nearly every day!!!

I just bathed Tristan (who is supposed to be a show cat) Sunday and I was stunned at the amount of fleas I got off of him. It was disgusting!!! And now I think he still has some b/c of his itching!!!!! HOW do I get rid of these nasty things?!?!? I'm totally going insane here and have tried everything that I know to do and I've still got the fleas.

First thing to do is take the flea collars off. They do no good and can kill your babies. Also, I'm not sure what you mean when you say that you're "spraying" every day, but be sure you're ONLY using medication prescribed by a vet on your kitties. Anything over-the-counter can make them sick or kill them.

Once you remove the flea collar cut it up into a few pieces and put it into your vacuum bag or canister. Make sure that you change the bag or empty the canister EVERY TIME you vacuum. I like to wash my canister out with bleach when I'm finished vacuuming. Once fleas get into the carpet/upholstery, it's very hard to get rid of them.

I know that there are products that you can use on your carpet to kill the fleas/ flea eggs, but I'm not sure what it's called. However, someone who has dealt with this kind of issue is sure to be along soon to offer more advice.

In the mean time, keep flea combing your kitties. Put a few drops of Dawn dish soap in a container of water. Dip the flea comb in the soapy water before each comb through your cats' fur. When you're done, make sure that there isn't any soap left on the kitties.

I can only imagine how frustrated you are. I hope someone comes through with a good idea about how you can go about de-fleaing your cats and home.

Yes when I say I am spraying, I mean I am spraying furniture, carpet, etc, etc...not the cats themselves. I do have spray for them too but I am careful on how many times I use that.

I just want to scream. Yeah each of those flea collars was like 5 bucks! Gee, that was a bunch of money wasted!!! I think the frontline is a waste of money too. I'm really ticked at them for selling a product that really doesn't work. grumble grumble

Thanks for the tips.

We've had it bad as well. I dont use anything but prescribed flea medication. My vet suggested switching between frontline plus and advantage and it seems to help. With 5 cats and 4 dogs it really hits the pocket book but I hate seeing my babies so miserable. Hopefully we will have a cold winter to kill those little buggers off. We also place Eucalyptis around the house. I heard that fleas hate it so they stay away. Don't know if it's true or not but the fleas seem to stay confined to the animals. Good luck.

We had a really bad infestation of fleas after we adopted a barn kitten some years ago. We had no idea how bad until my husband walked across some high pile carpet in his white socks and they were almost black because they were so covered in fleas.

Our experience was that over-the-counter remedies did not work. They were not strong enough and did not last long enough to kill the eggs that were still in the carpets.

We finally bit the bullet - took the cat to the vet for an overnight de-flea and had professional exterminators come in and spray. That was the only thing that worked for us.

It wasn't as costly as you would imagine either. From what I understand, the fleas don't actually stay on the animals all the time - they just jump on for a feed. Unfortunately the fleas also liked me and I got bitten. They never bothered my husband or daughter.

After fumigating I would suggest a monthly dose of Advantage, Revolution or Frontline (obtained from the vet for correct dosage for weight of each cat). Although Bijou and Mika are indoor cats, we do allow them out on a harness and leash so we treat them every month. Also, I understand we humans can carry fleas into our homes on our clothing and person so we err on the side of caution and do the monthly treatments.

fluffysimba,

Out of curiosity, are you cats indoor/outdoor cats? If so, perhaps you should consider keeping them as indoors only after you get this flea issue taken care of. In general, it really is much better/safter for the cats.

Where did you get the Frontline from? I only fairly recently found out that some of the Frontline products that you might find in a pet supply store could be counterfeit . Here is how to tell the difference.

I had problems with fleas when I lived in a mobile home in the woods; the things aren't tight so even though the cats weren't allowed out, fleas could still find their way in. What solved it for me (this was pre-Frontline) was shaking out boric acid powder into the carpet like a carpet freshener, working it in with a broom, and leaving it for a while before vacuuming. I think there are actually such products made specifically for this also. It's also nice that it's pretty safe for you and your pets as it presumably only affects insects from what I understand.

You could dry horse delicer on the carpet...says on the back its good for fleas I would read all the directions and such before useing though. just a sugestiona.

As an addition, I found a little article on boric acid as an insecticide:

Boric Acid

I know that unless your persian has very thin hair (and it sure doesn't look like it !) you can't use a flea comb on him. Flea combs really only work for short haired cats and dogs.

Originally Posted by ScamperFarms

You could dry horse delicer on the carpet...says on the back its good for fleas I would read all the directions and such before useing though. just a sugestiona.

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I dunno Katie, that stuff says the active ingredient is Permethrin, 0.25%. Personally I don't think I'd use it anywhere but outside.

Frontline will only kill adult fleas. The problem with fleas is that there are many stages in their life cycle. The larvae and cocoons in the environment will continue to emerge for about 6 weeks or so. I would be persistent and continue to use the products from the vet for another month or so. You may also want to consider a professional extermination. It is well worth the money. IME OTC sprays and powders are a waste of resources.

She say's she's using Frontline Plus. From their website:

All the benefits of FRONTLINE Top Spot with an extra ingredient,
(S)-methoprene. Not only kills adult fleas, but also breaks the flea life cycle by killing their eggs and larvae preventing re-infestation

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Of course, you only have their word for it ...

Yes, a lot of companies use that claim. That is because larvae feeds on sloughed skin cells. If the skin cells they eat contain frontline then it may kill them, but I am sure there are enough larvae and uncontaminated cells in this case to have a prolonged problem. Not to mention that all of the bathing will greatly reduce the amount of product shed into the environment.

Do you live in a house? If so, you might consider having Orkin (or some such company) come out and spray the outside grounds around your home. The day they come, you might also consider both bombing the house again, as well as reapplying Frontline or taking them to the vet for a good flea treatment.

I've seen a ton of fleas within the last week or so. Fostering a 5-wk. old, two 7-wk. olds and had to clean-up 5 4-wk. olds last night for another foster home.

I used Dawn on a washcloth (Palmolive ok too), some warm water and a flea comb. After drying all of them off, I used just a drop of Advantage (for kittens) just by the shoulder blades/neck area. The idea is, the Dawn drowns/kills the fleas & the Advantage kills the eggs.

Haven't seen a flea since (knock wood).

Advantage only kills the adults. The eggs and larvae are usually found in the environment.

Originally Posted by dicknleah

We've had it bad as well. I dont use anything but prescribed flea medication. My vet suggested switching between frontline plus and advantage and it seems to help. With 5 cats and 4 dogs it really hits the pocket book but I hate seeing my babies so miserable. Hopefully we will have a cold winter to kill those little buggers off. We also place Eucalyptis around the house. I heard that fleas hate it so they stay away. Don't know if it's true or not but the fleas seem to stay confined to the animals. Good luck.

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Eucalyptus? Hmmm I definately have some of that. HOW did you place the eucalyptus around the house? I have some oil spray of it.

Originally Posted by Yosemite

We finally bit the bullet - took the cat to the vet for an overnight de-flea and had professional exterminators come in and spray. That was the only thing that worked for us.

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I think that's the conclusion I've drawn also. I heard about someone else who tried everything over the counter and it didn't work so they did the exterminator. She says so far it's taken care of the problem for them.

I think I'm going to try the revolution this time.

Originally Posted by RoseHawke

Where did you get the Frontline from? I only fairly recently found out that some of the Frontline products that you might find in a pet supply store could be counterfeit

. Here is how to tell the difference.

I had problems with fleas when I lived in a mobile home in the woods; the things aren't tight so even though the cats weren't allowed out, fleas could still find their way in. What solved it for me (this was pre-Frontline) was shaking out boric acid powder into the carpet like a carpet freshener, working it in with a broom, and leaving it for a while before vacuuming. I think there are actually such products made specifically for this also. It's also nice that it's pretty safe for you and your pets as it presumably only affects insects from what I understand.

Click to expand...

I will have to look into this boric acid for sure. Interesting. Not good about the counterfeit Frontline products.

And to the other person. We have outside only cats and inside only cats.

Yeah I've had the animals all on Frontline plus for like EVER and it's obvious that it doesn't break any flea cycle...just my pocket book.