Fleas wont go!

Hello everyone!
I have 3 cats (1 persian, 2 main coon) and this is their flea story
About 2 and a half months ago I noticed they had fleas (they do not go outside so I have no idea where they got them from), so I went to the vet and got Frontline Combo. I applied it and their scratching got less. You are supposed to put another solution on the cats every month, so after a flea jumped around on my desk 2 weeks ago (and eggs lying around everywhere), I applied another solution on them. Now I still find eggs everywhere a cat has been! I can't find any fleas on them and they don't scratch themselves anymore, but seeing the eggs must mean they are still there! So why isn't this Frontline stuff working? How am I going to get rid of these monsters? Help is much appreciated
Cheers

Not only do you need to treat the cats, but your house/carpet too. And you need to flea comb the cats and get to the skin to get all the fleas/eggs out.

I washed all the carpets and couch covers and really cleaned all the other areas where the cats stay. Are there any "special" treatments for those areas?
The Frontline Combo is supposed to prevent re-infestation for 4 weeks and prevents the contamination of of the cat's environment for 6 weeks...

Yes you need specific flea treatment for carpets - like a flea "bomb" to set off - washing doesn't do anything to kill the fleas.

What do you mean by eggs? Do they look like little grains of rice? If so, what you're seeing isn't flea eggs but tapeworm segments from your kitties. It's very common for cats with fleas to ingest some as they are grooming and the fleas contain tapeworms and then pass them onto the cats. Your vet can give you a dewormer for them.

The reason I ask is that even when we had a horrid infestation last year, I never saw flea eggs (maybe I didn't know what to look for?) and I figured they would be too small to see. But tapeworm segments look A LOT like little eggs and are commonly found in a cats sleeping area.

Good luck!

~Julia

I doubt you're finding flea eggs, as they are smaller than grains of salt. You're probably finding tapeworm segments as mentioned above, or flea dirt.

Maybe describe what you are seeing?

Flea bombs don't work very well.
What does work is washing everything as you did, but in very hot water and as often as possible.

Your cats might not have fleas anymore, and probably do have tapeworms (which they would have gotten from the fleas, from grooming and ingesting them).

Once you've treated them (only with something from the vet) then you should try sprinkling diatomaceous earth into your carpets. Unlike chemicals that don't work very well it dries up the fleas, the larva, and the eggs. And there isn't anything toxic about it, you could sprinkle some on your morning cereal if you were so inclined. Fleas can hibernate for months.

You have to apply flea control 3 months in a row to fully get rid of them, and then every month thereafter. You also should have your cats wormed because when they lick the fleas off of themselves they get tape worm.

Hi and sorry to hear about the flea problem. It is one of the hardest things to get rid of. I can take months to get them all taken care of and fleas can hibernate in your carpets and furniture for up to a year! I am a vet tech and what we recommend to our clients is to apply Frontline or a similar product immediately then flea bomb the house. After one month-repeat it all again. If you have the money it is also beneficial to just go get them new beds and throw the old ones away. It may take a while but if you do both of those they should go away pretty quickly. Good luck-fleas give me the creepy crawlies so I also send all my sympathies!1

I don't like the Frontline as much for cats, as I like Advantage. It works extremely well, and comes in a smaller amount, so there's not as much to apply. You have to make sure, when applying flea products, that you get it mainly on the skin, as it works with the body's oil and gets into the bloodstream. If you just get it on the hair, it won't work. Also, be sure not to bathe your cat 48 hours before or after using it, as I said, it works with the oils, and bathing with soap gets rid of the oils and it won't spread as well. Put a flea collar in your vacuum bag, (not on your cat) and vacuum up the carpet. It may take 2 months to kill the cycle of flea and eggs that might be in the carpet, but it only takes a few hours to kill the fleas on your cat with Advantage.

okay so heres a little secret and it does work .

Last year we had a big infeast of fleas we treated we bathed we cleaned we bombed we actually had so much stuff going it was making Me and my mom very sick and our birds. The lady next door actually gave us this tip and when your at the end of your rope you will do anything.

First keep your flea stuff going on your pets if you have dogs make sure your yard is treated with lime.

Two sprinkle Salt on carpets and furniture and curtains this will actually kill them and if you use the right fleas drops where ever you cat may lay and if there are fleas there it will kill them.


Most people don't realize your pet doesn't need to be outside to get fleas and it just takes one I hope this helps you and good luck

I have ferrets and this is the homade flea dip i use and it seems to work:
Lemon Dip:
1/2 a lemon
1 pot boiling water

put water in a pot and put the 1/2 lemon in and bring it to a boil and then turn it off and let it set over night and then use it as a flea dip and just dip the ferret (in this case: cat) in water and then dry the cat off and DONT rinse the dip off and VIOLA homade flea dip!! It works on ferrets so i would imagine it would work on cats!! I use Frontline for my ferrets and it works so i would try that too!! GOOD LUCK!!

Originally Posted by Cearbhaill

I doubt you're finding flea eggs, as they are smaller than grains of salt. You're probably finding tapeworm segments as mentioned above, or flea dirt.

Maybe describe what you are seeing?

Click to expand...

Actually she is probably seeing both tapeworms and flea larvae. I remember one year the fleas were really out of control and we had these brown wormy things on our couch! It took four treatments of the house before I was sure I had the fleas destroyed. Thankfully, the flea problem is nonexistant this year and I haven't had the displeasure of seeing flea larvae again.

Check with your vet about a home treatment fogger of de-flea-er. Follow the instructions carefully and also get your cats in to be wormed.

I prefer advantage as well for flea killing..One time we just killed the fleas on our cat, and then there were none in the house because if they jumped on the cat they would just die right away...we didn't even flea proof the carpets, and they were all gone within a week.

Use Frontline spray, its the only thing so far thats worked and I spent a small fortune on products

Originally Posted by Zissou'sMom

Once you've treated them (only with something from the vet) then you should try sprinkling diatomaceous earth into your carpets. Unlike chemicals that don't work very well it dries up the fleas, the larva, and the eggs. And there isn't anything toxic about it, you could sprinkle some on your morning cereal if you were so inclined. Fleas can hibernate for months.

Click to expand...

What the heck is diatomaceous earth, and where do you get it?

Well, if you buy it meant for pets it'll be significantly more expensive than if you buy the kind meant for other things... Here is the kind I have: http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/produc...dy/999012.aspx

You can get it other ways though:
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=90353
cheaper.

Apparently you can even put it outside??? I didn't know that I used it on Zissou and all over my apartment. It works better because it kills all life stages, not just adults like all the chemical products (advantage, revolution, all the spot-ons from the vet are adulticides. All the other chemical ones (over the counter) are dangerous)

I think most people are afraid to try it because of the stigma around "natural" products. I don't like them either (like, the deodorant made of crystal...um, no thanks) but this actually works better. If your cat goes outside regularly it's a little trickier but then it's handy as a replacement for a fogger/bug bomb. The one I have smells pretty too.