help with the flea probs

hi, i'm new here..to make a long story short......my poor kitty got a bad case of fleas (as did my house) thanks to my lovely neighbors upstairs...anyhow...my house has been professionaly treated as was my kitty, well he still had fleas (after a month) the vet recommended (because its just as effective but cheaper) frontline, well i gave him the dose last nite(around 8ish) is it safe to give him a bath?(with or without flea shampoo) his neck is dry from where i applied, but i still see the little buggers and its creeps us both out!!!!my vet is conviently on vacation and the other vet in town has no idea????
thanks in advance for any and all help

I wouldn't give them a bath after you have already treated the kitty. Next time if it needs a bath give it BEFORE you treat her. Use a little dawn dish detergent and not too often cause it will dry out the skin. I would really recommend Revolution since it protects agains fleas and heartworm too. be sure to vacuum your rhouse daily maybe even 2 times a day. Put a cut up flea collar in the bag to kill the fleas that get sucked up. NEVER USE A FLEA COLLAR OR OTC FLEA STUFF ON YOUR CAT! IT CAN KILL THEM!!

Try using a flea comb to comb her rout too.

hi and thank you very much, i did in fact give him a water only bath...the vet said not to use anything beforehand.......and i would never never use a flea collar on my baby....they dont work anyways but will it be safe to give him just a quick dawn bath right now???? i have never heard of using dawn on cats before (thank you for teaching me something new today)

no no no you need to give the bath BEFORE the flea treatment. Bath the cat in Dawn Dish soap, never flea shampoo (it can kill the cat or make it really sick) Basically avoid all that type of stuff. Dawn Dish soap, plain old regular, not the one with bleach added or anything extra special cleaning ingredients. Lather him up good and bathe really well and then use a flea comb over the cat really well. You may have to bathe again. Use tweezers to pick off any the comb misses. THEN treat with Frontline or Advantage. Then once in awhile use the comb again over the cat and inspect for fleas.

If you give him a dawn bath now then you will have to reapply, and he may be getting too much at once. Have you combed over him with a flea comb and tweezers? Get a bowl of warm soapy Dawn water and dip the comb into it and comb over the cat. Just don't comb on the back of the neck where the flea meds were applied.

thanks for the advise..... i was told not to give bath beforehand......and i would NEVER use a flea collar on him they dont work anyways and are far to dangerous......and thanks for the advice i have never heard of using dawn dish liquid.......thank you very much for that...i will give him a bath shortly.....

Originally Posted by laurieangers

hi, i'm new here..to make a long story short......my poor kitty got a bad case of fleas (as did my house) thanks to my lovely neighbors upstairs...anyhow...my house has been professionaly treated as was my kitty, well he still had fleas (after a month) the vet recommended (because its just as effective but cheaper) frontline, well i gave him the dose last nite(around 8ish) is it safe to give him a bath?(with or without flea shampoo) his neck is dry from where i applied, but i still see the little buggers and its creeps us both out!!!!my vet is conviently on vacation and the other vet in town has no idea????
thanks in advance for any and all help

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I would wait until the frontline takes effect before bathing your cat...if you applied it last night (between the shoulder blades) it should still be working. You may want to take a glass and fill it with some dawn dishwasher detergent and take a flea comb and comb the fleas out of your cat. Just place the comb into the dawn detergent between combs. The detergent should kill the fleas.

Katie

oh okay thank you jen i will NOT give him a bath today......i did comb him and found lots of dead ones but a few still roaming around......maybe i will just stick him in tub with nothing but water (its easier to see them ) plus he doesnt mind the bath....

Just know that if you do then the flea meds will probably come off and it won't work. But sometimes I only use Dawn and that totally helps and I don't even need to treat. Usually that is with strays I bring in and take right to the bathroom so fleas dont have time to get all over my apartment.

That is good you don't use flea collars on the cat but cut one up to put in the vacuum. That is odd you were told not to bathe the cat before hand, because obviously you can't after treating the cat. Who told you that?

Right now I would just sit down with a flea comb and comb over him really well. If you are finding dead ones then teh meds are working you don't want to risk them coming off.

If you have already applied the frontline please wait until the next dose is due. If you give him a bat hnow you will be washing much of the frontline off making it useless. the soapy water dipped comb will stun the fleas the same as it will if you give him a bath.

Yep just make sure to vacuum up the fleas out of the carpet. I really suggest putting a flea collar into the vacuum first though otherwise you will have live fleas in the vacuum and you will never get rid of them.

the vet told me not to bath him ahead of time as it would be way to much meds....but now it seems he still has a few left over (then again maybe i;m just not being patient enuff) i want my kitty back in the house(he's been on the porch since last nite) i dont want to do ANYTHING to hurt him......you people are much more caring/more knowledgeable than the local vet THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU i could have unknowingly done something to harm my little buddy

i will go to get a flea collar shortly and put in vaccuum.....splendid idea, (as we have had the house professionaly done) and anything i can do to get back on track again the better

Yes be patient. And make sure the fleas are gone from inside the house too or they will come back and get back on your furry friend.
Oh yeah. If you plan on having your kitty be indoor/outdoor then you need to keep him treated with frontline or revolution or something from the vet to keep the fleas under control!

oh your vet was probably assuming that you would bath the cat with a flea medicated shampoo. The vet should know better though and tell you not to use them.

no he is indoor cat only!!! but my neighbors upstairs who have a indoor/outdoor cat and they dont treat very well or feed for that matter (i feed/give him water) at least 3 times a week cuz they are "gone" he had fleas and they never never treated/told anyone about it, so now me and my 3rd floor neighbor (and our kitties) are paying the price, and yes they exterminated twice, my cat is pretty much traumatized now from having to leave (he stayed with a friend for the day/nite) so as to not inhale anything....but he just wants to come in.and i'm trying everything humanly possible to make that happen.....but with a 5 month old and 3 yr old here i cant take many chances of them bombarding my house again (the fleas)

i agree and also think he should have know about dawn.....cuz i bought the fleas shampoo from him!!!!!if i cant trust my vet then its time for a new one...

Originally Posted by Mickee

This may be real, real dumb, but here goes. Why do you put the flea collar in the vacuum cleaner bag. If it doesn't work on the pet, is it going to work in the bag???? Just really curious on that one. I think they are a waste of money. I have put moth balls in the vacuum cleaner bag and vacuumed up the fleas, eggs, etc. and then immediately disposed of the bag.

Mickee

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By putting the cut-up flea collar in the vacuum cleaner bag, it will kill the fleas you vacuum up. The issue isn't that they don't work on the cat, the issue is that they can harm or even kill your cat and that is why you don't put them on the cat. BTW one should also immediately dispose of the bag with the collar pieces in it as well and also dispose of it outside the house.