ferals and fleas

[mani]

I'm reposting this here.. the same thing is tacked on the end of another thread in 'care' but I thought it may get noticed more here. I really want to let my friend know your advice:

I'm reviving this post as a friend of mine just wrote to me about Capstar.  She has a stray who comes round for food (he's neutered).  She was concerned about his fleas ... this is what she wrote:

I bought some Capstar tabs for cats & small dogs. I crushed one in his food & he ate it all. Half an hour later he started scratching & jumping about, licking, biting, etc. He was in torment. Then he yelped & took off down the backyard & over the fence. I thought I'd killed him! Looked on the internet & found that th fleas go into a frenzy when the poison hits them & keep biting the host until they die & fall off.

She says she'll never use the stuff again.  It sounds awful!  I've never used tablets.

Has anyone else had this happen? 

How do others deal with fleas and ferals?

 

[Willowy]

I do put Capstar in their food now and then. Yes, it sometimes makes the cats act crazy, with all the fleas writhing about (must feel weird!), but it's the only thing I can think of to give them some relief, if only for a day or so. None of mine are tame enough for me to drip a spot-on onto their necks, but that's what I would do if they were tame enough.

One year my brother's cats had fleas really bad, and I gave them Capstar. His male started jumping and running around like that (the females didn't seem to notice), but after about 10 minutes he calmed down and felt a lot better with all the fleas off of him. It was creepy to see the fleas just dropping off by the hundreds. Ick.

In short: if he reacted like that he probably was totally infested, and I think it was worth causing him some brief discomfort in order to get rid of the fleas.

And tell her he should be treated for tapeworm; with that many fleas he almost certainly picked up a few tapeworm eggs.

 

[StefanZ]

Agree with the above, including this warning about tapeworms.

The problem with Capstar it only kills off the fleas being now and there. It is a effective way to get instant relief (sic!), but it doesnt help the problem in a longer way.

So begin with Capstar if you need, and proceed with Revolution or something else, if you can.

Add also something for tape worms, if possible.

 

[mani]

Thank you both

 

[feralvr]

Just adding in my experience with Capstar. I have seen feral cats go a bit nuts shortly after getting the pill. IF they are LOADED with fleas, then the fleas start to "panic" and go into a frenzy before they quickly die. Can make the cats "panic" as well wondering what the heck is happening on their skin. It is short lived and then the fleas are gone. BUT the problem, they will just have more fleas as soon as the capstar wears off. It is a sad situation for feral cats as there is no other way to apply a flea product. BUT there is Program http://www.discountpetmedicines.com/program-flea-control.htm This is a pill also and should be used monthly. They recommend that you kill off the fleas on the cat first by using Capstar. Then again, the Program will only stop the flea eggs and larvae from developing. It will not kill off adult fleas on the cat. So living outdoors makes Program quite ineffective about bring relief to feral cats with fleas.

 

[mani]

Thanks, Feralvr... I've sent a link to that page for her.

And she's treating him for tapeworms.