Flea problem, need immediate help

[anneominous]

We've had an off & on flea problem and my deadbeat husband, who doesn't care about how much the cats are suffering, didn't order more Program tabs when he was supposed to recently. I'll be moving out on Saturday and taking the cats with me, but I'm going to my mom's house and I don't want to bring the fleas of course. I'll be treating the cats with Capstar the morning that I move and since that only kills adult fleas I need to do something to kill the flea eggs as well.

A friend told me to bathe them with Dawn dish soap, but that doesn't seem right to me as I know cats have sensitive skin. I've googled and searched, but I can't find the best thing to use on the cats to make sure I don't bring fleas into my mom's house. The best thing that is also safe & effective for the cats, of course. Is there a particular cat shampoo I should use? Something you guys can recommend that is 100% effective? There are so many options out there, I just have 1 shot at this. That's the way I see it at least. If mom's huge house gets infested then it will be a nightmare. Plus she has 2 small dogs so this can turn out to be bad on so many levels.

Also, say that Capstar helps and some sort of shampooing helps ..are there particular preventative measures I can take to make sure that no fleas survive this ordeal? I'll need specifics, what products to use how often and when, etc.

Death to all fleas!!! *warcry*

 

[bigperm20]

Don't dish soap should kill the eggs as well as any fleas. Make sure you use the blue "original" type. Make sure you comb their fur with a flea comb when they are still damp. You will see paralyzed fleas coming off in the comb. Drop them in soapy water to drown them.

The Capstar in conjunction with the bath should work great. I find that several of the smart fleas run up on the cat's head and end up surviving. The Capital should take care of those.

Have you ever given your cats a bath? It takes some skill. A 2nd person to help goes a long way. Check YouTube for instructional videos. I did...

 

[anneominous]

Thanks bigperm, yeah we've used the Capstar on them before and it works great! I just wish it lasted more than 24 hours. I'll definitely pick up a flea comb tomorrow too.

I've given them all a bath before, and it sucks lol. I won't have any help, but our tub has a dual sliding door on it so I think it will go pretty well.

 

[Willowy]

I don't think there are a lot of flea eggs ON the cats. They're usually in the carpet or bedding. I would probably give them a Capstar every day for 3 days or so, then once a week for as long as you live at your mother's house. Just to prevent issues. You can also use a spot-on like Advantage or Frontline or Revolution.

 

[bigperm20]

You can also use a spot-on like Advantage or Frontline or Revolution.

I was thinking the same thing, and advantage two is fairly inexpensive now that it's available without a prescription. You can get a 3 dose pack for about $25-$30 at Walmart. It kills Adults, Larva, & Eggs for 30 days. If you want to be sure, i'd do that.

 

[anneominous]

Thanks guys, I was going to mention the monthly treatments, but forgot about it. At first we used Advantage and Frontline Plus, but neither of those helped at all. That's why we switched to Program flavor tabs. The only downside to Program tabs is that they don't start working for 2 weeks. And since the cats missed their last dose, I'm frantically scrambling to make up for that error before I move Saturday.

I've heard about Revolution, but we haven't tried it yet. Have you guys used it, or know someone who has? I haven't heard a lot of reviews about it yet and I want to make sure it's worth it and safe.

 

[bigperm20]

I've used Revolution. It works great but it's expensive. That's why I suggested the advantage 2. Revolution is for fleas, ear mites, hookworms & roundworms. It doesn't treat Tapeworm (or ticks) unfortunately. I find this to be a pain as when I treat a bad case of fleas, I always treat for tapeworm as well.

It's really good medicine though. Give it a shot. You do need a prescription though.

 

[Willowy]

Yeah, Revolution is good. But you do have to get it from the vet and it's not cheap. I have heard that the more common spot-ons have started losing their efficacy in some areas. The fleas get immune if it's overused. There are a couple other vet-quality meds. . .Promeris, I think is the name of one, and another one made by the company that makes Comfortis for dogs, but I don't remember the name. Might be worth asking your vet about.

Did Program really work for you? The ONLY thing it does is sterilizes the adult fleas so their eggs don't hatch. Can't say I've ever seen a difference while using it, although I suppose it could keep a few fleas from turning into a full-out infestation.

 

[anneominous]

I'll give Revolution a shot, maybe it will work better than everything else. Not worried about the cost.. I mean I'm not made of money, but I only want the best for my furry kids.

Yeah the fleas we've had here are carrying tapeworms, so I've got to get those meds too. What do you guys use? We use tapeworm tabs, and they're pretty cheap if we order them from online. They seem to work fine though.

Yeah Program works great, but it does take a couple of weeks to work due to their lifecycle. Just gotta keep it up monthly or until the fleas are gone, like other monthly meds. It comes in liquid form too, so we feed it to our cats in either wet food or tuna. You're supposed to be able to crush up their flavor tabs and add it to food, but we wasted money doing that because the cats could either smell or taste it in their food and wouldn't eat more than a tiny bite.

How well does Revolution work on ear mites? Also, do you think any random vet will prescribe me Revolution if I just call and ask? Our old vet got bought out by someone else, and we haven't been back since or anywhere else.

 

[orientalslave]

I don't think there are a lot of flea eggs ON the cats. They're usually in the carpet or bedding. I would probably give them a Capstar every day for 3 days or so, then once a week for as long as you live at your mother's house. Just to prevent issues. You can also use a spot-on like Advantage or Frontline or Revolution.

Exactly.  Flea eggs drop off the cat into the environment (lice eggs are glued to hair shafts - we call them nits in the UK), so give them the Capstar at your old house before you pack the cats and move.  When you get to your mothers give the cats a really good comb somewhere that is very easily cleaned (bathroom?) and get the bedding from their carriers in the washing machine on hot - 60C - or discard it.  If it's not a long journey newspaper with no blankets should be fine and simply throw it away.

However if your cats have fleas they probably have worms as well....

 

[anneominous]

Yes I was saying above that I also need to treat them for tapeworms, thanks though.

It's not far, less than 10 miles. I was going to bathe them here before leaving to take them to my mom's house. I was going to give the Capstar some time to work before bathing them as well. I'm also going to clean the carriers before heading over there. And of course wash everything that I possibly can, in hot water.

 

[anneominous]

On a side note, what do you guys do about dental cleaning? I've seen all kinds of products and I'm not sure what is best/most effective. I saw some gel that doesn't require brushing, something you add to their water, dental treats, and yeah all kinds of stuff. Is there a better option here, or does it boil down to what my cats will let me do to them/what they like? lol.

 

[bigperm20]

If you go w/ the Revoloution, you won't have to bathe them. I'd apply it at least 24 hrs in advance. I seriously doubt a vet will prescribe it w/o an exam. That is how they make their money. If you were already working with a vet it would be different.

Yes, it's very affective on earmites.

 

[toebeans]

I have been in your shoes; years ago we had an infested kitten and were moving. We bathed him literally before we left and dried him off in the car. He was fine when we got to the new place but I understand your concern. This was back in the days before Dawn and Revolution etc. and they only had those nasty plastic fleas collars and toxic flea bombs. Things now are so much better.

We just a discovered a flea outbreak on Friday night at our place (first ever - I got the first of three cats 8 years ago); took the one little guy suffering the most (scabbing around his neck, incessant biting himself and licking) to the vet because it appears he is allergic to fleas and that was causing the terrible sores. Friday night he was washed down and bathed in a Dawn bath which seemed to help a little, and on Saturday the vet gave him a steroid shot, prescriped Capstar for all three cats and Frontline Plus ($$$$$). We have cleaned every surface we can and vacuumed non-stop. The Capstar is amazing, they went nuts for about 2 hours scratching and grooming, but then they were done and have been good ever since.  It is really not an option to bathe my other two - very large and very densely coated cats - a Maine Coon and Norwegian Forest Cat. We combed them and brushed them as thoroughly as we could in the bathroom on a white sheet to get any dead fleas and dirt of them. 

Does anyone one know if Capstar and Frontline can be used at the same time?  I know they take care of separate problems, but my concern is having two different insecticides in my cats' systems simultaneously. My roommate just emailed me that she found a dead baby flea on her pillowcase this morning. And I guess I have to consider the issue of tapeworms, although I haven't seen any evidence in the litterbox or on the cats backsides.

 

[orientalslave]

If it's a dead flea it's a dead adult - baby fleas are larvae, not small fleas.  And it is possible to bathe Maine Coons and NFCs, all the people I knew who showed them bathed them before a show.  You have to be sure any knots are combed out first, and do them in the bath stood on a rubber bath mat. 

 

[bigperm20]

If it's a dead flea it's a dead adult - baby fleas are larvae, not small fleas.  And it is possible to bathe Maine Coons and NFCs, all the people I knew who showed them bathed them before a show.  You have to be sure any knots are combed out first, and do them in the bath stood on a rubber bath mat. 

Agreed I just gave a flea bath to my long haired kitten. I just combed her before bathing and after. A few knots afterwards, but none before.

 

[toebeans]

Thanks, I know Maine Coons and Wegies can be bathed, but I am not so sure bathing mine will be a task to attempt without a good helper. I think I might have to turn to my some of cat rescue and/or cat sitting friends to help me out, since I know with her size and attitude my Main Coon will be very bad. She was born feral and very difficult to handle in general. Lovely girl, just don't touch her too much. The Wegie won't like it but will tolerate bathing better than her. Still, it will be two person job for sure... maybe three