Fleas, and a geriatric cat with health concerns; safest way to treat?

[oceanbreathes]

I just discovered a small flea on my oldest cat and I'm extremely disappointed. . The scabs I recently noticed around one of my younger cats, which I dismissed as having been from wrestling with our kitten, are now confirmed to be an allergic reaction to fleas.

I haven't dealt with fleas in about five years. The last time we faced them, they were very hard to get rid of and my vet explained that they were becoming resistant to many of the topical medications. I treated everyone with Revolution, we moved across the country(not because of the fleas lol), and we've been flea-free for about five years.

It's a three story townhome(carpeted in basement, where we live, and the third floor where my roommate/his rabbit live). I have four cats ranging from almost 6 months - 17.5 years. My oldest has various health concerns and is "sensitive" in general. We have sliding glass doors leading into the basement & there are free roaming cats on the property.

Any suggestions for taking care of this in the safest way possible would be greatly appreciated. I feel horrible for the cats and this feels like a daunting task. Is it worth it/safe to go ahead and treat them with a topical/Capstar?

 

[roguethecat]

Revolution is quite strong. I've used it for years on Rascal until I found out it compromised his immune system.

Then I found that Advantage doesn't kill all the fleas, at least not those I get around here. Best use a flea comb, along with a cup of hot soapy water to immediately drown the fleas in. On every cat, at least once a day. The allergy is mostly not against the fleas themselves  but their poop. You best get rid of it if you give the poor cat a nice shower (I found a shower generally better liked than a bath, especially if you have a shower stall you can close), with flea shampoo if you have or just anti-inching shampoo, or even baby shampoo, well rinsed of course.

Vacuuming well, every bit of floor, and as often as possible (even if that's hated by most cats!) helps, too.