Fleas won't go away!!

[faythe]

Okay so I know many people have posted about this and got a lot of different suggestions, but here is my problem. I just recently got my cat in June. He looked flea free when I got him but I got him from a person and he was already a year old. A few days after I had him already I saw ONE flea on him. I called my mom and she gave me a tube of vectra from our vet. A few days after that I found tapeworms. I can only assume he had fleas right before I got him because tapeworms take 2-3 weeks before they develop to the point they are shedding segments. I treated for the tapeworm and thought I was okay. It seemed that way for about 2 months or so. Then all of the sudden I found about 4 or 5 fleas on him at one time. I ran out to petco and bought the advantage 2, appropriate for his size. Put one tube on him and a few days later I was still seeing fleas on him, one week after the first application I applied a second tube which the box told me was safe. During this time I sprayed my whole apartment down with Adams flea spray I also got at petco. Vacuumed religiously. About a week later was still seeing fleas. So I called my vet. He gave me a capstar pill and 3 months worth of vectra for cats. I also ordered online precor 2000 spray for my house which has the stuff to kill adult fleas and an igr to sterilize the eggs. Sprayed my whole apartment again Vacuumed blah blah. Was okay for about a month then I notice my cat is licking bald spots on his legs and lower belly again. I have found out he has an allergy to the flea bites and barbs himself where he gets bit. I was floored, I couldn't believe that after everything I had done and two months of the vectra and he was still getting bit. I haven't seen a live flea for months now but he is getting bit and I see him eating them from the carpet again. So I switched back to the advantage 2 and gave him one treatment. It seemed to help for a few days but he is licking spots again and still eating fleas from the carpet, I can tell when he catches one because he makes a funny face while swallowing them. Anyway I researched online and heard about food grade DE. I went out and bought a whole bunch. Sprinkled it ALL over my apartment and let it sit for 2 days before vacuuming. I also sprayed more of the precor 2000 to be on the safe side. HE IS STILL GETTING BIT AND FINDING FLEAS!!! I am at my wit's end here. I have spent over 200$ just on flea stuff. I feel horrible for my baby because he is so uncomfortable from the allergies, he has bald spots all over his tummy. And he also starts to act out very anxiously when it is bothering him bad. His whole personality changes. I don't know what else to do. Apparently advantage doesn't kill the flea until it bites him. But I can't keep letting him get bit. And obviously it is not helping with the fleas in the apartment. I know I have fleas in my yard and have spoke to my landlord over and over and over again. But I do not walk on the grass at all and I stomp my feet like crazy and take my shoes off before coming in. I even put the DE on his body to no avail!!! Also bought a flea comb and wipes from petco and have combed him the best I could. He does NOT enjoy being brushed or combed and I end up bit and scratched. He also freaks when I try to wipe him down, I do it anyway but its not fun and I have a hard time completing his whole body. Apparently he is a very obsessive cat and does not like things on him and being touched in certain areas. Even putting the topical treatment on him is horrible because he freaks out trying to lick it off until it is completely dry. :-(

 

[goholistic]

Hi and welcome to TCS!  

  I'm sorry to hear you're having such a hard time with this. I will say that your kitty has been pumped full of toxins from these flea meds, so I would advise to take a step back and regroup. It doesn't sound like you've tried giving your cat a bath, yet. This may help, and you could use diluted Dawn dish soap.

I haven't seen a live flea for months now but he is getting bit and I see him eating them from the carpet again. So I switched back to the advantage 2 and gave him one treatment. It seemed to help for a few days but he is licking spots again and still eating fleas from the carpet, I can tell when he catches one because he makes a funny face while swallowing them.

I do not understand this at all. Have you seen a live flea at all recently? How can he be eating them from the carpet? I have never heard of a cat actually being able to see them so readily and want to eat them on purpose. How do you know he's not eating lint or carpet fibers or little pieces of litter? If he truly does have a flea allergy, the symptoms can take awhile to subside even after all the fleas are gone. The allergen is actually the flea's saliva and can aggravate the skin for weeks after the last live flea is gone.

 

[faythe]

No I have not seen any fleas except the few I found on him. He sniffs the carpet its like he can smell them out and then when he eats them he looks like he is choking on it. He sits with his mouth open for a few seconds its so strange. I also think h is still getting bit because he is licking NEW bald spots in diff areas. And when I put the advantage on him two weeks ago it subsided for about a week and then he started again.