Fleas!

[ladygananoque]

Hi everyone, so i adopted a kitten a few weeks ago, we called him homer but later found out hes a she but anyway i noticed she had a flea on her so i used a comb on her to see how bad it was and it was quite bad. I managed to get a lot of fleas off her but unfortunately i didn't do it quick enough as my other long haired cat stella is scratching like crazy. So i went to the vet and asked them what they had for fleas and they gave me some of that stuff you put on the back of their necks. Anyway my question is how good is this stuff? I mean has anyone had success with using this? How much stronger are the vet ones compared to the ones you get cheap in the shops?

I was hoping there was another way of treating this problem instead of the neck stuff because im just not sure if it works or not. Iv spent 3 hours today vacuuming every inch of my home. Anyway thanks in advance

 

[sharky]

The stuff from the vet is Safer and more effective than OTC product... When did you use the flea treatment ? If over a couple of days Please call and talk with your vet...

For the household surfaces Food grade ( not the one for pools) Diatenceous earth( note I likely have Not spelled that correctely)... You rub into the carpet and then vacumm

 

[farleyv]

Never otc flea treatments. Please!!

The Humane Society of the United States has a report on how dangerous these are. Plus tons of information on the net.

Always get flea meds from your vet. Advantage is what I use and most everyone I know uses it too.

 

[strange_wings]

Originally Posted by LadyGananoque

How much stronger are the vet ones compared to the ones you get cheap in the shops?

Technically it's not exactly stronger, it just works better. Mode of action in the commonly used flea topicals from the vet keeps it working for 2-4 weeks.

The products you get at, say, walmart - like hartz tend to put too much pesticide into the small vials. This combined with the type of pesticides they use (which have a greater toxicity or are just plain toxic to cats) can result in overdosing. If a cat survives being dosed with these and has no side effects most people find that the products only work a week or so if they even work at all.

What did your vet give you?
Regular Frontline is one of the older ones and because of how it is distributed on a cat (throughout the skin) it tends to be one of the safest. But because of it's age there have been problems with fleas becoming resistant. It takes ~ 24 hours to "spread" out on a cat and then up to another 18 hours to kill all the fleas on a cat.

Advantage has been around as long as Frontline. It goes into the bloodstream and kills nearly all the fleas within 12 hours, any new jump ons can take a couple hours to die. So far no one has really come up with any evidence that fleas are becoming resistant to Advantage yet - though in tough infestations it can look like it's not working. With vet approval it can be reapplied earlier than 4 weeks. (so can the Frontline)
There's also Advantage Multi that adds another pesticide to the dose - it is used to treat earmites, roundworms, hookworms, and is a heartworm preventative in cats along with killing fleas.

Revolution is a newer one, but is safe enough for younger kittens (6 weeks with vet approval - depending on condition of kitten) and supposedly nursing cats. It goes through the bloodstream as well and can take up to 2 days to kill all fleas. Revolution is also used to treat earmites, roundworms, hookworms, and is a heartworm preventative.

Then there's the capstar that can be given to kill all fleas on the cat and can be safely given multiple times, but does not prevent reinfestation.
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The bad news: It sounds like your cats have had fleas for a while. This means that they will have tapeworms. It requires that you get a separate dewormer from your vet to treat them.

I also suggest, along with the DE that was already recommend to you, that you clean. Vacuum everything (put a flea collar in the canister or bag) - even around the trim near the floor on non carpet flooring and wash all bedding the cats have laid on on the hottest temp you can. This will help you get some of the fleas that are not on the cats.

 

[ladygananoque]

Thanks for all the replies guys especially about the otc stuff. The vet gave me advantage and i only used it a couple of hours ago so hopefully it will work because stella is not happy at all. I have dealt with fleas in the past a few years ago(with different cats) one of which was very allergic to fleas so i know i have a fight on my hands. I might put the comb through kitten in a few days and see what i find. Unfortunately stella wont let me comb her with the flea comb because she has such long fur its not comfortable, she only lets me brush her.

Anyway thanks again and fingers crossed it works

 

[strange_wings]

Do comb the kitten. Sometimes those half dying fleas will fall off - I've even had them try to bite me. (I know there was something wrong with them after putting Advantage on the cats since they couldn't jump) While they're still on the cat they'll crawl around with can be very annoying to a cat.

If Stella will let you comb the underside of her neck and her face with the flea comb you might be able to get a few fleas off of her. The underside of the neck is also a very good place to check for fleas if you fear they may be in the house - I can only assume that fleas like to bite there due to warmth, blood flow, and the difficulty cats have removing them from that area.

The advantage should do the job and by tomorrow any scratching should decrease.

 

[my4llma]

All of my cats use Revolution on the back of their necks. Lynxx had been boarded a few years ago, and he came back with fleas. We put Revolution on him for the first time then, and we never saw another flea. Until we brought Luna home. She was covered so many fleas you couldn't even see her stomach. The vet gave us Kitten revolution for her, Lynxx was already on Revolution, and we haven't seen another flea since we put that on her neck. So far we've had very good luck with Revolution.

 

[ladygananoque]

Thanks for all the replies, just a quick update. Stella is no longer scratching and she seems so much happier but fable is still scratching , iv put the comb through her but didn't find anything not even a dead flea so i just don't know whats going on. Any suggestions?

 

[strange_wings]

It's only been four days so it's possible that you still have a few fleas in the house or are bringing new ones in on you. Or Fable has a mild flea allergy, it which case it can take a while for her to stop itching or you can go to the vet and get her a steroid shot for it - if she's doing any serious damage to her skin from scratching.

You may also try adding some humidifiers to the home. Dry inside air can make some cats get dry skin and itchy from that.

 

[ladygananoque]

Thanks for the advice! Greatly appreciated

 

[meowers]

Frontline is the best, IMO.

My two indoor cats somehow became infested with fleas over the summer and we tried all kinds of all natural products and nothing worked. After using Frontline for a month they completly disappeared, so we switched to Advantage (its a bit cheaper) and the fleas came back!

So, my advice is to use Frontline if the Advantage doesnt seem to work completly.

Good luck!

 

[strange_wings]

Originally Posted by Meowers

Frontline is the best, IMO.

In my area fleas have become mostly resistant to Frontline. People have to use Advantage or Revolution. It's been out since..1996? So it's understandable, that's what happens with all pesticides eventually. Plus all the ones that get used for fleas were first used on crops, so who knows how many total years they've been on the market in one form or another.

 

[ladygananoque]

Well im having great results with advantage with stella, she seems to be back to her normal self again. Im gonna continue to comb fable to make sure theres nothing there. Her skin doesn't look irritated at all so hopefully its not an allergic reaction, i had a kitty with that problem before and it was awful, dont want to go through that again.

 

[strange_wings]

Hopefully not.

Now there is the chance that due to this flea exposure that at a later date if they get fleas again Fable may have more problems with it. That's how allergies work.

You may have to determine risks of fleas in your area and keep them treated for at least the months that are above freezing (if it even gets that cold there) or find another way to keep the home flea free.

 

[ladygananoque]

I live in canada and im hoping all fleas will be dying off soon now that winter is pretty much here. It doesn't help that my husband always has the heating on high, if i was a flea id rather be in my warm house to lol.

 

[strange_wings]

Well if you can get rid of them completely you should be good until things thaw back out ... in what? May?

If you two already have the heat on your inside humidity will be really low. That can lead to chapped lips and dry itchy skin for you, and chapped noses and dry itchy skin for the kitties.

 

[motogato]

Originally Posted by strange_wings

The products you get at, say, walmart - like hartz tend to put too much pesticide into the small vials.

Revolution is a newer one, but is safe enough for younger kittens (6 weeks with vet approval - depending on condition of kitten) and supposedly nursing cats. It goes through the bloodstream as well and can take up to 2 days to kill all fleas. Revolution is also used to treat earmites, roundworms, hookworms, and is a heartworm preventative.

Agreed. Hartz makes horrible products. I once tried their flea treatment and it literally burned a patch on my cat's skin. And their hairball stuff is just as bad. A total waste of money. Sad that such a huge brand name is wasted on such crappy products.

Revolution is great. Better than Advantage, because it kills more nasties but is just as safe. It's pricey but if you search online you can buy it from a reputable Australian pet site at a good price.

 

[ladygananoque]

Originally Posted by strange_wings

If you two already have the heat on your inside humidity will be really low. That can lead to chapped lips and dry itchy skin for you, and chapped noses and dry itchy skin for the kitties.

Oh really? I didn't know that, thanks for the tip!

 

[etiqueta]

It can take just one bite from a single flea to cause an allergic reaction for a kitty. Most, if not all, cats are allergic to a flea's saliva to some degree. I have a cat that completely pulls his hair out when he gets bit, and some who you wouldn't even know they had fleas unless you saw dirt or the flea itself. That's why it does get frustrating for me, because the flea has to bite the animal before it will die.

One of the newer products on the market is Vectra. My local vet clinic stopped promoting Frontline entirely. I've used Vectra on one cat seeing as I still had 6 doses of Frontline left, but from the looks of it, it effectively did what I wanted it to do. Kill fleas.

On the subject of OTC flea products, while working at the local vet clinic I heard WAY too many horror stories of animals getting really sick or even fatal outcomes from using the products.

 

[strange_wings]

Originally Posted by Etiqueta

One of the newer products on the market is Vectra. My local vet clinic stopped promoting Frontline entirely. I've used Vectra on one cat seeing as I still had 6 doses of Frontline left, but from the looks of it, it effectively did what I wanted it to do. Kill fleas.

On the subject of OTC flea products, while working at the local vet clinic I heard WAY too many horror stories of animals getting really sick or even fatal outcomes from using the products.

There are a lot of bad reviews for Vectra, I suggest you look it up. It's an OTC topical - and the dog vectra cannot be used in a home with cats, because like Advantix it can harm cats when it's used on dogs. My vet dropped Advantage for for Vectra - I won't use it.