Flea problem!?

Question

I have only had my cat for about 3 months (hes 5 months old) however he has just recently in the past few weeks been going outside.Just recently a week ago I have noticed him scratch alot and bite himself and i seem to have been bitten by fleas - i went straight out and bought some flea spray, sprayed him then 3 days later done him again. That was last week i have since done him once but i still have been getting bitten. I bought him a flea collar yesterday and put it on him, i have hoovered were he sleeps as there were horrible black bits which i think was flea muck - however i have just noticed a flea on me and the cat wasnt even around so now i think they are everywhere. I really dont wanna get rid of my beloved cat but at the same time dont want fleas in my house! its not as if i stroke him alot either and he rarely leaved the 1 room - so what can i do to get rid of them?

Answer 1

First, you must treat the environment to rid the fleas, flea larvae and flea eggs. Use a product like Ectokyl with an insect growth regulator (IGR). This can be bought at the vet clinic. Do not use OTC products, they do not work. Also, you must wait 4 weeks to use any other product on your cat, 3 weeks minimally, even that can pose risk. use a product like Revolution to also protect against heartworm, intestinal parasites (hooks and rounds) and ear mites. This needs to be applied monthly. Revolution also prevents flea eggs from hatching. The black bits is flea feces. the blood from the host. Because cats are meticulous groomers, they frequently eat the flea while grooming. Fleas spread tapeworms, so consult your vet, as you may need a treatment for that, which is available in pill or injection. Tapes are generally dx not by stool checks, but visually, as a lot of times, tapes eggs do not show up on stool exams. When inspecting your cats stool, you may see what looks like a grain of rice, more frequently found stuck to their fur near their behind. These are tape segments and contain thousands of tape eggs. This is zoonotic, which means you can ingest a segment (children especially) and get tapeworms yourself.
Take the flea collar and throw it away. They are useless. Most fleas take a bloodmeal from the base of the tail anyway, and that collar is only protecting him around the neck. It is a strip of poison. I know you can smell it, now stick it under your nose and leave it there where you can not escape those toxic fumes, which can cause upper respiratory problems, lung problems and other issues. Stick with the products that you can only get from your vet,as they are the safest.
Fleas can also, in heavy infestations, literally kill pets. Pets can become anemic and die. The best medicine is preventatives, not treatment. It's cheaper to keep a pet on preventatives than it is to treat your cat, your home, the environment, the tapes, etc. Good luck.
And remember to schedule a neuter in the next month to help prevent unwanted pregnancies, disease, spraying, roaming and cancers.

Answer 2

Sprays and collars don't work. Try Front Line Spot-on, you get it at the vet and it is easy and clean to apply. It will get rid of any fleas on the cat.
Vaccuum all the carpets and furniture; your vet should be able to recommend a powder you can put down and then vaccuum up. If you have a hoover with a bag, change the bag immediately after you finish and take it outside; if bagless, empty the container outside! Wash all pillows, cushions and bedding in hot water and disinfectant as you would for an infestation of lice.
The black bits are indeed flea muck. But once you get the Front Line on the cat you're more than halfway home.
Good luck in the battle, it'll soon be over.

Answer 3

To eliminate fleas, you need to be thorough; in the end it will be less expensive because the fleas will not return.

Fleas spend very little time on the animal. They feed, hop off, and lay eggs. The eggs hatch in about 3 weeks, jump back on and start the whole process again. The eggs can also lay dormant for up to a year.

What you need to do is give the cat a bath, rinse very well, and towel &/or blow dry.

An alternative is to ask the vet for Capstar, which will begin killing fleas within half an hour. There are some very good flea prevention products on the market. My favorite is Frontline Plus. This kills fleas and prevents more from hatching. You apply it once a month.

In addition, you really need to treat your home with a flea “bomb”. My favorite brand is Zodiac with Precor. Kills the fleas and contains a growth inhibitor to prevent more from hatching. Lasts for 7 months. Then apply a premise spray under any large furniture, such as your couch and bed.

Vacuuming daily in addition to other treatments also helps. A warm light in an outlet over a tray of soapy water will drown any stragglers (the warmth attracts the fleas who jump into the tray), but this shouldn’t be necessary if you’ve already “bombed” your house.

If this is an outdoor cat (hopefully not), you may want to treat around your house as well.

For very young kittens (under 8 weeks old) stay with the natural remedies. Under 5 weeks old, you shouldn’t bathe them. Powder them thoroughly with cornstarch (safe, but destroys the exoskeletal system of fleas). Then you need to hand pick them off. A flea comb is helpful to do this.

Here are a few sites where you can buy these products:

www.jefferspet.comJeffers Vet Supplies (Dr. Jeffers & vet techs answer questions, too)
www.petedge.com/PetEdge
www.drsfostersmith.comDrs. Foster & Smith

Answer 4

Studies show that Advantage, Frontline and Revolution all work about equally well, but Advantage works a little faster that the others, a factor to consider since kitty already has fleas.

You should probably fumigate your house with aerosol bombs. You can get them at a hardware store. READ THE DIRECTIONS and follow them exactly, put away all food and water, and clear out of the house for a few hours (NOT all day, as someone said, the directions will tell you how long.)

Do NOT buy Advantage or any of those other products on line or anywhere but from a vet clinic. Dangerous counterfeits have flooded the market and many pets have died. Even legitimate retailers have been fooled. A vet practice buys directly from a manufacturer's rep so they have the real thing.

Also, don't use supermarket lookalikes. Hartz Mountain flea drops were pulled from the market last year because they'd killed so may pets, but distributors and retailers were allowed to continue selling product already in the pipeline, so the stuff is still available.
.

Answer 5

Don't use store bought items, especially flea collars. They are a waste of money. Go to your local vet and pick up some Revolution. This kills fleas, flea eggs, and even any mites that may crawl out of his ears (if he has them). I put it on my 6 week old kitten and there were dead fleas dropping off of him within a couple of hours. If for some reason your vet does not carry Revolution, ask for some Advantage. It's just about as good. These are so easy to use. You only apply them once a month on the back of his neck, so he won't lick it off. It doesn't smell bad and it doesn't get all messy. If they are really bad in your house you may want to find something like a flea bomb and just stay out for a day. Remember to take your fish with you if you have them. When I was little and we had to do that at my house, my mom killed the fish because she didn't take them with us or cover them. Otherwise, just make sure you vacuum EVERYWHERE and wash you bedding to keep them from biting you and jumping back on you cat. Oh and if there are little black round things that aren't fleas on your cat, that is flea dirt.

Answer 6

Well so far you have doen everything wrong. For a start, anything you can go out and buy from a pet shop, won't work. Secondly, flea collars are dangerous. They are aorganophosphate, can cause cancer and can kill your cat. Thirdly, the fleas are living in the carpet, furniture, bracks in the skirting boards etc.
What you SHOULD do, is go to the vet and ask for an effective flea treatment. I use stronghold on mine. Then you need another spray from the vet to spray your home with.
Since he had fleas, he will aslo have tape worms, since the flea is the intermediary host for tape worm larvae. So ask your vet for a worming programme too. Expect to treat your pet roughly every 3 months for fleas and worms. If you cannot commit yourself to this schedule and expense then perhaps you should be looking at rehoming the cat to someone with more experience.

Answer 7

Flea collars/sprays/powders are poison. Your dog has an open incision so any poisons that you put on her have a direct way to enter her body. I wouldn't do it. Truly the bath is a better idea. Warm water onto her incision will not hurt it at all. (No high pressure, no hard rubbing). Get a mild dog shampoo at any retail store (while you are there get a flea comb).. Don't use people shampoo. Wash your dog in a warm place with no drafts. Dry her gently with towels and keep in a warm area until fully dry. Comb her with flea comb, killing the fleas you catch (you can dip the comb in rubbing alcohol to kill the little devils or you can squish them with your fingernails or tweezers). Fleas like dirty dogs. You can apply a thin layer of antibiotic ointment to the incision when you are all through. Vacuuming the floors is very important

Answer 8

We have just had the same problem on a huge scale. Use Frontline drops on the cat - you can get them online or from the vets - then you have to spray the carpets and sofas etc and hoover everyday for a while. It took us about two weeks to completely get rid of them but the Frontline stuff will kill all the fleas on the cat within 24 hours it's getting them out the carpet thats the bugger.

Answer 9

RIght go to your nearest pet shop and buy a spray for the house that you can spray on bed, carpets and upholstery. This spray lasts 12 months.

You can also get spot on treatments for your cat that last a month which are cheaper and as affective as Frontline.

Boil wash all your bedding and spray your pillows, mattress and ESPECIALLY where the cat sleeps.

I had this problem a couple of months ago and now I am *touch wood* flea free. Good luck!!

Answer 10

I have cats. Don't bother with flea sprays, collars,pills, powders or drops, the only thing that REALLY works needs to be got on prescription from the vets. it cost £15 for a four month treatment, thats not bad and it really really works, kills everything you well be flea free
(the drops you but in the pet shop are not the same as the vet can prescribe)