fleas again?

Question

Should a cat be completely flea free? Or will he always have a few?

Answer 1

An untreated cat will always have reinfestations of fleas, whether it goes outside or not. Fleas can get into the house in other ways besides on the animal.

Even when using flea control, there may always be one or two that pops up. They just won't live for long as the flea medication will kill them quickly. If the cat goes outside, it will continually pick up fleas that you may see only briefly (if the flea meds are used routinely). Even if the animal doesn't go outside, fleas can get a free ride into the house on our shoes, pants-legs, etc., and they will seek out the warmest thing in the house which is why they like cats and dogs better than people. But again, the flea meds should take care of the issue immediately -- which is why if you use the monthly topical flea medication, it should be used regularly whether you see fleas or not.

Answer 2

Cats should be completely flea free. It's difficult, but there is a way to keep fleas off cats.

The best way to get rid of fleas is to understand the life cycle of the flea. (Yeah, I know that sounds corny, but it's true.) Fleas lay their eggs in the cat's fur and when the eggs are laid, they're sticky. But when they dry out, they fall off, usually wherever the cat is resting (on your carpet, on your furniture, on your bed, etc.) The flea eggs hatch where they fall and when they are adult fleas, they hop back on the cat and continue the life cycle.

It is for this reason that the cat's entire environment needs to be cleaned and/or treated. It isn't enough to bathe the cat and treat it with Advantage or whatever treatment you use. It's a step in the right direction, yes, but it's not all you can do. Vacuuming the rugs and upholstery during a flea infestation will cut down on the amount of flea eggs that will hatch. So will changing the bedsheets more frequently, assuming your cat sleeps there, of course. (If you change them every week, change them every three days, etc.)

There's no reason a cat should have to live with fleas any more than human should have to live with lice.

Answer 3

Ideally yes they should be, and they certainly can be. Remember where you see 1 flea there are others, and probably hundreds more eggs. So it's rarely just a 'few'!

If you use a proper flea treatment regime that attacks all parts of the cycle, yes you can certainly be 100% flea free. By proper regime, I mean a treatment from the VET for your animal, like Frontline, and a housespray, also from the vet. I recommend Frontline Plus because it kills the flea eggs and pupae as well as adult fleas, and Skoosh housespray which is the only one to kills all stages of flea growth. www.skooshthefleas.com

A warning if you don't already know: if you're using products from a store, you'll never be flea free, and you might possibly end up with a dead or maimed pet.

Chalice

Answer 4

My cat had fleas once. I would normally treat my cat with the liquid that you put right behind their neck. My cat hated flea collars and it really didn't work either. Another problem is after you treat the cat you will still have fleas in your house. You can also by a spray that you can spray on the cat and items in your house that will not harm anything and will kill the fleas instantly. It doesn't have a bad odor either. You can get all of that at your local pet store or even Walmart. Good Luck!

Answer 5

I have two, one is strictly indoors and one goes outside on a leach supervised. Both are completely flea free. The indoor/outdoor one is white but I check him pretty often and never see any. And, honestly, I don't use any flea treatment on them since I have yet to see any fleas on them.

Answer 6

If treated properly, cats can be completely flea free.

Answer 7

there will always be a few. even if you kill all the adults, there will be eggs ready to hatch. also, fleas hitch rides on any warm blooded animal, including people. you need to treat for fleas regularly to keep them in check. even people who don't have pets can have fleas because they get carried indoors on clothing.

Answer 8

They should be completely flea free when you finish treatment.

Answer 9

No