Topic: Fleas?? (Read 9947 times)

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #22 on:** January 16, 2007, 20:22:59 PM »

You need to talk to your vet about whether you can or not but the spray seems very important now cos sounds like the fleas are breeding in the house.

Are you getting Acclaim to do the house with? I know someoone else mentioned that they will need frontlining again at the same time as you do the house but give the vet a quick ring and explain that you can see fleas on your cat even after the frontline on the 8th. Really you should only do it once a month but sometimes the vet says its OK to give an extra dose, depends on your cats age, size and fitness probably.

If he says it is OK then wait til the spray arrives and then do both at same time.

Vixs · « **Reply #21 on:** January 16, 2007, 18:39:27 PM »

Mac was frontlined on the 8th and I have just seen a flea crawling along his face. Also I have been bitten myself in the last week. Problem is he sleeps on my bed and there is no way I can lock him out as he needs to go through my room to get to his litter tray and food. Would I need to frontline him again and maybe use a spray?

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #20 on:** January 16, 2007, 16:05:46 PM »

If its the basic Frontline then the fleas have to bite the cat to die! bad if cats have an allergy to flea bites. However it doesnt take long for them to bite so it should be working by now. Tends to say there is another source in your house, the eggs can lie dormant for years.

I am sure the spray will sort it out.

Reynard · « **Reply #19 on:** January 16, 2007, 16:04:12 PM »

Is it just me, or do fleas seem to affect indoor cats far more than those with access to the great outdoors?

I think that being in a warm, constant-temperature environment appears to exacerbate the problem somewhat as there isn't anything to break the flea lifecycle. Maybe keeping the heating off for a while (let the house cool down) would be worth a shot as well.

My two are outdoor cats and fleas are really only a problem in the summer months, which is when you'd expect to have issues. As a result, I only frontline them in the flea season and I see nary a flea between September and June. Because I show one of my cats and the other has a known flea allergy, keeping them flea-free is important, so it is part of their grooming that I check for the little blighters. On the other hand, what I have problems with are harvest mites (chiggers), but that's another story.

Btw, Fleur, your twosome are gorgeous!

Witty.

P.S. Don't forget to worm them as well though - if they have fleas, they may have worms too.

fleur · « **Reply #18 on:** January 16, 2007, 15:35:22 PM »

Thanks for the advice guys. I am a little worried as the boys were Frontlined on Saturday and I keep finding live fleas on them...two live and two dead yesterday...but perhaps they are still hatching from wherever they came from in the first place. Argh. Hope the spray comes soon and does the trick!

isabel · « **Reply #17 on:** January 16, 2007, 00:42:52 AM »

Before I had a cat, my flatmate had fleas. We used a flea bomb in his room and it seemed to cute the problem?

good luck!!

Em · « **Reply #16 on:** January 15, 2007, 18:46:31 PM »

If you only found a dead flea that's a good sign. Wipe your cat down with damp kitchen paper (must be white) and see if you get any little spots of blood, or blot your cats' usual sleeping place with some damp paper and see if you've got any. Another way of telling would be do comb them with a flea comb and see if you get any - especially round the base of the spine where it becomes the tail.

In my experience (I've had a couple of major infestations in the past), a couple of dead fleas is fine, that just means the cats have picked them up somewhere (or you have!!) and the Acclaim/Frontline is working. If you keep seeing living fleas, you might need to treat the cats again - but the Acclaim lasts a ridiculously long time. Frontline can take up to 48 hours to work.

It doesn't sound to me like you've got an infestation - when we had one a few years ago, if you walked round with white socks on you could see the fleas on your feet!! (it was a hot summer and there were lots of cats on the street. We all acclaimed and frontlined and within a few days they'd all died off)

Kittybabe (Ruth) · « **Reply #15 on:** January 15, 2007, 17:37:26 PM »

I did my house on the day that I went on holiday. Lexy was shipped to my sisters (not literally!) and I hoovered, sprayed with acclaim (and pay attention to curtains etc if they have a habit of hanging round or on! them.

About 30 mins later windows open for about 20 mins.

Lexy is treated with Frontline once a month. She is an indoor cat so technically you would think its not a prob, but flea larvae and the like can attach themselves to your shoes, clothes etc so even with the best intentions you can get an infestation. I was lucky I only found one dead flea but that was enough to get me to do this.

Amanda (mad4moggies) · « **Reply #14 on:** January 15, 2007, 16:50:17 PM »

As Em says i would definately use Acclaim and pay more attention to the nooks and crannies in the corners as well as the rest of the house. If you have any fish or tiny pets like hamsters then you will need to move them to another area as Acclaim will be toxic to them.

It is best to treat the cats the same day as you do the Acclaim. Also, it is a good idea to hoover everywhere first before you use the Acclaim. Then air the house for a couple of hours and fingers crossed the flea problem should be sorted. I would then continue to treat the cats regularly with Frontline or whatever you decide to use. It will say on the packaging how long the product lasts for but it is usually around 4-5 weeks.

Em · « **Reply #13 on:** January 15, 2007, 14:42:32 PM »

Frontline works fine, it's only become off the shelf quite recently. Steer clear of Bob Martin and that kind of stuff though, as it repels but doesn't kill the fleas.

If you can afford it, get a can of Acclaim - not sure if you have to get it from the vets, but it's worth every penny you spend on it as it kills the fleas in your house and prvents any eggs from hatching. I think you need to exclude everyone/all animals from the room for a few hours after spraying but it's excellent stuff.

Should be OK to get a new post, you can always treat it as well, in fact it's probably wise to do that anyway...

Edit: you can get the Acclaim stuff from VetUK here: http://www.vetuk.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3&products_id=16&zenid=d08c67556dcc5157fc8e5f8bd982d6be or you probably want to use that link that's somewhere on the site (help, someone) that gives a donation.

fleur · « **Reply #12 on:** January 15, 2007, 14:08:33 PM »

Quote from: Ela on January 15, 2007, 13:49:51 PM

Quote
I'm thinking they must have either picked them up at the vets

It os possible that the fleas could have already been in the home but a visitor or yourself could have taken them in. You could have been sitting next to someone who has pets.

The treatments from the pet shops are as much use as a chocolate teapot. You can purchase the good stuff from vets or pet pharmacies online.

Thought they wouldn't be as good, but will they really not kill any fleas at all? I might go order some of the fancy stuff online, but in the mean time, will the frontline keep the cats free of fleas for a while? Also, how do you know when the flea problem is truly solved? I only ask because I chucked out the grotty old cheapo cat tree instead of trying to clean it, and I don't want to get a new one while there's a chance it could get eggs laid in it, but I want to get it asap so no sofas get shredded!

Thanks for any help, I've never had to deal with fleas before!

Ela · « **Reply #11 on:** January 15, 2007, 13:49:51 PM »

Quote

I'm thinking they must have either picked them up at the vets

It os possible that the fleas could have already been in the home but a visitor or yourself could have taken them in. You could have been sitting next to someone who has pets.

The treatments from the pet shops are as much use as a chocolate teapot. You can purchase the good stuff from vets or pet pharmacies online.

fleur · « **Reply #10 on:** January 15, 2007, 13:36:24 PM »

Hello,

Didn't want to start a whole new thread, but my two were discovered on Friday to have fleas, even though they've never been outside, which is annoying! I'm thinking they must have either picked them up at the vets, or perhaps the people who lived in our flat before had a cat...how long do the eggs stay around for???

Anyway, they have been frontlined, but I got a household flea spray from Pets@Home, now I see other people have recommended a different spray. Will the one I have do the job ok, ie do I *need* to buy the better, more expensive stuff? If I keep up with the spraying and hoovering with our brand new Dyson (wanted one anyway and the flea problem was the spur I needed to get out the credit card!!) will the Frontline keep any residual fleas off the little blighters?

Here are some piccies of the little flea ridden monkeys for good measure!!

Vixs · « **Reply #9 on:** December 27, 2006, 21:06:03 PM »

We will get something at the vet for him on Friday. He seems to be much better now and is happily purring away. No photos as yet as digi camera is broken but will get a photo soon.

Millys Mum · « **Reply #8 on:** December 27, 2006, 20:06:53 PM »

Capstar only kills adult fleas, so in two days he will probably be reinfested by the fleas in the environment.

You need to treat him with something long lasting eg.frontline and spray the entire house with Acclaim or Indorex. Drontal are much cheaper here too

Frontline/Indorex are available online without prescription, the best value around is Vet UK.
If you buy through this site http://www.ccg.triadian.streamlinetrial.co.uk/main.php a donation is made to them. (scroll down and on the left click vet uk)

Do you have any pics of the <expensive> sweetie!

Vixs · « **Reply #7 on:** December 27, 2006, 12:41:40 PM »

Just been to the welfare centre as he needed to be microchipped and they gave him a capstar tablet and they said that should start killing the fleas.

Michelle (furbabystar) · « **Reply #6 on:** December 27, 2006, 11:57:58 AM »

You can use Frontline spot-on from 8wks old -
You also need to worm at the same time as the two come hand in hand

Also you will need to treat your home - you can get a can from your vet at the same time
(going to be an expensive trip to the vets lol)

Fluffy · « **Reply #5 on:** December 27, 2006, 09:27:28 AM »

I wouldn't wait until Friday to get him treated: if he's really itchy he'll be horribly uncomfortable, and little kittens can die from big infestations. Could you buy some flea-treatment for him now? There's usually no need to see a vet if you're registered with one all ready.

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #4 on:** December 27, 2006, 02:23:48 AM »

Yes just tell the vets he has fleas and they will sort him out immediately

Vixs · « **Reply #3 on:** December 26, 2006, 23:16:10 PM »

Jut had another look and saw two fleas moving around in his fur. Poor little fella. No wonder he is scratching a lot. However, he is due at the vets on Friday as he is getting neutered then. Will they help with flea treatment at the same time?

Reynard · « **Reply #2 on:** December 26, 2006, 21:51:23 PM »

That black stuff does sound a lot like flea dirt to me. To check, brush the little fella over some damp kitchen roll, and if you get red-brown stains where the black stuff lands, then yes, he has fleas. Mild weather plus central heating does make fleas a year-round problem it seems. It is enough that one flea gets in the house and it goes from there.

You should be ok with getting some Frontline for your kitten, but best check first. I've only ever had adult cats, so not sure if the spot-on is suitable although I do know that there is a kitten-safe Frontline spray. If your lad has fleas, he may have worms as well so best get him some Drontal or Milbemax as well.

Vixs · « **Reply #1 on:** December 26, 2006, 19:49:30 PM »

Have been noticing my 6 month old kitten scratching a lot recently. I had a wee look at his fur and noticed a few scabs where he may have cut himself but also I have noticed a lot of black stuff in his fur. It's tiny but not moving at all so don't look like fleas, but is this a sign he may have fleas, even though it's the winter and he never goes outside?

Author Topic: Fleas?? (Read 9947 times)