.... I have never had to battle fleas until now. My girl (Blue) has been scratching away. I found a flea on her .... I won't do the flea collar thing. Please help us. Any good helpful suggestions would be more than appreciated!!
I've tried Revolution, Frontline and Advantage. They all work, however the first two sting the cats skin when applied, and only work 4 weeks. Advantage worked a full 6 solid weeks and did not cause burning on their skin.
I had to get rid of a flea infestation after a friend brought her cat over this summer. I:
Vacuumed twice a day and immediate emptied the canister to get rid of the fleas in the carpet
Got a flea dip and forced my animals to deal with me pouring it all over them a few times
Got a flea powder and used it in between dips
Sprayed my front and back yard, as the fleas will live there and can travel indoors
Eventually, everything was back to normal. I have three dogs and two cats, so my infestation might be quite a bit worse than yours.
Brush your cat's hair out to detangle, then comb its whole body with a fine-toothed flea comb (available at a pet supply store, or large supermarket). Have a dish of hot soapy water on hand to dip the comb in and kill any eggs/fleas that you comb out. Then bathe the cat with a mild, plain dish soap or baby soap (I like Dr. Bronner's castile soap because it is very pure, and you only need a tiny bit). Make a "collar" out of rich lather around your cat's neck first, then work down the rest of its body (the soapy collar will catch the fleas that will naturally seek "higher ground" once soaped out of the fur on his body). Keep the lather on for a few minutes, or as long as your cat will allow! (15 minutes is ideal).
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com Food grade diatomaceous earth can be sprinkled on your cat's fur, his bedding, the carpets, your bedding, and anything else that needs flea treatment. It dehydrates fleas in all their life stages, killing them. BUT, it is VERY important to make sure that it is FOOD GRADE, and NOT the stuff used for pool filters, lawn treatment, etc. The food grade DE can be found at a farm feed store, or online from various natural petcare/healthcare/alternative medicine retailers. It looks like a very fine white powder.
Best thing is to sprinkle it all over your house and let it sit for several hours or overnight. Then vacuum it all up and discard the vacuum bag (or empty and clean the canister) immediately after. Daily vacuuming for at least a couple of weeks (ideally a month) will eradicate the fleas, larvae, and eggs.
Good luck!
I use Advantage. It comes in flat, plastic cantainers, One box holds six containers (6 mo supply
You snap the top off, part the fur to get closest to the skin and apply, rubbing it on
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
at the back of the center of their neck, about the same level as the bottom of their
ears (so they can't reach around and lick it because it's poisonous.) make sure you
rub it in one spot, about the size of a quarter. Avoid getting any on your skin.
Never use your fingers to rub it in, use the applicator. Don't let anyone touch this area
for a few hours, until any excess has evavporated ..
Do this once a month. It gets rid of and repels fleas ticks and mites.
You can buy Frontline and Advantage at Petsmart. Just be careful to use the right dose for your cat, don't buy the dog version by mistake (toxic) and apply it according to the directions.
Vacuum your house really well, even under the furniture, and get rid of the vacuum bag right away.
Good luck!
Well ... I would give her a bath with some good flea/tick shampoo until all the fleas are dead then start putting on Frontline or advantage for cats once a month. I and all my family put Frontline on all our pets and have had no flea problems in years. Just a tip we buy it in large amounts on Ebay for cheap, then dose it out (depending on size of animal) with a little syringe (no needle of course).
First keep the cat indoors. Going outside it'll get fleas.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com Look online, you can buy Advantage. We buy the dog size, keep it in a test tube for blood tests with a stopper. Dose it with a syringe, we get that from the vet. Or you can ask a local hospital blood lab next time you see the doctor, We put a huge gauge needle in the stopper, then get what we need with the syringe, you dose by weight. You just put the amount from the syringe (no needle) at the center of the back of the neck, can't scratch. Just hold the cat, put it on down in the skin, they're done. I think it lasts a month.
Your vet can give you dosages by weight.
I don't blame you for not using collars. I had a cat who got a bad reaction to one before I learned how dangerous they are.
WASH her. Fleas drown pretty easily. (Yes, I've washed cats and I know this isn't easy.) Comb her and keep combing her, and kill any fleas you find. They have a 2-week life cycle, so keep at it for a month so you get all the little buggers that hatch before they can breed.
