for our kitties

[Just One More]

So many of us at the forum have cats so I thought it would be a good place to ask about this problem. I have three cats. I have always had cats over the years and where there are pets, there are fleas. The product they now have, the once a month treatment, is great but for three cats, I can't really afford it. The vets say collars don't work. Collars have been on the market for years and are much more reasonably priced. I'm wondering if the Vets just want you to pay the $13.00 a month for each cat or what. All my cats have had their vaccines, have been tested for leukemia and all that. They never go out, are only with each other and get good quality food etc. I don't want the house to become totally infested but the people we bought the house from had dogs, so who knows. I tore up all the carprt so have hardwood floors except in the basement and only one small area rug in the living room. I think if we did all the things vets recommend no one could afford one cat, let alone three. What do all of you other cat lovers do?

[Wolfie]

We here in Montana are soooo lucky. At least we who live up high are. We have NO flea or HEARTWORM problems here. We have few bugs and we are so high there are no rattlesnakes here either. Of course we have other problems, but that is beside the case. We have NO fleas to worry about. But when I lived where there were fleas years ago, we found that flea collars did not work.

Wolfie

[RobinS]

We tried flea collars for the cat and they didn't work. Even tried the once-a-month stuff. That didn't work either. I am worried now because she just came back from the vet, we had her fixed. Hopefully, the fleas won't be worse.

[Intrinsicat]

I think once you got rid of the problematic fleas, you'd be good to go if you have indoor cats.

I have four cats, mostly indoors.... we have a deck and installed a door flap on the screen slider so they could lounge outdoors. I sometimes let the two boys wander the yard if I'm outside doing something, so far we are flea-free. In fact, the only time we were infested was when I still lived with my folks years ago and they took our siamese to a breeder, but the only thing she came back with was a case of fleas (note for those thinking of this: don't take your cat anywhere to be bred - bring a stud cat to YOUR house).

Anyway, if you get the expensive stuff from your vet, the stuff you place on the back of their neck, the flea problem should go away relatively quickly... within a couple months if you do it correctly. I think we also bombed carpeted areas, but you may not have to do that anymore, once the hosts (cats) are being treated, I believe that it kills them off permanently.

A coworker recently tried to help a friend who does puppy rescue. They flea-dipped the pups, but the pups still managed to give her dog fleas. Nothing over-the-counter worked for her. She finally got what the vet prescribed and it worked like a charm. It might cost a little more upfront, but I think it will work better than shelling out money for months and months on lesser effective collars and dips.

You should be able to take care of the problem permanently, and as long as you aren't bringing in other animals regularly which might be infested, you should remain flea-free.

[Esther]

I only have one cat at present. He is an inside cat. He doesn't have any fleas.

I think fleas are brought in by other animals or people with an animal that has fleas.

When I had two dogs, I had a major flea problem. I would use flea shampoo and flea collars, but around this time of year, the fleas were always a problem anyway. Once there's a hard freeze the flea problem will start to die down.

[RobinS]

The flea problem is so bad around here. My poor dog has pulled out most of his fur on his back, belly and legs. I see another vet visit on the horizon.

[SarahAC]

We have 5 cats and a small dog. Keep your floors and furniture vacuumed and swept. Damp mop your floors with a mild bleach solution to kill fleas and eggs but keep the kitties away until the floors dry. Find a flea spray for your big pieces of furniture and pet beds, but read the precautions label carefully. Invest in a few good flea combs and comb your kitties every day or every other day. Make sure to flush the fleas though when you clean the comb. We also wash our cats every month although I know some people aren't up to washing cats-it is not easy and can be dangerous. >^..^<

[cjack]

Okay, I had to jump in on this one. We have 4 cats (all indoor-all the time) and we don't have a flea problem. Even have the neighbor dog in occasionally and still no fleas. (this is Texas and I don't think there is a bug in the world that hasn't been to Texas at least once!). Anyway, there is something you can do. There is a product called "Sevin" and can be found in the gardening section at Lowes and Home Depot. It is relatively cheap. Spread it in your yard and the parameter of your home. You can also spread it in your home on bedding and carpets and furniture. Leave in place about 24 hrs. then vacuum. If you have a minor problem, just putting on your carpets every once in a while will take care of the problem. Good luck!

[KathieB]

I once had a hellacious problem with fleas. Used everything under the sun on the dogs, bombed the house regularly, sprinkled borax under the rugs, even tried eucalyptus leaves. The dogs spent most of the day inside. On nice days they were out on the porch in their pens. (chihuahuas) The porch was wood, with spaces between the boards, about 3 feet or less above the dirt. Cool, dampish ... perfect for fleas.

I got a bag of diatomatious earth (spell?), the stuff used for swimming pool filtering systems. Sprinkled it all over the porch and swept it down through the cracks. Also sprinkled it in the flower beds around the edges of the porch. Gave the house and the dogs a final cleansing, and that ended the problem.

The theory behind using borax or the diatomatious earth is that it gets on the fleas and dehydrates them. They end up little dried shells of their former selves.

[Pipertml]

Brewer's Yeast. It's weird, but if you feed your animals brewer's yeast, it acts as a flea repellent (it creates an odor from the inside out that is unpleasant to fleas). It's all natural and good for their coats and their immune system, as well.

Before I got my dog, Sadie, I used to give my grey tabby Tallulah (who is an indoor cat) a few brewer's yeast tablets every day (and still do because she loves them so much, she thinks they're treats!) and then every spring I would flea bomb the house. I never had any fleas! It was miraculous. Since Sadie is in and out every day, and since my sister brings her dog over, I do the once a month treatment on both of them. It really is expensive, but since its relatively cold in Maine 8 months of the year, I only need to use it from June to September.

Good luck!

[Pipertml]

I got a bag of diatomatious earth (spell?), the stuff used for swimming pool filtering systems. Sprinkled it all over the porch and swept it down through the cracks. Also sprinkled it in the flower beds around the edges of the porch. Gave the house and the dogs a final cleansing, and that ended the problem.

That stuff is phenomenal! It's a great alternative to chemical insecticides, esp. for veggie growers!

[Lisa R.]

Even though my daughters cats do not go out they still occasionally get a flea or two. I guess they come in from the outside on us - we live in a rural area. The big problem though is not the fleas, it is heartworm and the medication they are on is for both (ticks and mites too). We use revolution.

It is expensive but much less than having to treat an animal with heartworm disease - which we had to do a couple of years ago when my other daughters dog tested positive - she lives in an area with very low risk so we think the dog was bitten by a mosquito when visiting us.

Lisa R.

[Librarian-Sarah]

We just dealt with this on our cat after she visited some "relatives" at our MIL's house (just mentioned it in another thread, actually!) She's 100% indoor, so we were able to treat and then vacuum the carpet, then went ahead and bit the bullet on the advantage. (She's an only 'child' though, which makes it easier) If you nuke the eggs (carpet) and the fleas (cat) simultaneously, you may be able to solve the problem for good in one or two doses of advantage--assuming your cats rarely/never go outdoors, of course.

[Just One More]

I did have the Advantage for the first two cats and then all three got a dose when we got Cali. Cali has fleas for sure because she loves to sleep in the bathroom sink at night and in the morning there are tiny black specks, flea dirt the vet says. I disinfect the sink every morning. I have no idea why she likes to sleep there. I've thought of giving her a bath with flea shampoo if she would let me. I haven't seen any actual fleas on her or the other cats. I just know if Cali has them they probably all do. If the Advantage only lasts one month, for three cats it's about $40.00 a month. It will be getting cold here soon so that should help. Thanks for all the ideas. I'll try some of that diatomacious and maybe get them another dose of the Advantage and see how it goes.

[goodteach0]

Pat,

My I have housecats that I had to treat. My vets told me how to do it very economically. You get Frontline for large dogs. Get a syringe with needle from your vet.You stick the needle into the plastic side of the Frontline and withdraw .5.ml. Take the needle off and apply this to the back of the cat's neck. Do this for each cat. Ifyou are not sure where this is on the syringe ask in the vet's. You can also do this on dogs but you need to know the dog's weight and then ask the vet how much to put on the dog. If your cat's are heavily infested you can get pills called Capstar that immediately kill all fleas on the cat. This pill doea not keep the fleas off however. You have to use the Fronline for that. If you do the Frontline for 2 or 3 months that should do it. Yes, I said Frontline for DOGS.

[Just One More]

Thanks for the info. I'll check when I take Cali in next week to be spayed. They are all so cute and loveable I feel guilty if I don't give them the best. Just like meds for us though, the pharmaceutical companies are out to make money and they make sure we know about every disease known to man and pets, and just what we need to treat it, much more then when I had cats when I was a kid.

[ilovecats]

When I lived in Georgia, I had fleas one year during the summer....don't know how they got in the house...anyway my 3 cats were indoors. I gave them flea shampoo baths (i can't remember how often). I combed them frequently, vacuumed frequently and then had no further problems. I never used a carpet treatment. I tried flea collars and 2 of my cats only ended up with skin irritations on their necks, which resulted in a trip to the vet to see what what wrong. I was told that flea collars don't work and that they usually caused skin irritations.

[doogster]

I use Revolution on the cats, in fact it's all I'll use. Works on fleas, ear mites, heartworm (prevents that). Use it the same as Frontline and oll of those. Getting the stuff for big dogs is a great idea.

[Intrinsicat]

ARGH! So, speaking of fleas... that friend I mentioned who's dog got fleas from the rescue puppies?! Well, she's on vacation for the week with the dog in the kennel. I've been asked to feed the fish each day. I've been doing this since Tuesday at lunchtime since she lives closer to my office than my house.

Today after feeding the fish I got in the car and there were three fleas crawling up my jeans!! ACK! I've heard that when fleas get desperate they'll go after humans... but how likely is it that they've hitched a ride these past couple days and waited patiently on me to infect my cats when I got home 5 hours later!!!!

I'm going to be SO not happy if my cats get fleas from this...

[KathieB]

This would be a good time to bomb her house if she'll permit you to do it. Just cover the fish tank.

[Intrinsicat]

I know, I thought she was going to do that, but I don't want to be responsible for killing the fish - they're salt water tanks, I think they're pretty delicate to begin with.

Unfortunately, there is no way to get a hold of her... she's back Monday. I'll just have to warn her they're on the offensive now....