Yeesh! My cat has a flea infestation.
Last month I used Frontline succesfully and sprayed the carpets and whatnots.
After having doused him with Frontline on Friday, I thought tonight I'd give him a thorough combing - to discover (horror of horrors) giant fleas complete with bulging abdomens full of eggs.
Does anyone recommend giving the poor laddie a bath? I discovered that fleas drown very rapidly (Don't ask - I grew up with brothers! Nuff said.)
What's a gal to do, other than hit the gin bottle?
Please help.
Fleas!
and that did't work. Apparently they lay eggs in the carpet and only 5% of them are on the cat at any one time.My cats had fleas last year and the vet told me that the stuff they sell in the pet shop for carpets etc doesn't work - you need to get the home spray and the flea treatment from a vet as they hold a licence to supply the extra-strong stuff. I have floorboards so didn't bother, but the flea spot-on treatment worked really well once the vet put it on - I'd been dousing them uneffectively until she showed me how. Hope this helps!
Yes Frontline or anything you buy from shops is useless.
I buy Advocate from the vets and have 2 cats and a dog and have never had a problem.
We have a mixture of laminate and carpet.
Be aware the eggs can live under things for years, they just need a decent heat source to thrive. Especially under beds!
I buy Advocate from the vets and have 2 cats and a dog and have never had a problem.
We have a mixture of laminate and carpet.
Be aware the eggs can live under things for years, they just need a decent heat source to thrive. Especially under beds!
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Yellow Peril
- Posts: 34
- Joined: 9 Dec 2007 00:34
- Location: The 'Nam.
Hi Yellow Peril
Yes - fleas are a nightmare (tell me about it). Problem is, if your moggy goes out, s/he's likely to pick up fleas from the grass where they've been deposited by visiting foxes/ squirrels etc.
The gin is an excellent idea (for you), but I wouldn't recommend trying to give your cat a bath.
The new millennium superfleas are like today's mice and headlice - they're not being eliminated by older insecticides (you can spot them with their tiny capes and pants).
The latest vet-recommended treatments are Stronghold drops on the back of the neck (like Frontline but a different recipe so currently more effective), plus a good spray all around the house with Genetrix 'RIP fleas' spray. The older insecticide sprays stink to heaven - you have to keep children, pets and adults out of the sprayed room for about 3 hours because they are seriously toxic. RIP Fleas has silicone in it which immobilises the little b**gers, thus disabling the adults plus the eggs and larvae in one go. You still have to vacate the room of people and pets, but for not as long, and one treatment lasts longer (a good spray before you leave for work should do it).
You say your little chap is up for the chop soon and will be deflead at the same time - good idea, but the defleaing will be drops on his neck, (which will make his blood less appealing to fleas), but the eggs will hatch and go for your legs anyway, so that's not enough. It would be a good idea to get the spray beforehand and use it liberally while he's being done, so your furnishings are blitzed. If you are being bitten too, fleas hate garlic, so either eat lots of it or start taking capsules.
Finally, you think you have problems with fleas? We've got two CATS in our house and trust me, they're much bigger and they keep coming back!!
Yes - fleas are a nightmare (tell me about it). Problem is, if your moggy goes out, s/he's likely to pick up fleas from the grass where they've been deposited by visiting foxes/ squirrels etc.
The gin is an excellent idea (for you), but I wouldn't recommend trying to give your cat a bath.
The new millennium superfleas are like today's mice and headlice - they're not being eliminated by older insecticides (you can spot them with their tiny capes and pants).
The latest vet-recommended treatments are Stronghold drops on the back of the neck (like Frontline but a different recipe so currently more effective), plus a good spray all around the house with Genetrix 'RIP fleas' spray. The older insecticide sprays stink to heaven - you have to keep children, pets and adults out of the sprayed room for about 3 hours because they are seriously toxic. RIP Fleas has silicone in it which immobilises the little b**gers, thus disabling the adults plus the eggs and larvae in one go. You still have to vacate the room of people and pets, but for not as long, and one treatment lasts longer (a good spray before you leave for work should do it).
You say your little chap is up for the chop soon and will be deflead at the same time - good idea, but the defleaing will be drops on his neck, (which will make his blood less appealing to fleas), but the eggs will hatch and go for your legs anyway, so that's not enough. It would be a good idea to get the spray beforehand and use it liberally while he's being done, so your furnishings are blitzed. If you are being bitten too, fleas hate garlic, so either eat lots of it or start taking capsules.
Finally, you think you have problems with fleas? We've got two CATS in our house and trust me, they're much bigger and they keep coming back!!
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Yellow Peril
- Posts: 34
- Joined: 9 Dec 2007 00:34
- Location: The 'Nam.
Thanks for your lengthy reply, Bing Bong. The house has been fumigated. I can hear the last gasps of any resilient creatures. I have been combing the carrier daily and drowning any findings. No POWs. I am quite fascinated to watch the fleas disappear into the depths of the water, tiny limbs outstretched (Leonardo di Caprio style - Titanic) fighting for life. Only to be beaten - by me! It's so satisfying!
The wee laddie will have a flea injection and I'll stock up on the mega-death spray.
Incidentally, my mother's called Bing.
Cheers!
The wee laddie will have a flea injection and I'll stock up on the mega-death spray.
Incidentally, my mother's called Bing.
Cheers!