Kitty help needed, Pretty Please.

[Lucky1307]

We love our cats and kittens but we are having a horrible time with fleas. We do treat them(except the 3 newest because no one how old and the vet said to give them another month before starting a treatment) with Frontline. Everything has been fine until this month and the Frontline did not work. The vet wants me to try again and I'm thinking that is silly because it's $100 a month to treat them all and this month was a waste of that money.(I don't mind spending $ to keep my pets healthy, I just don't like to waste money.) Plus does anyone know where I can get a flea comb. Any advice on what to do would be more than helpful.

1) I have put flea collars on the bigger kittens and cats
2) I give the kittens Dawn baths and hand remove the fleas
3) I treated the yard and their main "living" area with flea control
4) I treated the house because although they are outdoor pets those kittens can beat me in the house

[mandi0808]

Ask your vet for capstar pills for all of the cats, including the kittens.
Give everyone a pill a day for three days.**
Purchase some boric acid and sprinkle it in your carpets and then vacuum it up.
Treat your yard with a liquid spray like Diazanon or Triazacide.
Frontline all of the older cats.
Flea comb them all.
In a few days your should see a reduction of fleas.

**If you have a feed and seed store check and see if they carry capstar, as it may be cheaper there. I know it is at mine here.

[Rene S]

IMO, I would remove the flea collars. They are full of toxic chemicals and aren't healthy for cats/kittens. I agree with Amanda in saying to ask for the Capstar. I have heard stories where fleas in some areas have built an immunity against some topicals.

If you do want to try topical, use Advantage or another brand from the vet. Do NOT, however, buy Hartz or an OTC topical. There have been many cases of those killing cats!

Vacuum daily and throw out the bag/wash the dust container with hot soapy water. Bleach and wash their bedding (and yours) in HOT water. Repeat, repeat.

[couponlady]

My vet has suggested that we split 1 tube of the Frontline between all of our 4 cats. It has been a great $ saver and we don't have any problems w/fleas. I probably wouldn't try it while you are having a huge problem but keep it in mind for later.

[ASweetHeart]

Last summer I got a spray version of the frontline. I believe it was a little over $20, and I used it several times on our 3 and still have some left.

It seemed better than the other version of frontline, too IMO

[choka162]

The problem with frontline is that it works great until you get the fleas in your carpet and the eggs. Then the fleas just jump on and off. If you're having a serious problem with them, I would just go ahead and fog the house. Do that and the capstar and you should see a serious reduction in fleas.

agree about the flea collars though they aren't worth the money or the risk! Actually a lot of times the fleas will just move to the tail end of the cat but they won't actually go anywhere.

I have a bunch of cats and have found the spray frontline to be a much better deal. It runs about $40 but it lasts forever! The only problem is how much the cats hate it^_^ I think it offends their dignity lol.

[Rene S]

My vet has suggested that we split 1 tube of the Frontline between all of our 4 cats. It has been a great $ saver and we don't have any problems w/fleas. I probably wouldn't try it while you are having a huge problem but keep it in mind for later.

Yes, you can buy the large dog version and Google the amount for cats and split it up. Just make sure to look up the amount so you don't give too much.

[Penelope06]

I don't have any experience with getting rid of fleas that are already established in your house, but here are the things I do know:

Definitely get rid of the flea collars, they don't work well and are hazardous to your cat's health. Seconding the capstar. Do NOT under any circumstances buy a dog version (of any size) and put it on your cats, even if it's a smaller amount. There's a reason vet's are supposed to tell clients to keep cats away from dogs for at least 24 hours after having a topical flea medication put on them. Cat's are far more sensitive and many everyday things are toxic to them.

You could try revolution, but you have to get rid of the fleas in your house too. If there's fleas hiding anywhere, they'll just jump back onto your cats.

[faeryedark]

I used Diatomatious Earth (sp?) rub it on them and sprinkle in carpets it's natural and they can lick it without problems.

[Penelope06]

I've heard DE is very very effective against fleas. My vet also recommends sprinkling it around the perimeter of your yard to keep fleas away.

[clhsd]

When my 2 dogs had a flea problem, Capstar was our miracle worker! I battled the fleas for 3 months and then one day a vet tech asked if I had tried Capstar and when I said no, she gave me some. It was super cheap, only a few dollars for the pills (each dog was given one) and within days our flea problem was history. I also used the diatomatious earth. I was able to purchase a huge box from a hardware store, it was with the pool supplies. I guess it can be used to clean filters or something like that in pools. The box was maybe $30 but it was way more than I could ever use. I sprinkled it around the perimeter of the house, around the baseboards of every room the dogs were in and in the yard. It's hard to treat the entire environment but you really have to. Good luck and hang in there!

[Lucky1307]

Thank you all for the suggestions. I have removed all the collars and called the vet.(They weren't happy that I took the collars off so I am thinking maybe I need to find a new vet). I think we are going to bomb the house again(we did it when we first bought it because the previous owner had indoor dogs). We have sprayed the yard again and I've done another deep clean of the carpets. The 3 smallest kittens are much better~I only found 2 on the worst one yesterday!

[flemishe]

I would also concur about the collars. Useless for fleas and hazardous to the cat. Looks like you've already figured that out though. :)

[thriftycj]

my vet recommended using a combination of capstar and advantage. Capstar will kill all of the fleas on your cats when it is given. Frontline then keeps future fleas from biting by killing flea eggs and larvae before they mature, so you decrease the infestation.

I once got a HORRIBLE flea infestation in my apartment from the neighbors. Takes medication and constant vacuuming and cleaning of linens.

Good luck!

[mxmom99]

wow, in all the years i have had pets i have never heard of DE! thank you all who mentioned it, i have a bag on order from my AG center!!

[ch1701]

I totally agree with the DE - it is wonderful - it will kill scorpions and other bugs too!! just be very careful when putting it out. I recommend a face mask so you don't breathe in the dust. I have used the frontline spray on the outside cats and it works great. Good Luck!

[Lucky1307]

Smallest kitten had to go to the vet~he had a grub. Anyway after a long talk with her I bought a spray bottle of Frontline. No more problem! I am still looking for the DE, local farm store is checking into for me. Again thanks all for the suggestions from me and my kittys!

[Whispered]

hi , there were some good suggestions. Frontline or Revolution (is even better imo, it treats other mites).
Vacuum, vacuum and more vacuum.

Also, you can add some Brewers Yeast , to their food, just sprinkle a little bit, a dab on first.. takes awhile to build up.. some cats love it, others don/t.. lol.. (the cats develop an odor,on their skin that flea's don't like)
Humans don't notice it.

Do NOT use any kind of carpet powder, or Frebreeze, thats like poison.

The MAIN THings, tho, is you're always going to have fleas, as long as the cats are outside cats.
SAVE your kitties and KEEP THEM INSIDE!!

Cats are sooo much safer indoors!! I can not stress that enough, esp after volunteering ,in an animal shelter, where I worked w/ cats.
Outside cats have a lifespan of 3-5 yrs.
Indoor cats 15 yrs and often to 18 and older!!

There are soo many, extremely painful ways, for cats to die outside and a lot of sick people out there.
An inside life, can still be very fulfilling for your cats!:biggrin:

I've had feral cats and they've all adapted.. so i ask you, to please consider that too.

Good Luck! and neuter!! :smile:

[ldyb72]

I just wanted to add something that is important to know if you are using Diatomatious Earth. DO NOT use the one that is for pools or pool filters etc.. that one is toxic! it is chemically treated and heated which makes it toxic.. You must use only the food grade pure kind..
I have been doing alot of research on DE in the past few weeks and that is the warning that I have gotten from everyone.
I am going to pick up a bag tomorrow at the feed grain store. The food grade one can also be sprinkled on pets food to get rid of intestinal parasites and be rubbed right into their fur.. if you use it outside they say that you need to put more out as it rains because it will wash away.

[olla86]

We have the same problem! Thank everybody for the advices!:thanks7:

[gngcrzy4u2]

We use Revolution. IT works great and we have no problems. After our first and only flea problems we did the Boric Acid in carpets where we could, but when we had a new baby we just bombed the house with special bombs that killed fleas, and then did it again 2 weeks later in case the eggs had hatched. Havent had any fleas since. (also treated the yard). Also, there is this organic cat flea stuff that is pretty much just rosemary & some other spices that fleas dont like. I sprinkle that all over the outside of my house door frames & windows to keep the fleas away from the doors.

[hollielynn]

I have three kitties.

I get large dog Advantage (has to be Advantage, not plus or Advantix). The tube should be 4.0 mL. Some vets will not sell it to you if you tell them it's for cats. Actually, most won't. Why? Because they don't want you to dump the whole thing on an 8 lb cat, because they'd die. The secondary motivation is they want you to buy 10 tubes at $14 each instead of one at $14 that does the same job. The emergency clinic in town thinks I have a Standard Poodle named the Princess Georgina. I hate lying, but if it's what I have to do to keep fleas off my babies, then so be it.

Cat dose is 0.4ML (yes ten doses from one tube! woot!). I use a syringe given to me by the vet to measure it out.

This is the only thing that has worked on these fleas. Frontline, Revolution, Advantage for cats were all a no go.

Hope that is helpful!

[StifflersMom]

i have skipped through......

i must attest to hartz products killing cats....I wont admit it to my son...he sprayed the cat with the flea killer for cats, the kitty started foaming at the mouth and ultimately died.....this was a formula for cats.....but my cat died....

[Doglover8180]

Capstar is the best invention ever!!! About 30 minutes after you give them the pill, you see the fleas start dying :) It's wonderful and the pills are cheap!