Best Way to Get Rid of Fleas?

[ChonairJazz]

Sigh. Here we go again...

He has been scratching and nibbling over the last few days so we had our suspicions but hadn't seen any actual fleas.

We have a prescription flea treatment we put on him once a month but I think they are in the house again as I have twice in the last few days found them on my feet. We only "spotted" him three weeks ago, so they must be in the house and have jumped straight back on. I comb him every couple of days just in case and had seen nothing, but then today found two on him.

We have stuff everywhere at the moment as we were using lockdown to get on top of sorting through stuff, and the in-laws have the carpet steamer. My dad in law has suggested diatomaceous earth but I have no idea what to do with it. Is it safe? Are there any long lasting flea sprays for the house that we can stave them off with until I can lug all the stuff up into the attic out of the way, and get the steamer back in a couple of days?

[Mollycat]

The flea's life cycle means that only a small fraction of the total fleas are actually on the cat, the rest are in carpets, pet bedding, and soft furnishings. Eggs can lie dormant for months and are activated to hatch by movement. So vacuuming not only physically hoovers them up it also makes them hatch and then hoovers them up, so if your "stuff everywhere" is anything like mine that means you can't vacuum daily and you need to. Any removable cushion covers need to go in the wash as well, blankets, everything. We bought some stuff from the vets for the house, a very tall spray can, after my old cat died and we were "between cats" for a few months, during which we had a massive infestation. One can was enough to do a 3 bedroom house and one treatment sorted it out. Maybe what you're using on the cat is something the fleas have become immune to?

[fjm]

I would be wary of diatomaceous earth - it played merry hell with my sister's vacuum cleaner. Is the prescription treatment one that breaks the fleas breeding cycle? If so, keeping it up for a few months while washing/vacuuming frequently should eventually get rid of them, but it may be worth talking to your vet about a change of medication - fipronil is still widely used, but fleas are increasingly resistant to it. I like to comb as well, just to know I am reducing the numbers!

[ChonairJazz]

Thank you both for your responses!

Fjm, thanks for the heads up, I will avoid diatomaceous earth then! We're using dronspot for worms and frontline spot on for fleas, I think it is supposed to break the cycle, but we were late sorting him last month (maybe that's why!).

He definitely has something going on, as we've now noticed he's dropping again what we think are eggs where he lies (small round white dots?) and also small black particles of dirt that I've read might be droppings. I'm vacuuming the area around where he spends most time every day, just until we can go through our stuff and get it sorted and put away. Once the floor is clear and I've managed to launder or treat all soft furnishings, I'll break out the big guns (carpet steamer never failed before!) for the floor and mattress. Hopefully then as long as we vacuum regularly that'll be the end of it. We've recently brought him inside (he was previously indoor-outdoor as the road has got much busier and will most likely get worse) so we think these were dormant from before then, and hopefully (unless we have to let him out again) we shouldn't have to go through this malarkey anywhere near as often.

Mollycat, yeah we have real trouble staying on top of the vacuuming, I try and do it every couple of days but it can be longer sometimes. Where did you get your flea spray? Is it safe to use with a cat in the house? Sounds ideal! The only long working one we can find is one with permithrin in it, so obviously that's a no go! I'm flea combing him twice a day (dipping the comb in boiling water, then cold water between each go through just to kill anything it catches) so hopefully that'll reduce the load on him and make it more bearable until we can nuke them for good. We also have an electric comb which zaps them on contact which I use if I'm just combing and not checking.

Is there anything I can give him for the time being to help with any itching or should that calm down as long as we keep him combed? I've got a calming collar to put on to hopefully help him feel more relaxed. I heard that you can also put a whole bunch of flea powder in the vacuum and shake the bag about to hopefully kill anything that is vacuumed up. Might be worth a try.

Thanks again both.

[fjm]

Frontline is losing effectiveness in many areas of the country. Frontline Plus is the one that also incapacitates the eggs and stops them hatching, but I would try Advantage - I had a major infestation after relying on even Frontline Plus. You will need to get it from your vet, or at least get a prescription. The non-prescription treatments are of little use, and some (those containing permethrin, for example) can be downright dangerous.

[mustafa811]

revolution is very good and effective for my cat .

used in a monthly manner as long as there is a source of fleas .

[ChonairJazz]

Thanks Fjm, that's worth knowing! We have a monthly prescription of Frontline, so I might consider switching to plus then in that case. Can you get Advantage on a monthly prescription? It's really handy it being delivered to me! I have a terrible memory and I can really easily forget stuff like flea treatments, so them being delivered to me is handy as it means I don't have to remember to go and get it!

Yeah I made the mistake of using an OTC one once, I didn't know any better, and oh good LORD. It sorted the fleas out, sure, they were visibly jumping off of him as fast as they could (!), but he had a really bad reaction to it. I nearly called the vet, he went hyper and was howling and scratching all over, and even though it passed after fifteen minutes, it was clear he was utterly miserable for the entire of that time. I felt so awful about it. Lesson definitely learned, never getting anything over the counter again!

Hi Mustafa! Thanks! What is Revolution? I've not heard of that. Whereabouts can I get it? If we continue having no luck with frontline I might have to give that one a shot! His Frontline isn't due for another week or so yet, and I didn't want to accidentally overdose him. I'll keep my eyes peeled for that one though!

Thanks again all!

[mustafa811]

revolution is a topical medication for pets that can eliminate fleas .

my cat tried other brands before and flea collars with no success .

that was the safest among them and it was pretty effective too .

i guess it is called selamectin and is made by a us company called zoetis .

i didn't try frontline before but the thing with pets is once you find a good product you don't search for more , so if frontline is working good with no side effects stick to it , if not try revolution .

[papa cat]

Revolution doesn't appear to be available in the UK

[CatMom7]

Don’t swear off diatomaceous earth!!! That stuff worked miracles for me with my senior cat. Let’s face it any spot treatment is poison. There are warnings on the boxes in regards to old or immune compromised cats for this reason. When my baby got old he had a very sensitive digestive system and the spots treatments were simply not an option. I took a plastic ziplock bag and put some diatomaceous earth in it and cut off the corner in order to apply it to him. I put a lot at the base of hit tail and used it in several other spots as well before rubbing it in. It is drying to the skin and dusty. Cats with respiratory issues might not be good candidates. I also vacuumed every other day to every three days focusing on the places he spent most of his time. Flees are drawn to the vibration of the vacuum which helps. I also vacuumed up a bit of diatomaceous earth so once they entered the vacuum they could not survive in it.

Diatomaceous earth is safe and non toxic, but you do need to make sure you get the food grade. I got a bag that was designed to go in feed for farm animals. I could not have gotten rid of flees on my last cat without this stuff!

Any of the spot treatments do need to be used for three months to get rid of them.

[Mollycat]

It's not recommended to be applied directly to pets, let's not rush to try this miracle cure

[voliviavv24]

u can used in a monthly manner

[Epsom-cat-lady]

Great old fashioned way to see how much of a issue fleas are & help get rid is a large plate with very thick washing up liquid & a lamp somewhere your cat won’t get to it but the fleas can.
The heat & light attracts them & they drown in the thick liquid - something satisfying about seeing them trapped in the plate.
Helps you see how bad the problem is - the size of them.
Cheap & easy to do