Kitten= fleas!! Sergeant's brand failed! HELP!!

[ThunderMTexpert]

My kitten, 12 weeks, has fleas! It is a pain in the tail to try to ride the house of fleas! Thankfully, I have concrete floors, so I'm not owrried about anything but the living room sofas. ((He is not allowed in the bedrooms for scratching reasons.))

WHAT TO DO? I used a squeeze on product (Sergeant's Gold) yesterday. He promptly scratched his neck, where is was squeezed, and then licked his paws! After calling the pison control number on the back and learning that he would be fine, later that night, I bathed him because ALL HE DOES it scratch. He doesn't even play anymore.

I used Gerber Grins & Giggles for the bath, because I knew if it would be gentle enough for babies, he'd be okay. WELL.

It. did. nothing. All I saw were the fleas on his skin when the fur was wet. The veterinarian that we went to see today ((for his shots)) said that since I used Segeant's YESTERDAY that I wouldn't be able to use anything else for another THREE WEEKS!

WHAT DO I DO in the mean time? I cannot wait three weeks to rid my home of fleas. The thought is just disgusting! what shampoo is safe for KITTENS/CATS that can be used RIGHT NOW?! I am desperate!!

**Calling all DIS-ers help!

 

[Youarehere]

The vet didn't tell you what to do? I would call the vet and ask him/her. And in the future use the good flea stuff like Revolution or Front Line.

Did the vet give him a shot for his skin irritation?

 

[ThunderMTexpert]

No shot for the skin irritation, no.. But, I'm pretty sure that-without thinking- I poured the "dose" onto his FUR, not SKIN. So, if I bathed him that night.. most of it came off, right? I don't see why i would have to wait THREE weeks to put on the "Advantage" that the vet recommended. It just is torture waiting that long. Meanwhile, Pickles ((my kitty)) is sitting here scratching his head off, and I feel so badly for the little guy

Does anyone know anything about flea bombs for the house? If I used a bath on HIM, and bombs for the HOUSE, do you think that would do it??

 

[themarquis]

I don't know what that Seargent's gold stuff is, but is it one of the kinds you buy at the store (not a vet prescription product?)

If so, it is not generally recommended. Not only do those types of flea medicines not work but they can also be dangerous to pets. The good stuff is a vet prescription product like advantage or revolution (I think there are other brands, as well). They are more expensive but really really work.

If the vet said you can't use a flea product for several weeks, did he/she mean ANY flea product or just more of the Sargent's (or other types like it)? To my knowledge, something like advantage is made of totally different stuff than something like sargent's, which would mean that you may be able to go ahead and start using advantage right away. Maybe you should clarify this with the vet.

If you absolutely cannot use another product on the cat, I would recommend using a flea bomb or some other products (carpet spray, etc.) on your house (move the kitten elsewhere temporarily while you do that).

To at least remove some of the fleas on the kitten without using a pesticide product, you can pick through his/her fur and manually (or with a flea comb) remove any fleas you see (drop them into a bowl filled with rubbing alcohol so that they die instantly). Do this daily for a while and you will at least cut down on the problem a bit till you can use a good product.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Kittens are very susceptible to poisoning by flea products. Be very careful.

 

[DznyLvr2005]

Frontline or advantix.. these seem to be the only products that work.. Maybe that's why they are so expensive!
ETA: I just went on the frontline website... You can use the products in Kittens 8 weeks and older.

 

[Youarehere]

The flea stuff can cause nerve damage if overdosed. I wouldn't do it if the vet said not to. If his skin is really irritated they should be able to give him a shot for it. I would def call the vet and ask before using a flea bath, but that might be the answer for now. I can't believe they didn't give you any advice before you left.

ETA: http://www.stopthefleas.com/fleas-on-pets.html

 

[Cindyluwho]

Flea comb. It's probably your only option at this point or the vet would have told you otherwise. Flea baths, flea shampoos, dips, etc all contain pesticides and after your initial treatment could cause serious problems or even death of your kitty. I'm sorry for you and your little kitty, but in a month this will all be forgotten!!

 

[tonilea]

Frontline (if it goes outside) or Advantage (house cat only), plus a CapStar. CapStar starts killing the fleas in minutes (if it lasted longer, it would be (IMO) the perfect flea product), but only lasts for about 24 hours. This allows the Frontline or Advantage time to go to work.

Treat your home - even the rooms the kitten is not allowed in, fleas don't know they aren't allowed in those rooms. Be sure you vacuum first, dispose of the bag, then spray with a product that contains an "insect growth regulator". Repeat in three weeks!

 

[ORMom2Four]

We had a Persian cat who got really bad fleas once. Frontline worked GREAT on her. I highly recommend it.

 

[tazdev3225]

I had kittens with fleas a couple of years ago. They came in with a stray. I used a baby shampoo as they were too young for flea treatments. Put a generous amount of the shampoo on them and rub it all over, and keep it on for 15 or 20 minutes. You then need a flea comb to get the fleas off of the kitten. I used a good spray on a paper towel to wipe them off of the comb. Then finish waqshing the kitten. It won't kill them all but it really was helpful in ridding the kittens of about 95% until they were old enough for regular flea treatments. It smothers a good deal of them and is gentle enough to do repeatedly.

 

[maroney495]

I was told to bath kittens in Dawn dish washing liquid(only the orginal formula) until they were old enough to put on flea treatments. This should work until you can apply the next treatment.

 

[bballmom56]

I went through this last fall - 3 cats and 1 large dog!

Definitely consult your vet since your kitten is young. You are right to be concerned about already using some of the Sergeant's Gold.

I had used the stripe-on products bought in the grocery store with great success until last fall. Our vet said the fleas had been very tough and were becoming resistant to many of those products as well as the Frontline and better varieties. I read reviews online about all the different kinds and decided to try Advantage. My cats are inside/outside and it worked like a charrm for us! The only problem was it didn't kill ticks on cats. But that was not my biggest problem right then, it was the fleas.

I bombed the house at least 3 times, sprayed the rugs several times, washed bedding constantly and once the Advantage kicked in we finally got relief. The vet had also given us the Capstar, too.

Good luck - fleas are awful!

 

[DarthKTrava]

I've used Frontline on my cats with great results. Now I just have to wait for it to be dry outside (as my cats are indoor/outdoor cats) to apply it to them.

 

[lisajl]

Be careful with OTC flea treatments. We had a cat come in the clinic last week whose owner put Hartz dog flea stuff on her. She almost died.

My vet, that I work for, has told people you can use Advantage or Frontline (after Sargents)since it is a DIFFERENT product than the Sargents.
Plus, you have probably washed most of it off your kitten.

I also rec. using Dawn dishwashing soap. You know, the plain blue stuff, no bleach, etc.
It kills fleas...really!

 

[KimD]

Dawn & a good flea comb (get a metal one...they work MUCH better!)

This works so well. It gets so many off and helps so much. Our poor little kitty Scotter was abandoned by his momma at 4 weeks so he was filthy when we found him and FULL of fleas. Nice warm giant bowl, some Dawn and a good flea comb. He almost fell asleep while I was bathing him. It was SO GROSS to see just how many fleas were at the bottom of that bowl the first two times I did this. After it was onesie twosies till he was old enough to treat. He's 4 years old now!

 

[ThunderMTexpert]

i have read online what-to-do if..? He scratched his neck & then licked his paw. some of the medication must have gotten in his mouth because he started mewing and pacing & spitting-- all normal side effects-- i called the 1-800 # on the box & the online "manuel"

will he really be okay??

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

I have also heard of a cat dying from the OTC form of "Frontline"-the little tube of stuff you squeeze on.

 

[Sleepy]

Buy the black bottle of Tressemme human shampoo. It kills fleas on contact. We found this out by luck. We ran out of the animal shampoo and grabbed ours to finish the bath. The fleas just washed off dead. Been using it since. We alwasy finish with a repeat wash of animal shampoo.