My cat has fleas...any help?

[BandGeek911]

My cat Tigger has fleas! I feel so bad because we cannot let him in any of our rooms at night because he'll want to sleep on the bed. He'll jump at the door knob and meow! He even holwed one night!

He's had fleas for quite a while now and this problem is new to us. We've tried a flea collar and a flea spray that kills the fleas, but when we comb him we still find fleas. I'm feeling really guilty right now because I just had to get him out of my room right now, that little sneak! Any suggestions that might help? Thanks!

 

[Pooh Girl 71]

My vet says to bathe them with regular Ivory soap and then use Frontline (which is expensive but worth every penny).

 

[FroggyinArk]

we use frontline from the vet. do not use hartz on the kitty. there are several posters here that can tell you the hotrror stories of hartz.

 

[ducklite]

I agree, talk to your vet and get either Frontline or Advantage. They really work and are safe for kitty!

Anne

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

We use advantage. Works like a charm. In fact we don't have to use it anymore. Never tried Frontline on them.

The Hartz stuff--just doesn't work. I just gave my brother some viles of advantage for his kitty b/c he was just giving her hartz and she was completely infested to no avail.

 

[PrincessKitty1]

Get some Program from your vet. It's a liquid medicine that you squeeze on your cat's food once a month. It works really well--we have a dog and a cat in Florida (fleas are our state animal! ) and have not had a single flea in a decade (had horrible flea problems before we started Program!).

 

[RobinMarie]

Def. Frontline!

 

[tiggersmom2]

we use frontline from the vet. do not use hartz on the kitty. there are several posters here that can tell you the hotrror stories of hartz.

We use Revolution on our kitties....very expensive but soooo worth it. I had one of my beloved, precious kitties die from Hartz and almost lost another one.

Here is my thread:
http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=906154&highlight=tiggersmom2

Also, DON'T fool around....get this taken care of NOW b/c WHEN the fleas get in your carpet (not IF because they WILL) it will be hell getting rid of them. I have been rid of the fleas for about 2 months now.....an exterminator had to come out 2 times and I had to wash everything washable umpteen million times!!!!

 

[RobinMarie]

I had a bad year once - kept bombing and treating animals - didn't realize I had a problem in the basement. Be sure and bomb your WHOLE house!

 

[escape]

Def. Frontline!

I use Frontline as well. Frontline Plus to be exact. It kills fleas, flea eggs, ticks and chewing lice (whatever that is).

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Advantage! Our vet doesn't use Frontline because of the cancer risk (I don't know much about this, just what the vet said). Our kittens came to us with fleas. They'd been treated with Frontline and Advantage (one had one, one the other), but it didn't kill the fleas. Once we were able to, we treated them both with Advantage and it worked like a charm. Treat all animals in the house.

We also combed them a couple times a day, killing the fleas when we found them, sprayed the room (when they were not in it!), and gave them in bath in baby shampoo (that was NOT fun). I also washed their bedding often (whenever I combed them). It's been about a month and a half and they still have one treatment left since we need to do it for 3 treatments, a month apart. Have not seen any fleas within 24 hours of the first Advantage treatment.

And yes, don't use Hartz flea dip or any other products of theirs!

 

[jwfla422]

Another vote for Advantage or Revolution. The best flea fighter invented. Ever since we've used these products on our cats, never saw another flea!! I agree though if they've been around a while you'll definitely want to treat your carpets and upholstered furniture. I'd set some bombs off on the carpet and apply a flea powder in the wells of the furniture. Make sure to take the kitty in a different room and treat him with the Advantage or Revolution. Try to keep him in a room without carpet, bedding, etc for a day or 2 after. Should clear up pretty quickly afterwards.

Princesskitty1, LOL, the flea is FL's state animal!! Yes, I've heard that as well. As soon as I moved back to FL years ago with my kitty then, I had the carpet in my apt treated with something called Pestex, they call it Fleabusters now. It's a white powder they rub into the carpet (mainly made of Borax powder).

Ironically I was moving from GA and there I did have a flea problem, but not in FL. I had visited my brother in GA this past summer and they had a major flea problem in their basement (they have 2 cats)!! But, not us in FL. However most of our home is tiled now and the cats are treated with the Revolution. And, my brother's cats now are on the Revolution regimen.

 

[chell]

Please get a treatment from your vet, not the store. Good luck getting rid of the fleas quickly.

When I got Galaxy he had fleas and I was able to give him a bath in a flea shampoo that took care of all of them. I was shocked that it worked so well because usually they don't.

 

[Steffi]

Definitely get a flea treatment from your vet; the OTC stuff is just too risky. We use Frontline Plus and it works great for the cats and the dog!

Oh, and if the fleas do get in your carpet, the best way to get rid of them is to sprinkle 20 Mule Team Borax all over. That will kill the live fleas as well as dry up their eggs, so you don't have fight the hatching & re-hatching battle that makes getting rid of fleas so difficult.

 

[PrincessKitty1]

Another vote for Advantage or Revolution. The best flea fighter invented. Ever since we've used these products on our cats, never saw another flea!! I agree though if they've been around a while you'll definitely want to treat your carpets and upholstered furniture. I'd set some bombs off on the carpet and apply a flea powder in the wells of the furniture. Make sure to take the kitty in a different room and treat him with the Advantage or Revolution. Try to keep him in a room without carpet, bedding, etc for a day or 2 after. Should clear up pretty quickly afterwards.

Princesskitty1, LOL, the flea is FL's state animal!! Yes, I've heard that as well. As soon as I moved back to FL years ago with my kitty then, I had the carpet in my apt treated with something called Pestex, they call it Fleabusters now. It's a white powder they rub into the carpet (mainly made of Borax powder).

Ironically I was moving from GA and there I did have a flea problem, but not in FL. I had visited my brother in GA this past summer and they had a major flea problem in their basement (they have 2 cats)!! But, not us in FL. However most of our home is tiled now and the cats are treated with the Revolution. And, my brother's cats now are on the Revolution regimen.

Good point about the carpets--we also had our carpets treated using the Fleabuster's stuff, plus we sprayed our yard.

Advantage didn't work for us. At the time of our "flea explosion," we had two dogs and a cat, and the infestation was unbelievable. Program kills off all the preadult fleas, so the combination of carpet treatment, spraying the yard, and using Program got rid of all the fleas within a couple of months.

Borax IS poisonous so you have to be careful--you don't want your pets or your kids eating it.

Gotta chime in about over-the-counter flea products--I have a friend who also lost a cat to Hartz products. I would not use any over-the-counter products on a cat. Definitely bring your cat to the vet and get a prescription product.

 

[ducklite]

I wouldn't wait to get treatment, left unchecked fleas can cause anemia that can eventually prove fatal...

Anne