What's the simplest way to deal with a cat flea problem?

[DodgerGirl]

We don't have mice in our house but we do get opossums and raccoons at night which tells me that might be where our cat is getting his fleas. But as I mentioned in my opening post Mom combs his fur with a flea comb but the problem spots where my cat gets fleas are his chin and belly and when we try to comb his belly he won't let us
Thanks for the helpful advice
Dodger

 

[BrianL]

We don't have mice in our house but we do get opossums and raccoons at night which tells me that might be where our cat is getting his fleas. But as I mentioned in my opening post Mom combs his fur with a flea comb but the problem spots where my cat gets fleas are his chin and belly and when we try to comb his belly he won't let us
Thanks for the helpful advice
Dodger

You will never get them all with a comb. Your act should get a topical flea medication as mentioned previously and you will have to treat the house. Yuo may not need to use a fogger or bomb, but definitley some spray and lots of vacuuming afterward.

 

[greeneyedchick]

Revolution+

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

Frontline seems to work for us.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I like the idea from @Dive Bar Casanova rolling cat in a towel with the treatment and carrying the cat around a while, I think the fleas can make a pet very sick so that would be sad.

We got them once from a pet friendly hotel and pretty much followed what @NotUrsula said, got the whole set of directions from the vet & they were right. Washing everything and vacuuming required patience and effort because moving things (books and cabinets to vacuum was a pain but the fleas hide in dark spots but we did it. We also changed to more easily washable bedding so I could wash every few days but it worked & was worth it.

The bug bomb worked well, we did one floor at a time to air out the treated floor 24 hours before going back to it. So we treated the main floor with all upstairs bedroom doors shut stayed out a few hours then returned opened the windows and stayed upstairs the day. The following day we did the upstairs (no bedding on beds for bomb put fresh clean on AFTER treatment the next day) stayed out of the bedrooms 24 hours then went back the next day. Basement was easy to avoid. If you have an attic that gets critters like racoons you might want to bug bomb up there and put the bomb up the same day you treat the upper floor.

The bug bombs are fairly inexpensive at Walmart.

 

[DodgerGirl]

Mom and I put our cat's new flea collar on him this week and he hasn't had a single flea on him but he still itches himself from time to time. So I think the new flea collar is working for my cat
Thanks to all of you for your advice
Dodger

 

[lilmc]

Go to your vet. Bravecto topical and vacuuming your house (do not forget under beds and under couches).

 

[Tinkerbell58]

Please go to a vet and have him treated properly. Your cat may be allergic to flea bites.

 

[mjkacmom]

Please take the cat to the vet, and I doubt a collar is going to remedy a flea infestation.

 

[LuvOrlando]

How is this going @DodgerGirl?

 

[BrianL]

If the flea collar works, then great, but please make sure to also rid the house of them or they will just come back. I still recommend the "Knock Out" spray, and vacuum, vacuum, vacuum! You have to remove all fleas and the eggs.

 

[cabanafrau]

Pets require treatment by a medical professional just like humans. It's not optional, it's a necessity, a basic standard of care.

If the bare minimum is the best we can expect, at least put a flea collar in your vacuum bag too.

 

[Cadiewampus]

I would get some Capstar. Its available over the counter at any pet superstore. It will start to kill the adult fleas on your cat in about 30 minutes. It does not do anything for the larve but you can use frontline or something similar. Then bomb or put flea powder out around the house if you have carpet. We used a product called FleaBuster RX. Got it on amazon I believe and it worked well for us

 

[Massachusetts]

We had a bad flea problem many years ago. 1 dog, 2 cats and a toddler in the house. We did frontline for the dog and for the cats. Then we sprinkled Diatomaceous Earth (non-toxic to humans) over the carpets and vacuumed thoroughly (2 treatments 8-10 days apart). We had to keep the dog and cats away from the toddler for a couple of weeks. Once things were under control we switched to a oral medication for the dog.

I use Diatomaceous Earth on my backyard chickens to this day.

 

[DodgerGirl]

My cat still has fleas and we still haven't solved the mystery of where these fleas are coming from in our house but it has caused my cat to have a personality change and odd behavior and any time my mom tries to pick my cat up to hold him he starts hissing and playing rough to the point where my mom gets bitten or scratched. Another thing my mom and I have looked into is that my cat might've gotten the fleas from his cat perch and I had Mom spray the area where the cat perch is which is the entrance hall of our house and that didn't work. We also think that Dad might've picked up fleas from going to the doctor in his special shuttle service because I do know that elderly people who ride those shuttles bring service dogs. But Mom is gonna get my cat flea drops and see if they can work. We also tried to inspect my cat and the only place he don't let us touch him is his belly because that's where my cat usually gets fleas but he is still itching and scratching himself like crazy

 

[LoveDaisy]

Please take your cat to the vet and follow their instructions. I’m not sure why you refuse to do this.

 

[BrianL]

My cat still has fleas and we still haven't solved the mystery of where these fleas are coming from in our house but it has caused my cat to have a personality change and odd behavior and any time my mom tries to pick my cat up to hold him he starts hissing and playing rough to the point where my mom gets bitten or scratched. Another thing my mom and I have looked into is that my cat might've gotten the fleas from his cat perch and I had Mom spray the area where the cat perch is which is the entrance hall of our house and that didn't work. We also think that Dad might've picked up fleas from going to the doctor in his special shuttle service because I do know that elderly people who ride those shuttles bring service dogs. But Mom is gonna get my cat flea drops and see if they can work. We also tried to inspect my cat and the only place he don't let us touch him is his belly because that's where my cat usually gets fleas but he is still itching and scratching himself like crazy

Dodger, please take this cat to the vet. They can take care of fleas easily. If nothing else has worked, please do so. If by "flea drops" you mean something like Frontline or Revolution, that should work, but you've also got to clean the house and try to kill all of the fleas and eggs. If you keep the drops on the cat (I think they are every three months) then it will help tremendously.

 

[mom2rtk]

Your cat still has fleas because buying an over the counter flea collar was never going to solve the problem. Many flea treatments aren't effective any more. Please go to your vet and see what they suggest. They will know what is working these days. The only to get rid of them now is to:

1) treat the cat with something the vet says is working

2) treat the entire house (not just the small area you think they are coming from. I promise you they are in the entire house.)

3) treat your yard (even if your cat doesn't go outside since the flea probably came in on one of you).

This will not resolve on its own. And your can can get worms from having fleas so ignoring it isn't just irritating, it's harmful to your cat.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

You want to hit everything at once. Put the flea drops on the cat (name brand like Frontline, Revolution, or Advantage - NOT Hartz, Biospot). The same day or the next day, hit the house. Vacuum literally everywhere, all the carpeting but also furniture and the cat perch. Wash the bedding on all the beds, blankets, etc. Basically anywhere the cat or people have been, the fleas have been and may have eggs.

If you don't treat the cat, it won't work. And if you don't vacuum all the eggs/fleas from the rest of the house, it won't work.

Make sure to get at least 2 doses for the cat, one for this month and one for next month. Even if he doesn't go outside, you want to make darn sure nothing reinfests next month.

 

[TippyThomas]

This is really starting to break my heart.