Topic: Fleas, fleas everywhere! What on earth to do? (Read 13472 times)

CatGirl · « **Reply #48 on:** June 02, 2013, 00:19:30 AM »

I remember getting a couple of smoke bombs for a friend of mine last year,she was really fed up with scratching and had to go to work in dark tights,to try to cover up the marks.She said the bomb(only used 1)+the sprays she used,did the job.I'm sure she's not going to let that happen again!she regularly treats her cat now.

Lyn (Slugsta) · « **Reply #47 on:** June 01, 2013, 17:54:53 PM »

Fingers crossed that you have seen the last of the little

Hightime · « **Reply #46 on:** May 31, 2013, 21:02:32 PM »

Thank you for your comments Jules and Slugsta. I hadn't heard of Acclaim before you mentioned it Jules, I went with Indorex, it's reviews were excellent and it's worked a treat.

It's been a week since I sprayed the house with three cans of Indorex, and my word, what a beauty it is. It seems to have destroyed any trace of those wretched [insert desired expletive here], the cats seem and even feel cleaner, as does the house. I looked at the bed-sheets, sofas etc., wherever the cats sit and I haven't found anything.

So I'm hoping they're gone. I'm going to keep up the monthly Frontline dose and have two backup cans of Indorex ready.

Lyn (Slugsta) · « **Reply #45 on:** May 27, 2013, 15:29:47 PM »

The worst infestation I have experienced was when we were living at my boss's house to look after the cats, hamster and bunny while they were away. We got badly infested with, what we later found out were, hedgehog fleas. I was a few weeks pregnant and my stomach was rather sensitive, so seeing fleas crawling over me and the carpet hopping was really not ideal!

Jules5645 · « **Reply #44 on:** May 27, 2013, 00:31:32 AM »

Hi. I have been reading all of the posts today with interest (sorry this is a bit late after all the brilliant advice you've had) but thought I would let you know my story to hopefully show there is light at the end of the tunnel!

I got my first ever kitten just under two years ago and as a 'newbie' had absolutely no idea about fleas. As a result I was totally oblivious to the fact that Charlie arrived with fleas and did not spot the signs. He was 10 weeks old and after about three weeks he got really aggressive and was clearly not happy. It was then that I noticed something 'swimming' through his fur and called in a friend who has a lot of cat experience. She gave him his first dose of frontline and two hours later VERY large fleas were literally jumping off him and dying. Charlie was instantly a lot happier but the damage was already done and unknown to me my house was already infested.

I spent a day washing every soft furnishing that could be removed, I moved furniture including wardrobes so that I could literally hoover everywhere and then used Acclaim flea spray that I got from the vets but have since kept a stock from amazon.

After a couple of weeks of no activity I started to relax only for one evening to pick up my glass of wine and find a flea enjoying my Pinot. On staring intently at the floor I then saw one or two others leaping about and realised that despite my best efforts I still had the problem.

Another day of cleaning and spraying followed and thankfully that seemed to do the trick.

Since that horrible introduction I have had one occasion when I have seen a flea on Charlie and following a recommendation I gave him a Capstar tablet which can be taken even if frontline has been used as (i think) it is designed to just kill any that are currently on him. I then sprayed the house again using Acclaim and the problem was quickly resolved.

I honestly thought I was never going to get rid of the problem and it spoilt my enjoyment of charlie initially because i was constantly on alert for movement, however, that last occasion was over 14 months ago. I am now obsessive about putting frontline on every four weeks and I have always got a stock of in date Capstar and Acclaim for emergencies. It may take you a while because your problem sounds as bad as mine was but keep the faith because it does work and once you are on top of it there shouldn't be a reoccurrence

GOOD LUCK

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #43 on:** May 26, 2013, 22:35:40 PM »

Hightime · « **Reply #42 on:** May 26, 2013, 20:22:53 PM »

There'd be no room left for my cats, and I can't have that! Lol. Can't live without my cats.

Tigerlily (Allison) · « **Reply #41 on:** May 24, 2013, 08:29:14 AM »

Make that three

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #40 on:** May 23, 2013, 19:58:56 PM »

Quote from: DottyyBB on May 23, 2013, 19:17:06 PM

Sounds good to me...better than 10 degrees.......Fancy a lodger....

Or two

DottyyBB · « **Reply #39 on:** May 23, 2013, 19:17:06 PM »

Sounds good to me...better than 10 degrees.......Fancy a lodger....

Hightime · « **Reply #38 on:** May 23, 2013, 18:51:55 PM »

There's air conditioning everywhere so it's not too bad in that sense. The problem I face now every time I go back home to the UK is that I get really bad eczema which doesn't even go away properly with the medicine I put on it, and then as soon as I land back here, I mean as soon as the plane door opens and I step outside into the heat I can feel my skin totally feeling relaxed and then within a few weeks, all of the eczema is gone without the use of any medicine, ointment whatsoever.

By the way, I did end up buying this comb: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0002RJMAK/ref=pe_217191_31005151_3p_M3T1_dp_1 which my friend brought over for me with the Indorex spray, and let me tell you that it's excellent. It really gets those [expletive] fleas out of them thoroughly.

Something strange going on with the price though, when I ordered it, which was about 12 days ago I bought it for £3.30, now it's listed for £17.63?! Hmm.

Stuart · « **Reply #37 on:** May 23, 2013, 18:41:03 PM »

43 degrees

wayyyy to hot for me

Stuart · « **Reply #36 on:** May 23, 2013, 18:38:59 PM »

wished I had seen this post earlier, with two infestations under my belt, I'm a bit of an expert now

Yeah everyone has given you excellent advice

here's some of my tip's, short and straight to the point
above all, the fleas live in dark warm areas, bedding, skirting boards, under furniture etc
You treat Kitty with Frontline and don't wash em
the next thing to get treated is the house, spray in all areas concentrating on the dark warm areas mentioned above
then leave for a few hours then get the hoover going.......... also wash kitty's bedding and if kitty sleeps on your bed, wash the blankets too,

after that you should flea free and happy again

worst one I had was after I had a shower, I had to take about 20 steps to get a towel, I was attacked in the process

in the seconds it had taken me to walk that distance, I ended up picking 26 fleas off my legs

glad to say since then I have never had a recurrence " touch wood "

hth

Hightime · « **Reply #35 on:** May 23, 2013, 18:37:47 PM »

Hot climate and then some, it was 43 degrees Celsius today! I vacuumed the house thoroughly yesterday and will do so again in a day or two.

Lyn (Slugsta) · « **Reply #34 on:** May 23, 2013, 17:48:05 PM »

Yuk! I can understand your revulsion and it must have been even worse in a hot climate.

One thing to add, on top of the excellent advice you have been given, it to continue to vacuum thoroughly and throw the bag away, or empty the cylinder, so that any live fleas that might be hoovered up are well out of the house.

I do hope that you get on top of this once and for all and can enjoy your kitties again.

Hightime · « **Reply #33 on:** May 23, 2013, 17:26:21 PM »

Lol I understand what you mean about not having to use so much, I'll try to hold back! One room left to go but I'll be doing that after a few hours or even tomorrow because I have to move my lovelies to one of the rooms that has just been sprayed so I can do this one.

Thanks Gill and everyone else for your excellent advice.

Hightime · « **Reply #32 on:** May 23, 2013, 17:22:50 PM »

Thanks. It's truly dreadful. Just finished the second bedroom. I bet I'll end up using all five cans lol. But I'll make sure I order a restock straight away. Realised now that I can't have cats and not have a backup stock of both Frontline and Indorex spray. That is advice that new owners should be given straight away I think.

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #31 on:** May 23, 2013, 17:22:00 PM »

You should not need to use that much its powerful and does a great job

I had an infection of these when I was in London and new to cat ownership, the cat was covered but took me ages to realize

Poor little devil was sprayed at the vets and he gave me Indorex for the house and voila

Like many first time owners who aquired a stray I tried many supermarket products and luckily because about 18 years ago was before they had come in the form of spot ons!

Later it was found that Kocka had a flea allergy and we moved from vet bought spot on to spot on and eventually found one where the fleas didnt have to bite for it to work..........total relief for both of us and fleas were gone for ever

DottyyBB · « **Reply #30 on:** May 23, 2013, 17:19:00 PM »

So glad that the problem is clearing up, I bet you all feel so much better. Fleas are the most awful of things and they can have a serious effect on your cats health if left untreated. My Dotty has long hair and I dread her getting them but have my stock of treatment so it should not be a problem if she does. She is an indoor cat anyway so her exposure is limited.

Hightime · « **Reply #29 on:** May 23, 2013, 16:56:20 PM »

Yup, I read the directions on the can. I just finished one bedroom and the only thing I can see myself doing is using a lot more spray than was said on the can. I ordered five cans so I think I'm going to end up using about 3-4, so I'll still have one can left at the end. I want to obliterate these disgusting things. Boy do I abhor fleas.

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #28 on:** May 23, 2013, 16:51:48 PM »

That sounds great and Indorex is great as long as you follow the instructions on the can

Hightime · « **Reply #27 on:** May 23, 2013, 16:31:46 PM »

Sorry for not replying earlier. I'm sticking to the Frontline.

I didn't try the salt remedy Dotty. Last week I gave the cats the second month's dose of Frontline and made sure I got it as close to the skin as possible, it seems to have worked very well.

And even better than that is the fact that my Indorex spray has finally arrived! I'm going to start spraying as soon as I've posted this message.

DottyyBB · « **Reply #26 on:** May 01, 2013, 16:06:46 PM »

Hightime, be very very careful what you mix flea treatment wise as they can cause a very serious reaction as the pesticide which is in the treatments are carried into the bloodstream of your cats and you say you have kittens? Even more so with them......

I would stick to frontline as it lasts up to 6 weeks I think, check the leaflet though. Only tried this a few times but now have Fiproline (Veterinary standard) which can be bought from Pets at Home in UK......

If your friend calls into the local vets or pets at home but Vets are the best bet, they will help him with home treatments as pet shop remedies are useless. Did you try the salt at all?

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #25 on:** April 30, 2013, 20:59:41 PM »

Definately but make sure your cats are heavy enough,,,,,,,,,,,,you can always put half on one and rest on the other

Hightime · « **Reply #24 on:** April 30, 2013, 20:28:48 PM »

Thanks Gill. I thought I'd get the Advantage as a backup since my friend is coming over and I couldn't find any here? Thought it would be better to have it than not?

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #23 on:** April 30, 2013, 20:22:14 PM »

No dont give anymore frontline yet cos you dont know how much got into their systems.

What is the advantage for?

One of problems with frontline is that the fleas bite to die, so if there is a major infection of them this will drive the cats mad.

Stronghold would stop this but its prescription only so that not an option for you, unless someone can get some for you from a vet in the UK, stronghold does fleas and ear mites. It costs about "£26 I think from vets. It also makes the fleas infertile just by being on the coat of the cat and they dont bite just die all inflatedlike

A flea comb is usefull to have but wont kill the fleas but if it catches any you then have to remove them from the comb and squash or stick them in water but they are very quick and can escape easily.

Indorex very definatel a must

Hightime · « **Reply #22 on:** April 30, 2013, 19:32:53 PM »

Thanks you Mymblesdaughter.

Thanks Gill. Boy do I feel amateurish now. I knew I should've asked here before giving them a wash. When we applied the Frontline for the first time, the two little kittens went ballistic, poor things. Running around the house, then coming up to us and meowing and then scratching themselves, they weren't able to sleep for ages, kept getting disturbed by those miserable fleas that Frontline was slaughtering. It worked well. And then along comes smarty pants and give the cats a wash. Let me pat myself on the back there for an excellent job at cocking it up.

I just feel like giving them another dose before the fleas go crazy again, especially if the previous Frontline dose has been washed out? We did give them a very thorough wash, would that have gotten rid of the initial dose?

I was looking online and saw Frontline on Amazon, six pipettes cost £16.50, over here I got 6 for £60!

So since my friend is coming over I need to make sure I order this stuff to save on the cost and hassle of trying to obtain it here. This is what I think I'll be ordering:

1) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Frontline-Spot-On-Cat-Pipettes/dp/B0014WJAOU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1367344361&sr=8-1&keywords=best+cat+flea+treatment and also:

2) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Advantage-Spot-On-Solution-Large-Rabbits/dp/B0052RTAT8/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1367346139&sr=1-1&keywords=advantage+flea+treatment+for+cats

3) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Advantage-Spot-On-Solution-Large-Rabbits/dp/B0052RTAT8/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1367346139&sr=1-1&keywords=advantage+flea+treatment+for+cats

And perhaps the most important thing is this:

4) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Indorex-Household-Spray-500ml-Fleas/dp/B001A363SO/ref=pd_cp_diy_0

That should do the trick, what do you guys think?

And also, have any of you ever used this, is it worth it:

5) http://www.amazon.co.uk/STV-International-Stv023-STV023-KILLER/dp/B004NLZUHU/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Please tell me if I've missed anything or if there is something else you guys have used which was effective at getting rid of these disgusting things.

Thanks again.

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #21 on:** April 30, 2013, 19:05:48 PM »

Do not wash them cos you will wash off the frontline before it properly gets into the system and you cant keep putting it on, needs to be at least a month between doses.

If the dead fleas were dropping off its working........well was working!

A brush now and again should be sufficient, or a comb

Mymblesdaughter · « **Reply #20 on:** April 30, 2013, 19:01:35 PM »

Hi

Lots of people are finding frontline no longer works against fleas so that could be you problem. With dog frontline I think you have to wait two days before bathing or getting them wet. I I would think it's similar with cats. Probably better to try something like advantage. Sorry I don't know about how long you should wait between treatments.

Hightime · « **Reply #19 on:** April 30, 2013, 18:49:06 PM »

So I was able to spend a few days in another apartment whilst my apartment was bombed by pest control, the only reason I did that was because this was a service provided for free at the accommodation. So upon returning I could see remnants of dead fleas, gave it a good vacuuming and clean. Dead fleas were dropping off my cats and they were getting better, could still see flea feces in the cats so decided to give them all a wash, this was about ten after having applied Frontline. Then unfortunately today I saw some fleas running around in my cats again and I can't explain how gutted I was. I'm wondering now whether the wash we gave the cats could have done away with some of the potency of Frontline? Can I apply it again? It's been two weeks since the first dose?

Also, a friend is coming over from the UK so I need a comprehensive list of what I need to kill these fleas around the house in terms of sprays etc., because you just can't find them here.

Thank you all.

DottyyBB · « **Reply #18 on:** April 16, 2013, 05:35:49 AM »

Hi Hightime. Have researched a bit about the salt remedy and it will kill the eggs by dehydration so this sounds good and the cats have to eat quite a bit of salt before they become ill, but as a added measure your plan is good, room by room. I also give my siamese Garlic Sausage, he loves it as Garlic repels fleas also but will not kill them unfortunately. Let me know how you go on as if we have a warm summer here which is doubtful...I will try the salt.

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #17 on:** April 16, 2013, 01:11:55 AM »

Lets us jnow how you get on

Tigerlily (Allison) · « **Reply #16 on:** April 15, 2013, 20:40:55 PM »

Good luck!

I'm sure your cats will thank you for this.

Hightime · « **Reply #15 on:** April 15, 2013, 20:32:44 PM »

Ok so just got back from driving all over the place trying to track down the stuff I need. Went to the vets and was able to get the Frontline, so that's good, unfortunately they had no house spray! Went to a DIY store, kinda like B & Q and they had none either, they did have spray for cockroaches ants etc., so that was a bit of a let down. So the search is continuing for the spray, in the meantime I'll be ordering the stuff online and wait for it to be shipped here whilst at the same time continuing to look for spray here - and before all of that I will try the salt remedy (thanks Dotty) , I've noted what was said about it being a bit dangerous for cats (thanks Gill) so I'll do it room by room and won't let the cats go into the room being 'salted.'

Once again, love this forum cause of how helpful you guys are.

Many thanks all.

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #14 on:** April 15, 2013, 19:44:28 PM »

I feel that the salt option maybe a bit dangerouse for cats if any is left remaining in carpet fibres as cats quite like salt and its not good for them

DottyyBB · « **Reply #13 on:** April 15, 2013, 19:34:15 PM »

Just read the following on The Dollar Stretcher.com community website:
Natural, Homemade Flea killer
sprinkle some salt on the carpets, and on furniture, let it set for about 2 days, then vaccuum and put down more salt. We had this problem a couple of summers ago and a neighbor told us about the salt and it worked. Was cheap too. I Have no idea about the science around this one but from other postings, people have tried it and had the same results....Worth a shot I think for the home.......

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #12 on:** April 15, 2013, 19:17:38 PM »

I think your vet will also have a house spray like the one suggested and as Dottie said defo no need to wash again.

Good luck

DottyyBB · « **Reply #11 on:** April 15, 2013, 17:36:21 PM »

No, you don't have to use anything else because as soon as the Frontline is applied you will see the horrible things begin to die because as they feed on your cat's blood it will kill them instantly. If you have a dyson with a hepa filter this may help with the furniture but as the fleas jump onto it's host they will come to an end.......Hooray......horribles things......

. they give me the ebee jebeeies.......It can not be easy out there in the heat.......

Hightime · « **Reply #10 on:** April 15, 2013, 17:18:16 PM »

Not a problem at all! Do I have to wash the them with the anti flea shampoo before applying the Frontline Spot On or is the spot on enough? I feel like washing them first, cause they're full of the little brats.

DottyyBB · « **Reply #9 on:** April 15, 2013, 17:13:42 PM »

OOPS.........Sorry. I did think about that after I posted.......

Author Topic: Fleas, fleas everywhere! What on earth to do? (Read 13472 times)