Fleas!!!!!

[moosmom]

I was sitting on the floor holding Shortie in my arms like a baby when what do I see???? A flea! I started combing her with a flea comb and I could not believe how many there were.

I immediately ran out and got Frontline for everyone (at $80 for 6 treatments). I hopped in the tub with Shortie and gave her a bath (her wails sounded like I was slaughtering her). The woman at the vet said flea season is very bad this year cuz we haven't had any frost yet.

I know it only takes one flea to hop a ride on your clothes. I think it came from when I visited my old rescue organization and schmoozed with over 80 cats. I took my clothes off immediately, but didn't wash them till 3 days later. So, it's my own fault.

Poor Shortie. She's hiding and looks like a wet rat.

[Craftlady]

Your brave hopping in tub with a kitty. I've used Frontline Plus it works great. I have no experience with Advantage.

[moosmom]

Sorry Craftlady, it IS Frontline Plus that I applied. I changed it in my post.

Yeah, I guess I am brave hopping into the tub with her. But it was the only way I could control her. I basically turned her with her butt facing me, which gave me the control to bathe her. I've done that with all my cats when I bathe them. It's so much easier than wrestling with them in the kitchen sink.

[Zippy]

I Hate Fleas.I am so sorry you are having a flea problem.We have flea season all year round in FL.

[moosmom]

Thanks Zippy. I can only imagine how bad the flea problem is in Florida, it being so hot down there.

[jenluckenbach]

Fleas are such a bother! But don't blame yourself for bringing them home. A flea is like any other pesty bug.....it gets into your house! Flies get in. Spiders get in. And they are both MUCH larger than a flea. Fleas sneak in through cracks, screen, windows, doors and riding on you from the yard etc.

Catching it fairly early and being on the lookout for more will be your best defense.

[Catlady711]

I immediately ran out and got Frontline for everyone (at $80 for 6 treatments). I hopped in the tub with Shortie and gave her a bath (her wails sounded like I was slaughtering her). The woman at the vet said flea season is very bad this year cuz we haven't had any frost yet.

What a bummer!!

I don't know about the area you live in, but where I live flea season has been just awful this year!

BTW just remember not to use Frontline Plus 2 days before, or 2 days after a bath. A bath washes the oils out of the skin and that's how the Frontline Plus circulates, so bathing will limit the effectiveness of it.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Ever since I found fleas on Storm and my RB Pepper, I've been using advantage every month and I haven't had any more problems. I'd rather use it every month than be sorry later. Good luck.

[moosmom]

I went online and looked up all about fleas. I'm a little concerned because I did bathe Shortie just before I put the stuff on. I called the toll-free number of Frontline and they said that as long as I dried Shortie after her bath, it shouldn't hinder the product from working. That's a relief.

I've been combing the hell out of all of them ('cept MooShoo, of course) still finding them moving I dip the comb in hot water and drown the little buggers! UGH!! I did catch it early which is good. I checked Fluffy (one of the outside kitties) and saw tons of flea dirt, so that's probably where it came from. I only wish I had enough money to treat them too. But, they're not my problem, MY cats are.

That dentist is SUCH a jerk!!

[Catlady711]

I went online and looked up all about fleas. I'm a little concerned because I did bathe Shortie just before I put the stuff on. I called the toll-free number of Frontline and they said that as long as I dried Shortie after her bath, it shouldn't hinder the product from working. That's a relief.

Glad you called the 800 number. Our sales reps and distributors have always given us the impression any bathing within that two day time period reduces effectiveness. But better to get that information from the actual manufacturer not sales people.

Frontline takes about 6 hrs to kill a flea, so just because you see one on a treated cat doesn't mean it isn't working, that flea will die. You should be seeing more dead fleas in the next day or two.

[moosmom]

Well, they're still scratching, but I think it's from the bites. Everytime I see one of them scratching I immediately get out the comb and start combing furiously, looking for anything that moves on it. Since applying the Frontline Plus, all I see if flea dirt. I'm hoping by the next application time, that'll just about do it. Poor babies.

[jenluckenbach]

Yes, most people forget that a flea's bite will continue to itch for a while.

Hopefully that is all it is. Best to keep combing, though.

[moosmom]

Everyone seems to have settled down now. I think I caught it early because I haven't been bitten at all.

All I see now is just fur, flea dirt and dead fleas. A good flea is a dead one!!

I feel bad for the girls outside. I want to use the Frontline Plus on them too, but it's expensive. Do you think I should chance going over and asking the dentist if he'd buy it and I'd apply it?? I've been kind of keeping my distance with them. I feed them (when the jerk is gone) and pet them, but not like I was. I'm just too afraid that another one will hop a ride on my clothes.

[DianeSnizzy]

Since we're on the topic of the dreaded fleas, I have a couple of questions.

I had a BAD infestation of fleas this year, but it seems to be subsiding now. I couldn't bathe one of the cats because she was allergic to fleas and lost a lot of hair and was scratching so bad that she had open sores. She's doing much better now because I took her to the vet and got meds, etc.

Anyway, I'm getting ready to bathe all four of them and then apply the Frontline (that I purchased over a month ago!). Once I apply the Frontline, do you think that will get rid of the other fleas in the house since they'll jump on the cats and get killed from whatever it is that is in the Frontline? Or will I have to use a flea bomb or sprinkle that stuff on the carpet, too?

I want to get rid of these fleas once and for all!! The cats aren't the only ones suffering; I have a bunch of flea bites on my ankles and the itching drives me NUTS!

[jenluckenbach]

It is always ideal to treat both house and animals at the same time (for best results).