My Kitty has really bad fleas...what should I do??? Nothing I do works. :(
Printable View
My Kitty has really bad fleas...what should I do??? Nothing I do works. :(
I use Advantage myself, although I live far enough north that fleas have never been a problem here. Put it between the shoulder blades so they can't lick it off. You may also have to treat the house, someone who has more experience with fleas can tell you how to treat it better than I can.
We don't have fleas where I live...sorry, I don't have any advice for you.
Kittens 232, welcome to Pet Talk. I hope that you stay around and make youself known and that what you find here is fun, and learning from us "old P.T. ers'"
Flea infestation on a kitten is caused, not only by them living and breeding on your pet, but also where she is staying is also infested with them. If you keep her outside, you may want to change her habits and keep her inside until the flea problem is taken care of. The first thing to do is to give your kitty a flea bath with anti-flea shampoo for kittens, then spray the entire area where she lives , plays , and sleeps with flea killer, preferably with a spray that is safe for kittens and pets. I have found that in the corners between the walls and floor is a favorite hiding place for them. Also under rugs, any pillows and cushions and/or in your furniture and under any flat surfaced furniture that rests on the floor. You may use up an entire can of flea spray, but it is worth it. Also, empty any used cat litter and wash out her litter box, and refill it with fresh litter material. If you have other pets in the house, or living wherever your kitty lives, you will have to take care of any flea infestation on them also. Fleas can KILL a kitten because of the blood-carrying diseases they can infect a young cat with. After you have done this, a few days later, take a flea comb for cats, and go through her coat, looking for more fleas. If you see ANY on the cat, then repeat the above instructions again, and repeat again if necessary. Keep your kitten confined to a small living space that is free from fleas and flea spray when you go through the house with can(s) of spray. After this is done and you are satisfied that the fleas are gone then apply Advantage for kittens, or some other direct contact repellant/killer with your pet's coat, and place it between her/his shoulders on your kitty's back. Check the labels carefully before purchasing any kind of direct application repellant/killer, because some of them are not made to kill adult fleas but only their eggs, and vice-vesa. In fact, you might want to purchase some of these meds from your vet, as they usually know what to use, and for what age you pet is. Do not use meds for an adult cat on a kitten. I hope this helps.
..........wayne
fleas are tough! The more an animal has, the harder they are to get rid of (Am not sure of the exact reason, it is just a fact I learned from pet grooming.)
If affordable, proffessional extermination and flea bathing for all animals in the house is the best.
If that is too cost prohibitive, an appropriate number of flea foggers (and this depends on the size of your house) is more effective than sprays, because it penetrates everywhere.
Always have the pet(s) bathed at the SAME time as the home treatment, not one day before or one day after. Remember it only takes 1 live pregnant female to jump from pet to carpet or carpet to pet, to start it all over.
If the animal goes in the car, spray out your car also. This is one area I think a lot of people forget. Remember again, all it takes is one flea to jump off the pet into the car and then on to you or back on the pet.
Now, keeping in mind the life cycle of the flea, in 7 to 10 days, eggs will hatch. Most products do not kill eggs and they will be in the environment, not on the pet. So a second fogging may be in order.
Good luck.
I can relate to what Wayne and Jen said earlier.
I used to wash Juni (and all my other cats I had) from time to time with special herbal shampoo (anti-flea effect) and I had her wearing a special anti-flea collar. It helps. A tip - I used to buy dog collars, they were exactly the same, except, dog collars were twice long and when you have two kitties, you cut it in two parts and staple the part without buckle :)
Of course, cleaning the place thoroughly is extremely important.
WOAH!
dog flea products could kill a cat! don't take the chance that it is exactly the same dose of the same insecticide.
remember that a cat licks itself and a dog doesn't and also a cat's system is more sensitive to certain things.
Jen, it's not dog flea product, it's dog size only and it's not very strong, it's just for maintaining the results you achive with other products.
Vio, I am not yelling at you, I was just clarifying for others who may not think of this fact. Some people just don't think of a need for different products for cats and dogs because SOME products, like certain shampoos, can be used on both.
No problem, Jen. You were right to clarify this.
kitten232, Are you having any luck with getting rid of your cat's fleas???
My little Inka also had fleas when she was found in the middle of a cornfield! The vet sprayed a stinky (yuck !!!)product all over her fur ; the same day I could already comb out dead fleas and eggs , and after 2 days , Inka was flea-free !!
btw. there was no danger for my other cat Maya , as I treat her regularly with "frontline" !
Tell us how it goes , hey:)
ATTENTION ALL CAT LOVERS
*PLEASE* DO NOT
Admidister the "HARTZ" brand of flea treatment. At the hospital I had worked for, 3 out of 4 cases were due to HARTZ toxcicty.
ALSO *NO* strength of dog formula should be used on ANY cat or kitten. If ANYTHING, use a dose LOWER than your cat's weight.
I have seen babie's seize and convulse and eventually cross the rainbow bridge due to irresponsible or unknowing pet owners. Please make this topic aware to every pet owner whose cat has fleas. Flea medicine Toxcicty is not as rare as you may think, it happens all to often and is FATAL!!
You can try advantage, that should get rid of fleas. My cats never had fleas, when we adopted are cats from the shelter, they are giving advantage before they come out into the adoption room and I think they are giving a bath. I think if you try the advantage, it should clear up and prevent your kitten from not getting fleas.