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Our cats have fleas :eek::eek::eek:
Hubby and I found bites on our legs, Sooooooooooo itchy....... .
Then I controlled the cats furs and :eek: there I found those black spots and even a few living fleas:eek:
I went to the vet who prescribed Frontline and Strongal for the cats..... . He says this will take care of the problem. I SURE HOPE SO :(
Anybody here on PT with good advize:confused:
Personally, I haven't had good luck with Frontline. Regardless, though, you'll probably have to do something with the house too. :o Do you have carpet?
Lut, many years ago, before the invention of Frontline, I had a flea situation. I only had dogs (different ones than now) at the time and it was awful. There was lots of bathing and vacuuming going on at my house! :eek: I think that you will find that the Frontline does an excellent job. You will need to keep your vacuum cleaner busy for any that may be in the carpet or elsewhere in the meantime. I have not seen one flea since I began using it years ago. Good luck!
It's too late to tell you this, I know, but a few drops of Frontline/Advantage on their neck once a month should prevent them getting any.
However, now that you have them... give each of your girls what the vet told you, and then get the vacuum cleaner out! I don't think you have carpets on, do you? Still, all the furniture have to be vacuumed thoroughly. You may even have to sprinkle some "flee powder" around the house - and in the vacuum clener too, ask your vet about that.
Good luck getting rid of them! :)
Rubbing a slice of lime on your bites STINGS but really helps the itch. Or, try a paste of baking soda and a bit of water...it will "draw" the stuff out.
I hate fleas. Te lemon or the baking soda does work. I'm the one that gets the bites almost before the cats. Flea powder is a staple in our house, because if one gets in, explosion. We have no carpets, just throw rugs. The Frontline does work and the last few years we have had very little trouble. Before Frontline I would bomb the house at lest once a year.
By the way the throw rugs can be cleaned in a washing machine (we do not use our machine, take them to a laundra-mat).
I'm sorry to hear this. I've been using Advantage every month on my cats and I haven't had any problems since. Good luck.:)
I use this on my kitties and it allows me to rest easy each summer. I don't see the need to have the treatments during the winter.
I swear by this stuff. It is a tad expensive, but I hate fleas. I cannot believe you have escaped having to do this before now.
There are cheaper versions on the flea treatment and I have never tried them.
I, too, recommend you put flea powder in your vacuum cleaner(s) for the next few weeks. Depending on the infestation, you may need to bomb the house. Sounds as though the fleas have decided to call it home.
I drove myself crazy trying to control fleas, for years, until I caught on to the monthly treatments directly on to the cats. Works like a charm.
If you keep all your kittens inside, it isn't usually a problem.
Good luck. We have all been there!
:rolleyes::eek::(:o:)
Don't waste your money. I use Advantix on my dogs (I believe they have it for cats also), and last year in an attempt to save a few bucks, bought BioSpot. Worthless!!! It cost me more in the long run - they got fleas, so of course it was de-flea the house as well as them. I sent the unused back for a refund and went back to Advantix.Quote:
Originally Posted by sasvermont
Years ago before all these once a month topical treatments, I used garlic as a repellent on my Lhasas. A little garlic powder mixed with their food worked quite well, but I don't imagine cats would take to it very well. :(
Reposted from a post I did last year because it's too long to retype it all out again.
I have worked as a vet assistant for over 7 years, so I have narrowed my flea tirade down to my standard 'flea speech'.
Start of 'flea speech'
By the time a person notices fleas jumping on them in their houses or biting the family you already have a very, very bad flea problem. To prevent that keep a careful eye on your pet looking for fleas. Fleas can either be identified by actually seeing the adult flea, or by seeing little black specks the size of a pin head close to the skin (those are flea droppings, yuck). A cheap flea comb from any pet store will help with this especially if your pet has dark or long hair. On cats fleas are more typically found around the head/neck area. On dogs they are usually found along the spine near the tail, or on the belly.
A single female flea lays about 2,000 eggs in her lifetime! Out of the flea population ONLY 5% is visable as adult fleas. So for every five fleas you see, there are 95% more microscopic immature flea larva/eggs that you can't see. Immature fleas can live inside carpets, pet bedding, etc for up to 2 YEARS before hatching. Fleas can even manage to reproduce in homes with only hardwood flooring in cracks and crevices.
Frontline PLUS is a liquid you put on the back of your cats neck on the skin. It soaks in and attatches to the oils in your cat and circulates over the whole body. Within 24 hours it goes to work. It is important not to bathe your pet for 2 days before and 2 days after using Frontline PLUS, as bathing washes the oil out of their skin and make it hard for the product to circulate properly. However after that 2 day period if you want to bathe your pet, go ahead, it's in your pets skin and is waterproof.
Frontline PLUS works at fleas 2 ways...
1. Fleas are killed upon contact with a pet with Frontline PLUS. Fleas do NOT have to bite the pet for it to kill the flea. It kills the flea before it's had a blood meal (which is required for reproduction).
2. It also contains a 'growth regulator' that as your pet sheds hair/dandruf, it carries the PLUS part of the ingredients down into your carpets, pet bedding etc. This messes up the life cycle of the larva so they never hatch into adult fleas. This part of the process takes patience, however it is the most important part.
Regular and long term use (1-2 years without missing a month), will eliminate the need for messy/expensive flea bombs, sprays, powders, dips, collars etc. It is important not to stop using Fronline PLUS once the flea problem seems to be slowing down or gone, those flea larva may still be lurking in your house for up to a year yet!
Frontline PLUS is somewhat expensive, until you realize how much money has been spent on all the other things that don't work, not to mention the dangerous chemicals, it is def. more cost saving to use Frontline PLUS. The main ingredient of Frontline PLUS (fipronil) has been used in fruit orchards in the US since the 1980's and ONLY affects the system of an insect, not mammals, so it's a safe product.
Many OTC flea products contain more risky ingredients like pyretherins/phenothrins which are not only unsafe, (EPA about Hartz flea and tick drops) but also don't work well. Most OTC flea products only kill the existing adult fleas on your pet at that moment. So you can bathe away in a chemical laden bath and the moment you set your pet back on the floor...whamo, you've got fleas again. Also since the pyretherins have been used for so many years many fleas have become immune to the effects of them resulting in poor perfomance of the product.
End of standard 'flea speech'. LOL
As my standard disclaimer goes.....
I do not work for Merial (maker of Frontline) I do not recieve any compensation for recommending this product, and I only personally recommend products I trust to be safe and are effective.
I have used both Frontline PLUS and Revolution on my own cats. Revolution is just as good as an adult flea killer, but does very little on the growth regulator part in comparison to Frontline PLUS.
BTW don't use Frontline PLUS 2 days before, or 2 days after a bath. A bath washes the oils out of the skin and makes it more difficult for Frontline PLUS to circulate over your pet's body.
I would recommend Frontline Plus too, it works very well at my house.
My Vet stopped selling Advantage that I used to use, but this stuff is even
better & the cats don't run because of the smell.:D I can get close to them
with an open dose & put it on them easily. (added points in my book):D
If you already have fleas inside, you'll have to clean their bedding &
everything else inside. It's a real pain, but a 2 front approach works best.
Thanks for all the good advize!!
We have NO carpetting in the house, because both our children are allergic to dustmites. All tiles here.
The vet said that it isn't necessary to do any special cleaning in the house. But I don't believe that at all; so today I have been changing all the beds (humans), and lots of vacuuming has been done too. I don't think it is any use though to vacuum fleapowder, because we have a central vacuuming system. Meaning: there is a central huge container for all the dirt in our garage, so there is no dustbag on the vacuumer itself, there is only a long hose that can be connected to the system in every room of the house (sorry for the long and maybe bad explanation, English isn't my mothertongue:o).
I feel so bad for not having noticed this flea situation sooner.... :(. My cats get Frontline on their neck every 6 months; I had NO idea that this wasn't enough...! I also interpreted the bites as musquito bites:rolleyes:.
I hope I can get this under control as soon as possible:(
Thanks again for your help!!!
ps. Only 2 of our cats are indoor-outdoor cats: Maya & Inka. The other 2 Zazou & Snoopy are strictly indoor now (remember Zazou's missing?) !!
I think the application is one a month. Did you know that? Also, although the other two cats do not go outside, the fleas could still jump on them if they arrive in the house, on the other cats. I would suggest giving the flea treatment to all of the cats for the warm months. Just a suggestion. That's what I do......and it has worked so far. Once the first frost arrives, I stop the treatments until spring time.
F L E A S :(:rolleyes::eek:
Quote:
Originally Posted by sasvermont
I agree. Especially since you've already seen fleas in the house. Appy on
every cat once a month & you'll finally get rid of them. My indoor cats never
get outside, but I have two dogs that go in & out and can carry fleas from
the yard into the house, so it's good to use flea treatment on the indoor cats
too.
DONE :)Quote:
Originally Posted by lizbud
one more question: do I use a flea's comb, to get rid of all the remaining dead & alive creatures??? I did it on Snoopy this morning, and there I got a big living flea :eek: EEK!!!!!!!!!! . She got her Frontline last wednesday ( the cat did, not the flea hehe).
oh one more thing! It is useful to make the cats wear a ant-fleas collar?