Is this a flea?! *update: still itchy*

[Sowa]

The vet told me to continue treating with advantage for 3 months and that should solve the problem. I'm going to wash everything and vacuum. Is there anyway to tell if the tube is for cats or dogs? I just bought some specific cat stuff and put on him. But I have another small bottle that wasn't in a box so I'm not sure if it's cat or dog. The tube looks similar to the one I just bought. Maybe has a different color but they both say Advantage 18. Neither of them say it's for cats. Just the box it comes in.

[Freedom]

Never used that brand; is there a toll free phone to call and ask? Maybe on the box of the other tube, or online? Or maybe your vet office staff will know?

[Sowa]

Also do I NEED to use a powder on my carpets to kill the fleas? I live in a pretty big house, with a lot of carpet. The vacuuming alone takes a while. Also I don;t have flea powder, and my vet didn't recommend anything to me.

[Sowa]

Wow I am so mad at my sister and niece. My nieces cats have had fleas for months now. She doesn't care. She told me my dogs couldn't have gotten fleas from her cats because cat fleas and dog fleas aren't the same and they won't travel between the 2 Anyway, I told my sister to treat her cats to be safe. She basically said she didn't care and what's the big deal about fleas? I feel so bad for my nieces cats. Can you imagine being itchy ALL the time? Zeke has been rubbing himself against the trees to relieve himself and Clover's paw goes crazy when I scratch her. Obviously they're very uncomfortable. I can't imagine owning a pet, loving it. And then not caring when it's sick or uncomfortable. They said it's too expensive to treat so they're just not going to. they feed it crappy food and won't neuter them or take it to the vet. WHY do people like this feel the need to own an animal?!

[Jessika]

It can take a few months to fully "de-flea" the home. Reason being is there are a couple different life-stages that fleas go through, the most annoying and resistant is the pupae stage. They can live in this stage for MONTHS in your home in the furniture, carpet, etc, and will hatch when conditions are right. I strongly recommend leaving your pets on a flea preventative for at LEAST three months straight as well as vigorous vacuuming and washing of everything that can be washed. Daily vacuuming is key with emptying the waste into a dumpster OUTSIDE of the house.

At my clinic we have been seeing a TON of pets who have been on Frontline religiously come in infested with fleas. I see you're using Advantage so that, to my knowledge, is still working fine.

Good luck!

Also, there is no difference between cat and dog fleas. Ctenocephalides felis is the scientific name for the common flea, but just because it's falled "felis" does NOT mean they are exclusive to felines. They affect both cats AND dogs.

Another edit to add... DO NOT USE PRODUCT FOR DOGS ON YOUR CATS unless it is specifically marked to do so. If you're unsure if its marketed for cats or dogs, DO NOT USE IT. Some products have feline and canine specific lines and if you use the wrong product on the wrong pet, you can have serious side effects or even death. Your best bet is to purchase new product that you know which species it is for!!!!

[chocolatepuppy]

Is there anyway to tell if the tube is for cats or dogs? I just bought some specific cat stuff and put on him. But I have another small bottle that wasn't in a box so I'm not sure if it's cat or dog. The tube looks similar to the one I just bought. Maybe has a different color but they both say Advantage 18. Neither of them say it's for cats. Just the box it comes in.

I have a few tubes of Advantage for cats that someone gave me. It's for small cats and I can only use it on Tessa. It says Advantage small cat on the tube and on the foil on back it says [For Use ONLY on Cats weighing 5 to 9 lbs.]

This flea infestation has set me back well into the hundreds of dollars! I thought it was great when I didn't have to pay a natural gas bill this past summer due to the mild winter last year. The money I'm now spending on Frontline and a lot of washing and vacuum bags far exceeds what I saved on my gas bill! Thank goodness we have cold and snow now!

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm sorry to hear that this has happened. All of my cats are indoor only so I used to think that I wouldn't ever need to use flea treatments on them. Well I was very wrong. California has very mild winters so fleas can live all year long. I also live in a condo complex so if my neighbors pet has fleas, then they can just jump onto the hallway carpet and get into my condo. I now use advantage year round on all of my cats. I've been buying the largest dog size and then I measure it out according to how much my cats weigh. One of my former vets recommended this to me to help save me money. I buy it online from entirelypets.com. They have many sales on it throughout the year. Ever since I've been using it, I've never had any more fleas. I hope that you'll be able to get rid of them quickly. Good luck.

I also wanted to mention to you that many fleas carry tapeworm so you also need to be on the lookout for this. If you ever see something on your pet or in their bedding that looks like rice, then it's probably tapeworm. Your pet would then need be treated for it. My cat Sky got them before I adopted him because he had been treated for fleas but not tapeworm. I later had to treat him with drontal pills and then retreat him a few weeks later. Hopefully the fleas you have don't carry tapeworm.

[Sowa]

I haven't found anymore fleas on Clover so I think most/all the adults are gone. She is still really itchy though. Will this last much longer for her? Also does it take a month for the pupae or whatever to hatch? If they hatched before the month is over then I'm assuming the advantage won't still be working so why is it a monthly thing?

[Jessika]

There can still be fleas that you just don't see, but yes the flea allergy from bites can last a few days... if the itching is still really bad (ie scratching/chewing themselves raw) then maybe consider a vet visit for an injection to help with immediate relief. Remember: all current fleas on your pet may be gone, but they may be being exposed to, reinfested and/or bit by new fleas from the environment trying to hitch a ride so even if they aren't physically on your pet anymore, they may be hopping on, biting, and dying... which causes itching to start all over again.

The pupae can lie dormant for MONTHS before hatching. It's a survivability tactic if conditions aren't favorable for hatching. That's why its important to keep your pets on a preventative for a few months consecutively as well as adamantly cleaning your household for a few months. The advantage works throughout the month; it isn't like a dewormer that gets rid of all current pests and then you get reinfested as the month goes on. If a new flea jumps on them at the end of the month, the product should still work to kill them. Granted, the percentage of effectiveness starts to decline the closer you get to the end of the month and I dont know what it is specifically with Advantage but it should still, theoretically, work.

[Karen]

Is there any way you could give your niece flea collars for her cats or something so her kittens don't continually reinfect your dogs? If they don;t treat their cats fleas, the cats will be uncomfortable, and their own home can become infested, of course. I'd avoid visiting there if I knew the cats had untreated fleas. I agree, it is just irresponsible of them.

[Sowa]

I wouldn't even be surprised if I got them a flea collar that they wouldn't use it. They don't seem to think it's a problem she (my niece) was laughing at my mom when she was telling them to treat their cats. I don't have any extra cash right now anyway. I just started a new job, maybe after I a few checks I can try that.

Zeke has an appt tom at the vet. (because he seemed extra itchy but I guess I know why now lol) Still taking him though because he has raw patches and seems really uncomfortable I hope they can give him something other then the steroid type stuff that just makes him pee all over the place. It never seems to work well for itching...