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

[Sowa]

She was on the couch for a few minutes the other day. How would I clean that? Just vacuum? What about my truck? I guess it's too cold for them to live out there anyway.

How long will it take them to die after I've put the treatment on them?

[Freedom]

Yep that be a flea. Ugh.

You asked how long it will take. That depends on what you used. Here, refer to this chart: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?aid=325

As you will see, some products kill adult fleas, some also kill the larvae. Some stop reproduction others do not.

BTW, keep an eye out for a few hours in case any of the pets has a reaction to the product. Oh, and be sure what you apply on a cat is FOR a cat; many of the dog formulas are toxic to cats, and vice versa.

Here is another chart: http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=545

[Kfamr]

Fleas are terrible and a constant battle in Florida. I have tried many topical products but none of them have worked. I have been trying a combination of things. My current ammo is bathing the dogs weekly, Comfortis, and spraying the yard/house with Ortho home defense. So far I have been winning.

[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?!

[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?