Fleas :’(

Mamakitty&me

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say it isn’t so.....

We have a 15yo main coone (35lbs)
A 3mo domestic short hair
Two wolf hybrid (dogs, 100lbs & 120lbs)
And an 9 week old chihuahua (2.8lbs)

We took the chihuahua to the dog park upon vet approval to get some of her high energy out. My big dogs are old now and just lay there while she hops about lol..

I didn’t notice at first... we use a monthly flea and tick ....between the shoulder blades drop stuff... for all the pets.. I guess I trusted it too much.. by the time I noticed a problem it was because my older cat has sensitive skin and he’s losing fur and covered in scabby bumps (this happened once before when I started using a lotion he couldn’t tolerate).. well I saw fleas (LOADS) crawling between the bald spots!!!! All the animals have them.

I guess what I’m here to ask... are there actually affordable solutions or am I totally screwed?? I’m reading about dish soap killing them? I’ve seen ads on tv with cute little ducks getting dawn baths.. is that safe? Oh Lordy please anyone have advice!!
 

OwnedByScout

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The cheapest way is to bathe all them and drown the fleas. Use baby shampoo (cats hate this btw). I've also seen a short-term steroid medicine that gets rid of them but they have to be carefully administered.
 

Maria Bayote

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The cheapest way is to bathe all them and drown the fleas. Use baby shampoo
Yes I heard about this. You can try and see how it goes.

There are also available cheap flea products in the market, BUT you should be careful when using these on your pets because I believe cats are more sensitive to flea chemicals than dogs. You can refer to a veterinarian for a much safer and cheaper alternative. By doing so, you should also make sure that their beddings and those they frequent to have also been treated / cleaned to avoid the parasites from coming back.

There are also flea and tick collars for cats and dogs, but probably good for 1-3 months only, but they are quite more cheaper than those chewables.
 

Talien

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Food grade Diatomaceous Earth works well, you can rub it into their fur and the fine particles will kill the fleas. You can also sprinkle it around your house if you think the fleas have "jumped ship" and are in the carpeting or furniture.

It's perfectly safe for animals as long as you make sure it is food grade, and avoid getting it in their eyes.
 

catsknowme

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I have heard that bathing in blue Dawn dish soap followed by dusting with food-grade diatomaceous earth is effective and safe, even for kittens. But one vet told me that a warm, weak salt water bath works just as well.
Please let us know what works for you!
And - off subject- we would love to see a picture of your 35lb Maine Coon!! My MC was only 21# in his heyday but he was tall and very muscular; at over 15 years, he's getting the "little old man" look. :camera: :happycat:
 

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Krista is 15. I’m hesitant to use one of the pesticides on her. We tried an essential oil product. While it worked well for me and she smelled fantastic, the next poop (or poops as it were) after she groomed the oil off herself told me we couldn’t continue with that product. We are currently using food grade diatomaceous earth. I dust the bed and her favorite hiding spots with DE. As for her, I use either a towel or my fingers to apply the DE to her and work it in. It can be very dusty so that’s why I don’t ever apply it directly to her. Always using a towel or my fingers to make sure she’s never buried in a cloud of the stuff. I also dust myself in it. We’re like a pair of chickens taking frequent dust baths here. I use a lint roller on the areas she has laid to judge how much flea dirt she’s leaving behind. Since we started the DE on Sunday, Im seeing a reduction in the flea dirt. I think we’re getting ahead of this.
 
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Mamakitty&me

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Okay so I called our vet to get the OK
the vet said they use dawn on rescued abandoned kittens so that’s what we bought and I got kitten flea powder. I bathed the cats and chihuahua first. I picked my old cat first because I rescued him when he was approx 5yo and I had to bathe him when he had an accident while being transported to me.. I remember him being surprisingly easy to bathe.. he is no longer as willing lol he did not bite or scratch but I had to bathe him on the counter as he would not get in the bath and doesn’t fit in my sink.

The kitten went next. I feared being clawed and bitten because she’s feisty.. but she (with rigid posture) actually sat and let me bathe her twice. She’s a ginger with white belly and paws so I could easily see the fleas once her fur was wet. I kept washing till I couldn’t see more. Once I rinsed her face (carefully) she decided she had enough.

The puppy enjoys baths :)

I’ve got the big dogs segregated in my bedroom and I’ll do them with my husbands help once he’s off work. They behave as though I’m torturing them when I bathe them!

Once the cats dry (I won’t even attempt a blow dryer, I did my best with a towel) I’ll dust them. I got DE for the dogs and house.

Wish me luck guys! Thanks for all the tips and advice!!
 

daftcat75

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DE can make quite a dust cloud. I’d suggest using a dusting cloth, a brush, or your fingers to apply and work it in gently to minimize the cloud.
 
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Mamakitty&me

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Uhm guys.. I absentmindedly left the sink full of dirty soapy water and my big cat was drinking it.... I don’t know how much he drank.. I remembered I needed to drain the sink and caught him in there.. he’s sleeping now.. should I be worried??????
 
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Mamakitty&me

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Uhhg my big cat still has fleas... I’ll have to bathe him again and he’s napping with the kitten so.....I hate today!
 

jen

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If you don't use a product that continuously kills the fleas that jump on or hatch you will never (or have a very hard time) solving the problem. Flea larvae and eggs can lay dormant in your home for months. The eggs will continue to hatch and just jump right back on your pets. I like using XL dog Revolution and dosing it out for all the cats in my house. But you need something on them continuously to prevent more fleas and kill the new ones that hatch.
 

ArchyCat

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Revolution works well.
Many members have had luck with Advantage. You can find that Pet Smart and such stores. In the US Revolution requires a prescription and is usually bought from veterinarians. Revolution will kill the fleas, larvae, and eggs.

You can purchase Revolution from an Australian suppler. You can find the web site by searching TCS for Australia or Revolution. But shipping from Australia takes six to eight weeks, unless you pay for faster shipping. No prescription required.

Bathing pets with Dawn or Johnson & Johnson unsented baby shampoo will kill the leas by drowning them. This will also kill the larvae on the pets, but not the eggs.
 
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kosame

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Food grade Diatomaceous Earth works well, you can rub it into their fur and the fine particles will kill the fleas. You can also sprinkle it around your house if you think the fleas have "jumped ship" and are in the carpeting or furniture.

It's perfectly safe for animals as long as you make sure it is food grade, and avoid getting it in their eyes.
I second this! That's what we use and it works like a charm.
 

jefferd18

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I can relate, there is an infestation at my house right now. Advantage has always worked the best for my cats but it is expensive. I am glad I looked at this post and now know of some alternatives.
 

jen

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Does anyone know why the Revolution from Australia is without a prescription needed? Having worked in the veterinary field for so long I am so very skeptical. Plus every vet I have worked for has always said to be very wary of that kind of thing. These are the same vets telling me to buy XL dog Revolution to dose down for cats so it isn't exactly all a money thing. I know legally and for business purposes they cannot tell random clients to go that route, but as coworkers and friends they say this. Any thoughts?
 

ArchyCat

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jen jen I purchased 8 doses total for two cats. To all appearances, packaging, etc. it appears to be the genuine Bayer product. Plus it worked as advertised. Killed all fleas for a month.
 

darg

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Bathing the animals will kill the fleas on the animal but fleas in the home (and outside) will re-infest the pets. And, it sounds like you have an infestation in the home. If that's the case, this will be a long battle if you use a spot on treatment only and allow the pets to be the flea control for the home. The pets will bear the brunt of it because the topical flea products do not kill the fleas immediately and the do not kill any fleas other than those directly in contact with the pet. Depending on what you use to treat the animals, the fleas generally take a while to die, either by sheer contact with the insecticide residual that is on the animals skin and in the hair follicles, or after they bite and are poisoned by insecticide in the animals blood. All the fleas in the home have to come in contact with the pets in order to die. Meanwhile, eggs and larvae are becoming adult, biting fleas which also have to come in contact with the pets to die. So, it takes a lot longer for the home to be flea free if the animals become the only source of flea control. It is far more effective, far faster, to treat the home as well as your pets.

This is what I would do ... treat the home with a quality product that kills adult fleas and prevents the eggs and larvae from from becoming adults. Treat it again in 2 weeks. Bath the animals again after the first premise treatment and apply a topical treatment to all of them.

As much as I dislike using chemical insecticides, I don't mess around with fleas. DE and other natural products are alternatives that may (or may not) work for you. You are always free to try them.
 
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Mamakitty&me

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What product do you recommend for treating the house? I’m looking at my poor cats like you simply can’t deal with daily soap baths...

Bathing the animals will kill the fleas on the animal but fleas in the home (and outside) will re-infest the pets. And, it sounds like you have an infestation in the home. If that's the case, this will be a long battle if you use a spot on treatment only and allow the pets to be the flea control for the home. The pets will bear the brunt of it because the topical flea products do not kill the fleas immediately and the do not kill any fleas other than those directly in contact with the pet. Depending on what you use to treat the animals, the fleas generally take a while to die, either by sheer contact with the insecticide residual that is on the animals skin and in the hair follicles, or after they bite and are poisoned by insecticide in the animals blood. All the fleas in the home have to come in contact with the pets in order to die. Meanwhile, eggs and larvae are becoming adult, biting fleas which also have to come in contact with the pets to die. So, it takes a lot longer for the home to be flea free if the animals become the only source of flea control. It is far more effective, far faster, to treat the home as well as your pets.

This is what I would do ... treat the home with a quality product that kills adult fleas and prevents the eggs and larvae from from becoming adults. Treat it again in 2 weeks. Bath the animals again after the first premise treatment and apply a topical treatment to all of them.

As much as I dislike using chemical insecticides, I don't mess around with fleas. DE and other natural products are alternatives that may (or may not) work for you. You are always free to try them.
 
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