Took In A Stray - Flea Questions

Hi, I took in a friendly stray today. She is immediately vetted and we gave her the Advantage ii gel for fleas. When I was using wet wipes to clean her up, I think I accidentally wiped off some gel. I also saw her accidentally licked off some. is the gel going to be as effective? How long does it take for the gel to kill all fleas? For now should I keep her in the bathroom for a week until I can give her a 2nd dose to ensure all fleas are gone?

Also when I was wiping her off, there are a lot of little red/bloody dots that came off, are those dead fleas?

Thanks!!

When did you give the flea drops?
you should put the drops where they can't reach it, back of the neck

Is the stray clear of all other parasites?
When I took in my stray he had a few different parasites

walli said:

When did you give the flea drops?
you should put the drops where they can't reach it, back of the neck

Is the stray clear of all other parasites?
When I took in my stray he had a few different parasites

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She got the flea drops half an hr before I wiped her down(at first I avoided the gel but got a little mindless..). The vet put the drops at the back of her neck, but she somehow reached it and licked it once.

We are not sure if she has parasites. But the vet gave her a dose of dewormer(creamy yellowy liquid) he said good for common parasites like ringworms and tapeworms.

Ehhhh I wouldn't give the second dose without consulting a vet.

Fill a cup with water and dish soap (Dawn) and give kitty a thorough brush with a flea comb. If you can't crush the fleas into the bristles with your fingernails (lol), dunk the comb into the cup after every sweep. The bubbles from the soap will trap the fleas before they can leap out.

I'd repeat this every few hours to see if the treatment is working. You'll know by how sluggish the fleas are, if there are any fleas left.

The little black dots are normal ime. Good luck!

suh said:

Also when I was wiping her off, there are a lot of little red/bloody dots that came off, are those dead fleas?

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Those little dots are blood from the fleas biting her. They could be dead fleas, but also eggs/larvae as well. Using a flea comb to brush her and sticking it in the soapy water will drown whatever live fleas you find on her. You are also going to need some paper towels to wipe off the comb each time after you dunk it in the water, as you need to get rid of any flea debris and hair before making the next swipe with the comb. Start at her head and make a swipe down to her tail each time. You will also need to do the same from her chin down through her belly. And, then, don't forget her legs and around her privates - the fleas will run there as you are doing the rest.

suh said:

She got the flea drops half an hr before I wiped her down(at first I avoided the gel but got a little mindless..). The vet put the drops at the back of her neck, but she somehow reached it and licked it once.

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If you could tell you removed some of the treatment, then yes you made it less effective. And, if she were able to reach it and lick it, the vet did a crummy job as to where he placed it. If the hair is parted first, and the treatment is applied to the base of the neck - on the skin, not the hair - between the shoulder blades, it would work much better. After parting the hair to apply the treatment, it is best to watch it absorb for a few minutes and give at least a half hour before doing anything else. But, since you have no idea how much her skin absorbed you will likely have to wait the prescribed time before applying a second treatment.

If she is in a bathroom, with no carpet, it will be easier to check for fleas. If you have rugs in there, take them out at least every other day and wash them in very hot water and dry them on the hottest dryer setting you have.

I found this web site to be very informative (and accurate), perhaps it will help you overall - hopefully it is way more information than you need.
FleaScience

Thank you both for the helpful advice! I'll try the flea comb. Does it have to be used with Dawn dish soap or any type of soap is fine? Do I need to avoid the flea gel area?

She is living in the bathroom for now. Is it safe to let her out once we can't see any fleas on the flea comb or is it better to wait a period? I'll be putting her in my bedroom as I have another cat in the house that likes to be a single child. Want to be sure that the fleas don't get everywhere in my room. I'm going to try to get one of the Flea Spray for Home Interior mentioned on the FleaScience page.

I'm not sure about any other soaps, but Dawn is kitty-safe and she'll probably want to clean herself when you're finished. You can get a small thing of it for a dollar if you're in the US. Otherwise, try looking up the brand of soap you have to see if it's suitable -- I still press for Dawn because it's the only one I've ever used. Maybe avoid the dosage area so the yuckiness doesn't spread over her fur.

Keep her secluded in a non-carpeted area until you're sure she's flea-free. They travel pretty quickly so it wouldn't hurt to jam a towel against the door to make sure none get out too. As for time frame, you should be seeing results around now. GL!

suh said:

Does it have to be used with Dawn dish soap or any type of soap is fine? Do I need to avoid the flea gel area?

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Any dish soap will work, I have used Palmolive and it kills the fleas too. The soap breaks the protective skin barrier of a flea so that it cannot float, and therefore drowns.

You don't necessarily need to have the comb soaked before combing. I would make sure the comb is dry when you comb through the application area - although by now the treatment should have permeated through the sebaceous glands of your cat and be mostly waterproof.

suh said:

She is living in the bathroom for now. Is it safe to let her out once we can't see any fleas on the flea comb or is it better to wait a period?

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As fleas reproduce the eggs fall off the cat wherever they go, so the more rooms you allow her to be in the more likely there will be eggs in those rooms. That is not to say that you can't transport them out of the bathroom on your feet/legs. Make sure you vacuum the bathroom floor repeatedly too, to help with removing eggs/larvae.

suh said:

I'm going to try to get one of the Flea Spray for Home Interior mentioned on the FleaScience page.

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Whatever one you choose, make sure it contains IGR - that helps to retard development of eggs/larvae.

Good luck!!

A few days after giving drops, can you give her a bath to get all the eggs off?

Give her a bath, then flea topical. Bath is the surest/safest/cheapest/fastest way to rid a cat of fleas. Topical will then get any stragglers and take care of any new ones that get on her.

If there still seem to be any fleas, I recommend giving a Capstar. Sometimes the spot-ons don't kill all of the adult fleas that are on the cat at the time of application, so Capstar knocks the population down so that the spot-on can work more effectively.