We have 3 cats & a dog. The dog is 100% outdoor (too rambunctious) while the cats are indoor/outdoor. This one cat in particular ALWAYS has fleas no matter what. We've tried bathing, collars, spot treatments. It works on the others but she STAYS infested. She has a much different coat though. They are standard DSH while I'm told she's ragdoll mix so her fur is very... heavy & soft. Reminds of the rabbit pelt I had when I was younger. She also sheds like crazy, has very poor hygiene, & her fur constantly clogs up the Hoover pet vacuum. We have a toddler & honestly if we can't get the fleas under control with this cat I'm afraid we'll have to get rid of her for the sake of the other pets & the kiddo. Plus we have a new baby due in March. I'm going to fog the house tomorrow with a bed bug, flea, & egg killer that I know from personal experience to work well. But I'm still not sure what to do about her & would appreciate suggestions.
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Cat With Flea Affinity
- Thread starter JDDibrell
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Make sure to flea combing and using revolution once a month. Also when you use the vacuum-remember to throw out the bag in an airtight bag..get some DE food grade and put some in the vacuum bag so it kills the fleas that get sucked into the bag. Also treat the foundation of your home and make sure to vacuum and wash all bedding.
here's a site that explains DE:
Diatomaceous Earth (food grade): Bug Killer You Can Eat!
We had another member have a big problem with fleas and he found out it was because of the basement. Had to get some kind of spray to treat it. There's a life cycle of the fleas so you have to keep on top of it. It could be that the fleas keep hatching and that's why you are seeing them. It takes a month to two months to completely wipe out the life cycle of the buggers. Moisture and heat make them thrive.
DE sprinkled on your yard/basement should help.
several summers ago we got a heavy flea infestation from their resident cat where we were renting..the only way to get rid of them was nightly flea combing. Have a cup of warm water with good amount of Dawn Dish detergent, dip the comb first then comb fur. then dip again after. The fleas will drown and die in the soap.
If your cat allows you a dawn bath will kill them on the fur. You will need a second person to use the comb to get them off the head as the cat is bathed-they will crawl onto the head. I know it's gross but this is the best way to get them off your cat. Treating the living areas with washing/steam cleaning will also help. The fogger works-just make sure that the surfaces that the cats walk on get washed before allowing them back into the house- counters/floors etc.
here's a site that explains DE:
Diatomaceous Earth (food grade): Bug Killer You Can Eat!
We had another member have a big problem with fleas and he found out it was because of the basement. Had to get some kind of spray to treat it. There's a life cycle of the fleas so you have to keep on top of it. It could be that the fleas keep hatching and that's why you are seeing them. It takes a month to two months to completely wipe out the life cycle of the buggers. Moisture and heat make them thrive.
DE sprinkled on your yard/basement should help.
several summers ago we got a heavy flea infestation from their resident cat where we were renting..the only way to get rid of them was nightly flea combing. Have a cup of warm water with good amount of Dawn Dish detergent, dip the comb first then comb fur. then dip again after. The fleas will drown and die in the soap.
If your cat allows you a dawn bath will kill them on the fur. You will need a second person to use the comb to get them off the head as the cat is bathed-they will crawl onto the head. I know it's gross but this is the best way to get them off your cat. Treating the living areas with washing/steam cleaning will also help. The fogger works-just make sure that the surfaces that the cats walk on get washed before allowing them back into the house- counters/floors etc.
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Have you considered having her get professional hair cuts for several months, or simply on a regular basis throughout her lifetime, until you can get the fleas that are living on her under control? Since she sheds & has poor hygiene anyway, maybe a regular hair cutting would help her (and you) out a lot! Maybe you could have your pets be at the groomer tomorrow while you are fogging your house, since it's good to have animals removed from the house when many foggers and insecticides are used. It could be a good idea, too, to check with your vet about flea products that might work for all stages of fleas, both ones that live on the animals and the ones entrenched in your household. Some areas have fleas that have developed resistance to many common flea products. If you have both indoor and outdoor animals, it sounds like this will be an ongoing issue.
You should post where you live and the details of the products you are using on the cat. Some products are less effective than others and what you can get for your cat varies depending on where you live.
My cats got hit with fleas in early September, they are indoor only cats so I think some flea(s) hitched a ride on me while I had the cats at the cottage a week or two earlier. It was a Saturday and I didn't want to wait until after work on Monday to go to the vet so I went to the pet store. I looked through the threads on here and seen other Canadians saying the best stuff I could get without going to the vet would be:
Zodiac Infestop
with Imidacloprid 9.1%
I read about the Imidacloprid and it is the active ingredient in Advantage which I seen a lot of people on here recommend. The Zodiac Infestop worked really well and within 12 to 16 hours the scratching stopped. So far the fleas appear to be gone off the cats.
The Zodiac company has other products and people were saying they are less effective. Which would make sense because their other Spot treatment was cheaper in the pet store than their Infestop product.
I then got this stuff and dusted the beds, couches, floors, cat trees, etc with it :
Companion Pet Products
True Raw Choice
Diatomaceous Earth Applicator
Vacuumed up the Diatomaceous Earth a day after dusting with it and hit everything with it a second time after a couple of days.
I got this stuff that I plan to spray after I remove the cats from the house to take them to the cottage for a couple of days :
Zodiac Premise Spray
(s)-methoprene 0.078%
permethrin 0.8%
This last stuff scares me but I read up on it a lot. The permethrin is fatal to cats. The product does say on the can to remove cats from the area and not to allow them near it until after it dries. I read elsewhere on the Internet and it does say the product is safe provided the cats do not go near it before it dries. I am a bit paranoid so I will take the cats to the cottage and give it an entire weekend to dry.
That is where I am at and so far so good. I have four cats at home, two maine coon and two short hair. I am not sure if all four had fleas but they all got the Zodiac Infestop. The Premise Spray may be over kill but I want to be certain the little buggers are gone permanently.
My cats got hit with fleas in early September, they are indoor only cats so I think some flea(s) hitched a ride on me while I had the cats at the cottage a week or two earlier. It was a Saturday and I didn't want to wait until after work on Monday to go to the vet so I went to the pet store. I looked through the threads on here and seen other Canadians saying the best stuff I could get without going to the vet would be:
Zodiac Infestop
with Imidacloprid 9.1%
I read about the Imidacloprid and it is the active ingredient in Advantage which I seen a lot of people on here recommend. The Zodiac Infestop worked really well and within 12 to 16 hours the scratching stopped. So far the fleas appear to be gone off the cats.
The Zodiac company has other products and people were saying they are less effective. Which would make sense because their other Spot treatment was cheaper in the pet store than their Infestop product.
I then got this stuff and dusted the beds, couches, floors, cat trees, etc with it :
Companion Pet Products
True Raw Choice
Diatomaceous Earth Applicator
Vacuumed up the Diatomaceous Earth a day after dusting with it and hit everything with it a second time after a couple of days.
I got this stuff that I plan to spray after I remove the cats from the house to take them to the cottage for a couple of days :
Zodiac Premise Spray
(s)-methoprene 0.078%
permethrin 0.8%
This last stuff scares me but I read up on it a lot. The permethrin is fatal to cats. The product does say on the can to remove cats from the area and not to allow them near it until after it dries. I read elsewhere on the Internet and it does say the product is safe provided the cats do not go near it before it dries. I am a bit paranoid so I will take the cats to the cottage and give it an entire weekend to dry.
That is where I am at and so far so good. I have four cats at home, two maine coon and two short hair. I am not sure if all four had fleas but they all got the Zodiac Infestop. The Premise Spray may be over kill but I want to be certain the little buggers are gone permanently.
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Thanks everyone for your replies. I'll look at the specific names of the products we're using when it's safe for us all to go back inside. I have used diatomaceous earth and Seven Dust In my vacuum and I believe that the spot treatment is Hartz Plus or something to that effect. It had really good reviews and ratings on several of the websites before I bought it and it does indeed seem to be working for the other two. We just flea combed all three cats this morning before everyone vacated and we set off the foggers and still the only cat with any fleas or scat is the one which is really confusing and frustrating. The fogger that I am using is Black Flag for fleas bed bugs and flea and bed bug eggs and larvae which worked very well at a previous residence they had a terrible infestation do two raccoons living in the crawl space. This home does not have that problem because it's a slab foundation which also means no basement. With a 2 year old I am hesitant to try some of the other products known to be more harsh or more powerful because she does hang out with the cats a lot by mutual choice LOL. As for grooming that is a pretty big expense that's just not in the budget right now. We are living as Spartan as possible in order to cover the double bill that result from moving so the belts are very tight for a little while.
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I think the Hartz stuff has (s)-methoprene in it. That is what is in the other Zodiac spot product that people on here were saying is less effective. I haven't a lot of experience dealing with fleas but I read up on it a lot at the beginning of the month. A lot of people say to stay away from the Hartz stuff. I don't know why but some people on this site are very adamant about not using Hartz products. It may be specific Hartz products or all their products I am not sure.
Post the specifics of the products you are using when you get a chance and see what people say. There are lots of people on here with long term experience dealing with stray and feral cats hopefully one of them will respond to you. And be certain to post which country you live in because what you can get varies from country to country. It might even vary state to state (or province to province) I am not 100% sure.
And no matter how desperate you get, never put anything meant for a dog on a cat. I have read horror stories about people killing their cat with permethrin which is OK for dogs but fatal to cats.
Post the specifics of the products you are using when you get a chance and see what people say. There are lots of people on here with long term experience dealing with stray and feral cats hopefully one of them will respond to you. And be certain to post which country you live in because what you can get varies from country to country. It might even vary state to state (or province to province) I am not 100% sure.
And no matter how desperate you get, never put anything meant for a dog on a cat. I have read horror stories about people killing their cat with permethrin which is OK for dogs but fatal to cats.
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In addition to my last comment. I realize your cat is neither stray or feral but I would have to assume people that have long term experience dealing with outdoor cats would also have lots of experience dealing with fleas.
"With a 2 year old I am hesitant to try some of the other products known to be more harsh or more powerful"
Some pesticides are more effective and cost more but not necessarily more harsh or powerful. They will list the active ingredient on the box and you can look it up on the Internet.
"With a 2 year old I am hesitant to try some of the other products known to be more harsh or more powerful"
Some pesticides are more effective and cost more but not necessarily more harsh or powerful. They will list the active ingredient on the box and you can look it up on the Internet.
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The only thing I use on my cats and dogs is coconut oil. I'm one of those paranoid people who is afraid to use flea killing products on my pets, as I've had cats have bad reactions to some, even the good ones. We've taken in three cats that were strays (mom and kitten dumped in a park, feral kitten caught at the neighbor's house). I immediately gave them the coconut oil treatment and had no problems with fleas. In fact, we haven't had fleas for years. We had issues with them when my cousin moved in and brought fleas in with his dog but we got it under control. Tea tree oil and lavender oil can be used as a repellent, but unfortunately cats lick themselves and I believe both are toxic to them, therefore I won't try them on pets.
I would definitely stick with topical treatments for her that are applied to the back of the neck. Make sure you are parting the hair to get it to the skin (or cutting the hair close in that area), and high up, almost between the ears and the base of the neck, cats can really lick their backs high up and you don't want her licking the product and foaming at the mouth. It is safe for you and your toddler once it is dry. Call your vet and see how often you can apply, stick to once a month for 6 months at least to get it under control. EVERY MONTH, don't skip one, mark it on a calendar. I know it is expensive to use this product, but really no more expensive than continually fogging and cleaning without it.If they aren't gone after two months, CHANGE TO ANOTHER PRODUCT, the fleas may be immune to the active ingredient in that particular one.
I'm sure it is her thick coat that is causing the problem, so an internal treatment is called for. Definitely fog your house and wash all bedding in hot water, there are places that we don't think of that harbor eggs, like on sofa pillows, area rugs and coats or clothes we don't wash very often. i truly hope you get this under control, I know how frustrating it can be. All teh luck!
I'm sure it is her thick coat that is causing the problem, so an internal treatment is called for. Definitely fog your house and wash all bedding in hot water, there are places that we don't think of that harbor eggs, like on sofa pillows, area rugs and coats or clothes we don't wash very often. i truly hope you get this under control, I know how frustrating it can be. All teh luck!
I wonder if an ultra violet light used to spot small objects like pee stains or glass would help to locate any fleas
Use Bayer Advantage 2. Just put it on the back of there neck and put them out side. The fleas will jump off outside. It's expensive but it works. Hartz is useless.
