Desperately need help, flea issues

[Fullhouse26]

I am so sorry to ask for help.

My cat has been poorly after both Stronghold and Advantage fles treatments. Each time she's needed a steroid injection at the vet and although not direly ill, she's been poorly enough to not use them again. My vet is useless, suggesting the Program injection, but not really interested. I've been desperately trying to treat the house while I beg for help from cat specialists I've found online for their suggestions. I have poor health including mental health issues and I also have an elderly and poorly rabbit at the moment, in whose room I am in (including sleeping) virtually 24/7.

I thought I was getting on ok doing the house, using the Indorex stray. It's not easy as I have house rabbits and house guinea pigs and I'm terrified of them being poisoned.

Today I have had my cat with me a lot and she is covered in fleas. I'm literally picking them off and killing them with tweezers and my fingernails. I feel so ashamed and I know I have failed her. She has some signs of flea allergy and has had steroid injections in the past for this. I can't get an appointment for this until Monday as my vet says they're really busy with everyone who bought pets in lockdown.

I am absolutely terrified by these fleas. There are several quite often in the same area. I'm having panic attacks with fear and guilt. I know I've failed her, but please, please can anyone suggest someone at least short term, to get them off her? I wondered about literally washing her. I know it isn't the long term solution but I'm terrified she'll be ill with so many on her.

You are more than entitled to judge me. I deserve it. I am genuinely a decent person who worships all animals and to be in this position appauls me. I am everything I hate in other people. Please help.

 

[fionasmom]

Welcome to The Cat Site. No one is going to judge you and you are being way too hard on yourself as fleas are not something that you caused to happen.

Do you have the resources to call an extermination company? Any responsible company is going to take precautions with your animals. Flea treatments may not be that expensive. No, you don't want the house tented, just the fleas gone. Indorex does contain permethrin which is not safe around cats. Having said that, I am surprised that a product like that has not done something to help the problem. Have you tried a fogger? Of course, with all these products you have to take all the precautions with your animals and relocate them for as long as the product specifies.

How To Treat Fleas In Young Kittens – TheCatSite Articles
This article has instructions for bathing a kitten, probably applicable to your cat if she will allow bathing.

Fleas!
This is a recent thread which may be helpful. Note the link to Flea Science

What is the source of the fleas since they are occurring in such quantity?

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

So it sounds like your furbaby has an issue with the application of the flea meds? I'm not sure if they all have pretty much the same ingredients or not, but you might have to check the labels to see, t But did your Vet say you should probably stay away from any and all fleaapplications? There IS one natural flea and tick repellent some some people use, although I can't say how well it really works because I haven't tried it. It's diatomaceous earth (food grade only). It's a powder you can apply directly to your cat. From what I've read it's like baby powder, very, very fine, so you want to be careful to not breathe it in or get it in your eyes. Same with your cat, be careful around their heads. BUT, the thing with it is, they can lick it, eat it, whatever, so it's ok to sprinkle it on their bedding, on the carpet, pretty much on any soft surface, and leave it there. It dehydrated whatever it touches, that's why you don't want it in your mouth, nose or eyes. But it takes a couple days and the mature fleas will dry up. But with this you have to repeat it every few days for a few weeks to get all the fleas, and you have to do all the animals who have even one flea, and the entire house where the fleas might be hiding away or have laid eggs. If you apply this to your cat, you need to get it all the way to the skin, then sork your way up to the tip of the fur. Just use your fingertips to apply a little bit to the cat and go from there. The flea has to come in contact with the product for it to work. And apply more where the fleas usualy congregate, typically the base of the tail, under the arms, around the neck.

 

[Joelle and the kittens]

Noooo, I knew someone would bring up DE! It's unfortunately been the subject of a lot of marketing misinformation as basically a cure-all for arthropod pests when the studies are actually severely lacking. I'll just copy and paste what I said in another thread:

Re: diatomaceous earth: PetMD strongly discourages using DE on pets: "Do not apply diatomaceous earth directly to your pet. It is not effective for flea control when used in this manner and could potentially result in lung damage if inhaled." And this other site suggests even environmental application is ineffective: “There is virtually no reliable data—lab or field studies—showing it is useful at all for flea control in a home—either powdered in the premises or ingested”.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Noooo, I knew someone would bring up DE! It's unfortunately been the subject of a lot of marketing misinformation as basically a cure-all for arthropod pests when the studies are actually severely lacking. I'll just copy and paste what I said in another thread:

Re: diatomaceous earth: PetMD strongly discourages using DE on pets: "Do not apply diatomaceous earth directly to your pet. It is not effective for flea control when used in this manner and could potentially result in lung damage if inhaled." And this other site suggests even environmental application is ineffective: “There is virtually no reliable data—lab or field studies—showing it is useful at all for flea control in a home—either powdered in the premises or ingested”.

For every website that says it doesn't work you can find one that says it does . You are correct though, that it needs to applied correctly to prevent lung damage, and that's why I mentioned HOW to apply and to not breath it in or let your cat do so. And this is only recommended in case the cat is having reactions to other flea medications as the original poster indicated was the case.

 

[maggiemay]

I am a 15 year user of FOOD GRADE DE. It just plain works. No chemicals, the teeny tiny fossils pierce the shell of the fleas. I put mine in a clean cotton tube sock, close the end with a rubber band, and gently rub their coats. Just be careful around their faces, you don’t want them to inhale it. It must be FOOD GRADE. I don’t care what PetMD has to say about it, they are just an adjunct of big pharma and would much prefer you use their chemical flea products full of neurotoxins on your precious pets. No thanks. Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth

 

[John Perram]

TICKS & FLEAS

Try this. These guys stopped my sammys lung cancer growth.

You will also need to spray the entire house. I used Raid Flea Carpet and room worked great.

Raid Carpet & Room Flea Killer Spray - 160z/1ct

 

[Talien]

Noooo, I knew someone would bring up DE! It's unfortunately been the subject of a lot of marketing misinformation as basically a cure-all for arthropod pests when the studies are actually severely lacking. I'll just copy and paste what I said in another thread:

Re: diatomaceous earth: PetMD strongly discourages using DE on pets: "Do not apply diatomaceous earth directly to your pet. It is not effective for flea control when used in this manner and could potentially result in lung damage if inhaled." And this other site suggests even environmental application is ineffective: “There is virtually no reliable data—lab or field studies—showing it is useful at all for flea control in a home—either powdered in the premises or ingested”.

I've been using DE for years and it most definitely works. The info about it not doing anything largely comes from studies done by and/or funded by the companies that produce the chemical flea treatments so it can hardly be called unbiased. Yes, it can cause lung or eye damage if improperly used, but as long as you coat your hands in it and rub it into their fur instead of dumping it on your pet there's little danger of that. Probably less danger than your Cat dying from a bad reaction to chemical flea treatments. Your are literally applying poison to your pet.

Food grade DE is also safe for applying around your house in areas where insects are often seen, even in food preparation areas because it's nontoxic, and it works on more than just fleas.

 

[Joelle and the kittens]

The info about it not doing anything largely comes from studies done by and/or funded by the companies that produce the chemical flea treatments so it can hardly be called unbiased. Yes, it can cause lung or eye damage if improperly used, but as long as you coat your hands in it and rub it into their fur instead of dumping it on your pet there's little danger of that. Probably less danger than your Cat dying from a bad reaction to chemical flea treatments. Your are literally applying poison to your pet.

I would be interested in seeing the sources for these comments.