Fleas After Monthly Treatments

[Wernerc07]

Hello all.
I have a bit of background to cover but please help!

We have two brother cats that are about six months old now that we adopted back in October (3 months ago). In late November, we discovered they both had some tapeworm issues. At the time, we were only fostering to adopt. The rescue we were fostering from gave us tapeworm medication that didn’t work fully (it was meant for dogs but they swore they used it all the time...same active ingredient/cheaper/etc). The words died off mostly but came back around Christmas. We have them the second dose of tapeworm meds. They were neutered in December and then our adoption was official. We still saw the worms so we took them to a vet in January. The vet gave them a pill that worked wonderfully for the worms, no issues since.

Last night, late January, my wife was using our flea comb (we bought it once we found out about the tapeworm and comb them at least weekly) and found one bug that appears to be a flea? See picture.

We have kept up with the drops of flea prevention on the back of their necks since November when we found out about the tapeworms. We have not seen another flea anywhere whatsoever. I THINK this particular bug was dead but my wife and I were very surprised to see any. I’ve combed them both aggressively and only saw this one.

How concerned should we be? We were overrun with sand fleas from a prior cat several years back when we lived down south and it got so bad that nothing worked. We ended up moving (i was in the military so we relocated) to get away from the problem.

We scoop two litter boxes daily and completely clean them out weekly, live in a relatively clean home, and they are both indoor cats. The last thing we want is another flea problem. Any advice or experience would be appreciated.

 

[di and bob]

The flea was dead when you combed it out? It could just be a dead one they picked up. They are still alive when you comb them out and are usually killed in a cup of soapy water. don't treat actively for fleas unless you find live ones. the best way to prevent them is to keep them indoors. I have had cats go outside for all their lives and have never had fleas. I would hold off treatments for a few months, combing them often to check for fleas. Those treatments are toxic to an extent, I usually used them for ticks in our area. I have used Profender, a topical wormer, very successfully for tapeworm in my cats, it needs only one treatment to work. You need your vet's prescription, I just called and told him one was needed and ordered it on PetMeds. It starts at 11.29 for a kitten dose and is at least half of what the vet would charge you. You get free shipping too at a certain level. It's a little pricier than most but really works, and with only one dose works out. They also sell Advantage Multi which takes care of fleas and worms.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I am in FL and there is no period in the year that there aren't fleas around. Although they are more prevalent in some regions/areas, even in colder locations fleas don't really ever completely die off, they borough and or hibernate in warm spots - including wild life - found outside during winter. Also, wild life can bring fleas into your yard and then you can even carry them in to the house on your clothing. So, the dead flea (if it really is a flea) you found could have been brought into the house, attached itself to your cat, and died as a result of the flea treatment. Just continue doing what you are doing - the flea combing and the flea treatments. If the flea treatments remains effective, any fleas that do manage to get inside should be killed by them. And, yes flea treatments are chemicals, so like any chemical there is a risk factor from a health perspective. But, it is pretty much like many common products that are used by humans, they come with some level of risk with their use.

I know there are many members who don't seem to be as affected by fleas as others are - so, location/weather probably does have an impact on that. But, where I live - even with an indoor only cat (although she does spend time on our screened in patio), I need to treat her for fleas year round just to keep the number of fleas to a reasonable level. We never get rid of them entirely. (This was not the case until recently. Feeby - 16+ yo - had never received a flea treatment until about 2 years ago. So, something about the environment I live in has changed over the years.)

Admittedly, I probably need to treat my yard more frequently to help reduce the flea population, so if you continue to see more fleas you might consider doing the same - if you aren't already.

 

[Jaytea]

Continue with the topical flea treatment, and I think you and the kitties will be fine.

If you want to be extra cautious, Mycodex is a great product to eliminate fleas and eggs in the home. We used to let one of our cats go outside on a leash until he picked up some fleas that way and brought them inside and introduced them to our second cat. We had to treat ALL the carpets and furniture with Mycodex to ensure all remaining fleas and eggs were killed off. It was a pain in the ass to do it, but it worked.

Mycodex Plus - Environmental Control Aerosol Household Spray 16 oz

 

[nightowls]

I use the seresto collar on all my indoor animals (cats/dogs) - the tropical treatments were not working for my house 100%.