Fleas!!!! Arrrrgh!!!! Please Help.....

[Tink84]

Hello all,

Its me the neurotic one again ha ha. To reflect a year on from when i got my beautiful Cat who was given to me riddled with Fleas. I treated my home and cat and got shut! Buuuut exactly a year on and i had my dates in my diary wrong and had missed my flea treatment by 2 weeks and my kitty has fleas again!!!!.....hes been itching and when i checked this morning after he was scratching a fair bit (I check him daily) he had what i thought was flea dirt so i went to the vet this afternoon and got the stuff i put on him which worked within the 1/2 hr of applying it when i first got him a year ago but this time after 1/2 hour i checked his fur and i couldn't see any dead fleas on him so felt relieved he must not have any.......then an hour or two after it had been applied i looked closer and couldn't see anything again on his fur but then when i parted a bit of fur by his ear/neck i seen one running!!!! Does this mean the treatment hasn't worked? I let him go outside after that, which im worried may or may not have been a good idea although he only went out for an hour. Now hes back in i've tried to check him again and i cant see any dead ones on his fur and he doesn't let me check his fur properly without growling at me so im now extreemly paranoid about him having fleas still and don't want him to sleep in my bedroom where he normally sleeps. What do you all think? I hate bugs and fleas!! I get so itchy and worked up as it really upsets my OCD! Ive tried to look again just before but he wont let me check long enough!

Thank you for any replies this is my worst nightmare back again!!! xx

 

[maggiedemi]

I think it takes like 12 hours to kill all the fleas. What did the vet use, Frontline?

 

[Tink84]

hi M maggiedemi thanks for taking the time to reply. the vet prescribed Bayer Advocate. I'm not sure if your familiar with that at all?
like i say when i used it the first time he had them a year ago all in all within the hour there were like 15 dead fleas on him so it worked fast then but I'm not so sure this time! xx

 

[Tink84]

Do you think i should let him still sleep in our room? I don't want to be cruel to him and stop him sleeping where hes happy and hes been in there when he hadn't been treated so i don't see why i should stop him now i have treated him! what you think? xx

 

[maggiedemi]

I Googled it and it said with most flea topicals, the fleas should be dead within 24 hours. I think it would be okay to have him sleep with you, because if there are any fleas on the bed and they hop on him, it will kill them.

 

[Tink84]

I Googled it and it said with most flea topicals, the fleas should be dead within 24 hours. I think it would be okay to have him sleep with you, because if there are any fleas on the bed and they hop on him, it will kill them.

Thank you your being really helpful for me right now i just go into panic mode and can't think straight! Ok i think il just let him go about his usual thing about the house in that case then as it makes sense!

One last question.......do you think il be ok to let him go outside as normal tomorrow? xx

 

[maggiedemi]

I think it should be okay, since it keeps on working. When my cat was indoor/outdoor I didn't wait to let him back out. He's indoor only now though. It usually takes about 2 days to dry on my cats. Does he have a big greasy spot on his neck?

 

[Tink84]

I think it should be okay, since it keeps on working. When my cat was indoor/outdoor I didn't wait to let him back out. He's indoor only now though. It usually takes about 2 days to dry on my cats. Does he have a big greasy spot on his neck?

My cat is i suppose hes a indoor/outdoor cat as he only goes out when i come home from work of an evening or when im around at weekends as i cant install a cat flap on my doors! Yes he does have a big greasy patch where i applied the treatment it usually dries quicker than it seems to have on him this time. He keeps hiding from me i think because he thinks im going to check him again bless him.

 

[basscat]

SUPPOSEDLY...A cat treated with a topical (Advocate, Advantage, Frontline, etc). Acts like a little exterminator. They run around, a flea gets on them, bites them, then dies.
It doesn't keep them from being bitten.
It doesn't keep them having fleas.
It does stop them from having the "same" flea for more than a day.
So, in theory, your little exterminator will "eventually" put a dent in a flea population.

Is why lots of people think fleas are immune to the topicals...Because there are fleas on their cat every time they check. But, I think the fleas you see are todays fleas, not yesterdays.

The only way to be sure is to isolate the cat away from any fleas for a few days.

 

[Tink84]

SUPPOSEDLY...A cat treated with a topical (Advocate, Advantage, Frontline, etc). Acts like a little exterminator. They run around, a flea gets on them, bites them, then dies.
It doesn't keep them from being bitten.
It doesn't keep them having fleas.
It does stop them from having the "same" flea for more than a day.
So, in theory, your little exterminator will "eventually" put a dent in a flea population.

Is why lots of people think fleas are immune to the topicals...Because there are fleas on their cat every time they check. But, I think the fleas you see are todays fleas, not yesterdays.

The only way to be sure is to isolate the cat away from any fleas for a few days.

Thank you for your reply. Well if I'm honest I feel a lot better 24hrs on from my post and I've hoovered everywhere, washed his 2 beds and sprayed the typical places he likes to sleep or hang out in the house with a spray I got from the vets called Rip fleas. I checked his fur this morning (he tolerated me for 5 mind before growling lol) and I found 1 dying flea. It seems from checking down his back at intervals through the day and round his neck that he doesn't really have any flea dirt in those places and I think via grooming has managed to clean the bits that were in his head so he hasn't much on him now. I feel a lot better now he's had the treatment on for 24hrs and I've sprayed the house. We haven't been bitten so I'm having everything crossed that I managed to catch them in time and that he had literally not had them longer than a day or two so I should have hopefully interrupted the cycle now!? I really hope so!!!!!??!!

 

[jen]

SUPPOSEDLY...A cat treated with a topical (Advocate, Advantage, Frontline, etc). Acts like a little exterminator. They run around, a flea gets on them, bites them, then dies.
It doesn't keep them from being bitten.
It doesn't keep them having fleas.
It does stop them from having the "same" flea for more than a day.
So, in theory, your little exterminator will "eventually" put a dent in a flea population.

Is why lots of people think fleas are immune to the topicals...Because there are fleas on their cat every time they check. But, I think the fleas you see are todays fleas, not yesterdays.

The only way to be sure is to isolate the cat away from any fleas for a few days.

Yes! You took the words right out of my mouth. I always tell people that the fleas have to jump on the cat to die. If you are still seeing fleas they are coming from somewhere. What you are seeing is the tip of the iceburg and there are eggs and larvae everywhere which can lay dorment sometimes. Kepp treating, switch products even if you have always used the same product, throw a flea collar in the vaccuum bag and vaccuum like crazy every day for a few days. Get to where the fleas are coming from!

 

[Tink84]

Yes! You took the words right out of my mouth. I always tell people that the fleas have to jump on the cat to die. If you are still seeing fleas they are coming from somewhere. What you are seeing is the tip of the iceburg and there are eggs and larvae everywhere which can lay dorment sometimes. Kepp treating, switch products even if you have always used the same product, throw a flea collar in the vaccuum bag and vaccuum like crazy every day for a few days. Get to where the fleas are coming from!

Thank you for your reply. I know that is all very true but you have made me even more paranoid now than I already was!! It's now a week gone from when I noticed them on him and I've sprayed and hoovered everywhere a few times now and treated him too. He doesn't like me checking him he runs away but I can't see any dirt on him at all now in the area it was or down his back or anywhere so I'm holding everything crossed that I literally caught them the min he got them as he's also only scratching as much as he normally would so I feel happy an confident that I've acted quick enough to get rid of them so I don't have a problem! Were not itching or being bit either so proves to me I don't think they are around the house so I'm happy I've sorted the issue!?! I hate the little blighters they are the worst thing I'm the world!! They make me so paranoid I just wanna throw everything out of my house and sit on the floor Lol.

 

[HippoDisco]

They are awful, aren't they? I never had cats growing up so had never even seen a flea, until last week! Ours are indoor, so it may sound stupid, but it didn't even occur to us to flea treat them.

Got some Frontline (which nearly veryone says doesn't work!) on them last Friday (25th Aug), because they were scratching excessively, but we hadn't seen a single flea by this point. Cats got a bath (not impressed) . Hoovered like crazy and we only got one can of flea spray but did a light mist of the entire house with it - the next day I'm in the bedroom and they're all over my legs! About 6 of the evil critters.

Hoovered every other day for the following week. Got three more cans of Johnsons 4fleas spray, plus 12 bombs (each room of the house). Saturday I hoovered again and emptied an entire can on the two rooms we had actually seen them in (one can supposed to be a whole 3 bed!). Touch wood - I haven't seen one since and cats are barely scratching now as well. I know we still need to treat the rest and will use the bombs also, but we have other animals in the house that will need relocating temporarily before we do.

What I would advise is be liberal with the spray. Very liberal. Just make sure you ventilate the room(s) well afterwards and you'll be fine. Fleas won't though.

 

[Tink84]

HippoDisco .... they are vial critters which I really wish didn't exist. In m case I have to honestly say I would like to think I caught it in time and that we didn't end up with a house of them as fingers crossed we haven't had any on us or in our bed and i have what could be bites but I sleep with our bedroom window open and we have mosquito around here so I'm not sure if they are from them instead as the bites are continually itchy or very raised. To be honest though I used front line last month and I usually use the stronger one from the vets and I believe it's coz I used front line instead that he got them! So this time I used the vets one again and haven't been able to truly scrutinise him as he won't tolerate it but I haven't seen any or dirt since that first day last week. I also used my can of Rip Fleas as recommended by the vet too and I believe that works instantly and lasts a whole year which it's Ben since I used it as yr so I sprayed our bedroom the places he uses and sleeps like landing and stairs bathroom and seatees etc. Yay they r horrid!!! Good luck I hope ure rid your home of them but if not I do suggest you use rip fleas spray znd the vets flea stuff xx