Fleas! Help!

[hleeeex3]

Hi everyone!

My cat has been itching around her neck area more than usual so we gave her a bath yesterday. I noticed tiny black specks on my blankets and found out that it was flea dirt (I did the test where you put water on it and unfortunately it turned red). So I wanted to see if my vet could give her some flea meds, but after reading many bad things about how they are poisonous to cats, I'm not sure what I should do... I've switched my blankets and vacuumed around the house. We only have hardwood floors so I removed all rugs and carpet. I've combed her and found no fleas but just flea dirt. She is currently on Dexamethasone 2-3 times a week so I don't want anything that will interact with the medication. We went to the vet and the vet tech recommended Cheristin, but after reading really bad reviews of how it made their cats really sick... I'm hesitant to give it to her. Does anyone have any recommendations? Thank you!

 

[Wile]

You can get a topical treatment like Advantage (imidacloprid) that works great as a once a month treatment. I've used it in the past and had no issues.

I have no idea if this will react with her current medication or not. You will need to consult your vet to find out that info.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Anything that will kills fleas is, by definition, poisonous. MOST cats do not have any reactions to them when used as directed. And do bear in mind that, like humans, ANY CAT can have a reaction to ANY MEDICATION at all. And the fleas themselves, can cause life-threatening anemia and other issues. So, we must balance one issue against another. Your vet knows best which flea remedies are least likely to interact with the medications your cat is on. I'd talk with him/her very directly, discuss your concerns, and make a decision on what is best for your cat from there. There are some good topical flea treatments, as well as some good oral ones. My own cat has done very well with Comfortis (oral) and with Frontline (topical). Are there scare stories out there about them? Yes. But there are stories like that about EVERY MEDICINE KNOWN TO MAN OR BEAST!

 

[Sandy Beach]

We moved into a place a couple years ago that had an unknown preexisting flea infestation prior to us moving in. As luck would have it, We moved in the dead of winter so naturally, I had just stopped their monthly flea topical treatment prior to moving in. Big mistake. 3 days after moving in I realized we had a huge issue.

I purchased Capstar which is a pill you can obtain online without a prescription, it only works for 24 hours and only kills adult fleas, but is quite effective. My cats took it several times while we were fighting the infestation with no negative reactions. Then I started the cats back on Frontline immediately. One month later we still had an issue. Frontline didn’t seem to help at all. We switched to Revolution at that time, which was much more effective. I had an exterminator come to my house every 2 weeks for 2 months. We vacuumed EVERY DAY and put a flea collar in my vacuum bag, we vacuumed EVERYTHING from furniture to carpets to mattresses. I washed everything in the house with borax in extremely hot water. (With an extra rinse cycle because Borax can be toxic to cats) It took 3 solid months to rid the home of fleas. What a headache.
I personally like Revolution and Capstar. They can be used safely in conjunction with each other. Fleas suck and take time to fully get rid of, mostly due to the pupa stage of their lifecycle where almost nothing kills them. Be patient. They don’t go away quickly.

 

[Marlow cat]

Getting rid of the fleas.
Fleas only spend about 5 to 10% of their life on a cat. We have found that using a flea comb rarely pulls them off. They are so good at hiding, however, we can usually get rid of the fleas without using chemicals or pills. We think the fleas mostly hide and live in our cats bedding. Put a pillowcase down where your cat sleeps. So every time he gets up we first check for live fleas, eggs, and flea scat and then throw his bedding into dryer for 15 minutes to kill them . We also do vacuuming. This has work quite effectively.

 

[maggiedemi]

My brother & I have both had good luck using Frontline on our cats. He has 3 and I have 2. We never had any side effects.

 

[BlueJay]

I know what you mean! I've read somethings about toxins building up and causing problems later in life! I've read about some people using coconut oil. It has lauric acid or something that is supposed to kill them. Some say it just slows them down and makes it easier to comb them out. I believe it's best to get the extra-virgin organic unprocessed kind, since they will evidently like it off, so do some more research into that before you try it. If you do a Google search for natural flea killers there is more advice for keeping fleas out of your yard and some other stuff. Some things recommend some essential oils, but there's more sites that claims harmful effects of EO building up in cats than there is for the topical treatment revolution. Oh, and there's the trick of luring them into a pan of soapy water with a light shining on it at night where your cats can't get it. If my kitty gets fleas, I will try vacuuming/washing/coconut oil/combing daily first, but if the problem gets worse, I will switch to revolution.

 

[hleeeex3]

Hi all! Thank you so much for your advice and recommendations. We took her to the vet and got a dose of Revolution. We monitored closely after and she’s been her usual self. She does seem extra snuggly though... I know when cats show sudden affection it might mean they’re sick I don’t think that’s the case because she was running around and eating just fine but now I’m a little worried.

 

[maggiedemi]

She does seem extra snuggly though... I know when cats show sudden affection it might mean they’re sick

Actually, she might be showing affection because she feels better, now that the fleas are gone.

 

[basscat]

If she has fleas and you bathed her, you would have found some in the bathwater.
If you bathed her, that would have rid her of all the flea dirt. If it was bad, the water would have turned a shade of red.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

She does seem extra snuggly though... I know when cats show sudden affection it might mean they’re sick I don’t think that’s the case because she was running around and eating just fine but now I’m a little worried.

Actually, she might be showing affection because she feels better, now that the fleas are gone.

Yep, that was my thought. She isn't being driven nuts by the itching.