FLEAS in the home. How to treat safely?

[SukiSuki]

Tonight I discovered fleas on my Suki. She has never had fleas before, so I'm kinda freaking out. I noticed she has been scratching lately. I decided to investigate and found them. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had any idea!!

I bathed her and killed the fleas that were on her. I'm gonna to get flea med from the vet when they open.

I have my toddler grandson with me for a week. I have wood floors, tile floors, one big rug, leather furniture, one upholstered sofa, and a cat tree. I only have blinds no curtains. I vacuum on a regular basis.

Please help me! What can I use in these areas to help deter and kill without harming my cat or toddler grandson? What other areas am I forgetting? Mattresses? Should I spray my yard? With what? We have neighbors with outdoor cats. I don't want to harm them or the birds and squirrels. I'm stressing out.. almost 2 AM, wide awake and should be sleeping.

 

[Kris107]

Any bug situation is certainly something that keeps you awake at night! I, personally don't have a ton of experience with fleas except when I was a child. Since then I've lived somewhere where there aren't fleas. There are a couple articles you could check out though:
Homemade Flea Remedies For Cats [DIY Methods For A Flea-Free Feline] - TheCatSite
Cat Fleas - The Silent Threat To Your Cat - TheCatSite
I'm sure others will provide more helpful advice throughout the day!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Has Suki ever had fleas before? Does she go outside. Does your grandson have pets at home?

For now, until you know how severe the infestation is, get the flea treatment from your vet and make sure it contains an IGR (insect growth regulator) which kills flea eggs/larvae as well as adult fleas. Vacuum daily, especially areas where Suki spends time. Rather than bathe her routinely, purchase a flea comb and comb her daily. Get a container of water mixed with some dishsoap and some paper towels. Take long strokes, starting at the head, with the flea comb and then dip it in the water, and next dry it on the paper towels. The water may turn pinkish with flea dirt that contains the blood from them biting her. The paper towel may also turn pinkish for the same reason.

This is a starting point, and may be all you need to do. So, see where this goes, and come back to let us know happens.

 

[Meowmee]

Tonight I discovered fleas on my Suki. She has never had fleas before, so I'm kinda freaking out. I noticed she has been scratching lately. I decided to investigate and found them. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had any idea!!

I bathed her and killed the fleas that were on her. I'm gonna to get flea med from the vet when they open.

I have my toddler grandson with me for a week. I have wood floors, tile floors, one big rug, leather furniture, one upholstered sofa, and a cat tree. I only have blinds no curtains. I vacuum on a regular basis.

Please help me! What can I use in these areas to help deter and kill without harming my cat or toddler grandson? What other areas am I forgetting? Mattresses? Should I spray my yard? With what? We have neighbors with outdoor cats. I don't want to harm them or the birds and squirrels. I'm stressing out.. almost 2 AM, wide awake and should be sleeping.

Just clean/ wash everything, bedding, cat beds etc. vacuum etc. for at least a month because the eggs can hatch for 30 days. Then you will be good. No pesticides etc. needed. Check her with a comb and bath again as needed.

I’ve had cats for over 30 years and we never had any fleas until my civil Sybil long hair beauty in my profile pic, she was indoor outdoor. For a few years and I had to use flea treatments on them, but I don’t use them anymore actually stopped using it on her and the others because I was worried it was making them sick. So what I did was, I just shaved her every spring and that took care of it.

For some reason, although I had indoor outdoor cats, they were sh, and they never got any fleas. Now my cats are all indoor only, and I don’t treat them at all and they never get fleas.

I don’t think you need to spray your yard. If she’s indoor outdoor and she’s long-haired, try shaving her in the spring that should help.

 

[stephanietx]

Sprinkle Borax (from the laundry aisle) on carpets and along baseboards and under furniture. Leave overnight and vacuum up in the morning. Place a flea collar in the bag or canister of your machine to kill them once vacuumed up. Empty immediately and dispose.

 

[Caspers Human]

Just clean/ wash everything, bedding, cat beds etc. vacuum etc. for at least a month because the eggs can hatch for 30 days. Then you will be good. No pesticides etc. needed. Check her with a comb and bath again as needed.

That's probably the single, best thing you can do. Clean and vacuum the crap out of everything!

Vacuum your carpets, upholstery, bedding, drapes and anything else you can think of. You won't necessarily vacuum up all the fleas and their eggs on the first try but, each time you vacuum, you'll get more and more of them. Also, wash everything that's washable: blankets, pillows, sheets and bedding. Anything that isn't tied down. Use hot water and bleach if you can. (Some fabrics shouldn't be bleached.) The idea is to keep the flea population under attack until accumulated stress on their population finally does them in.

Flea medications for your cat are also important. There are many different kinds of flea meds. Some are better than others. I suggest talking to your vet to get their opinion. I have heard that some flea medications can make cats get sick but I've never seen it, in person. Your vet will be the best person to talk to about this subject. We use Bravecto on our cats. It's pretty expensive, compared to other flea meds and it's only available from veterinarians but it works well. Not only does it kill fleas but ticks and ear mites, too. It has not made either or our cats sick. Ask your vet. They are your best source!

As for other preparations to be used around the house, there are many options. Some are better than others. Just be careful with anything that contains pyretherin, permethrin or has a similar sounding name. They are all toxic to cats. If you use any of these anti-flea preparations, keep all cats out of the area until the smell is completely gone. You can use natural remedies like cedar but their effectiveness is more limited. Some say that you can use diatomaceous earth or powdered borax but they don't work well by themselves. You have to clean everything, well, before they can work.

The easiest thing to do to keep fleas off your cats is to keep them indoors. If they don't go outside where they are exposed to fleas they can't get them. Fleas can, sometimes, come indoors in the summer time when more doors and windows are open but, still, if they don't go outdoors, cats won't get fleas so much.

We have two cats. They stay indoors. We give them flea medication during the summer when fleas are most prevalent. We vacuum the house regularly. We haven't had any problems with fleas in ten years.

As with many things, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Place a flea collar in the bag or canister of your machine to kill them once vacuumed up.

Good idea! I never thought of that, before!

 

[Kwik]

Actually flea eggs can lie dormant for a very very long time,they hatch from vibration so sometimes they are present somewhere and then someone starts vacuuming inside,,mowing outside and the cycle begins again....do you know just as many fleas are brought in homes by kids playing in the grass ,they just love cotton socks so the cats the easy part....

stephanietx is spot on about the Borax powdered laundry detergent- you'll want to do room by room with kitty safely tucked away- fleas get into floorboards,under baseboards and lay eggs anywhere - leave overnight and when you vacuum the vibration hatchrs the eggs and repeat

Flea infestations are difficult because of the life cycle - bombing eradicates them effectively but of course you have to leave for many hours and then clean everything in sight of the residue

Hopefully you don't have an infestation - I once did decades ago and I met an exterminator who became a dear friend for life because he's crazy about animals and sponsors many a rescue org....Zevo is a pet friendly insect product but not effective on fleas,bed bugs or termites - as my friend Charlie says " anything that will kill those will be toxic to your cats"

So keep animals and small children safe by thoroughly cleansing and rinsing everything thats been treated....

 

[Furballsmom]

If you decide to spray the yard, Only Natural Pet has a product I'm using (I'm not affiliated, just recommending) for the yard and another product for Captain Buddy.

 

[Caspers Human]

stephanietx is spot on about the Borax powdered laundry detergent- you'll want to do room by room with kitty safely tucked away- fleas get into floorboards,under baseboards and lay eggs anywhere - leave overnight and when you vacuum the vibration hatchrs the eggs and repeat

Borax is only moderately toxic to cats. A small amount, such as what they might get on their fur then ingest when they clean themselves might make them vomit or get diarrhea but it won't make them "doctor sick" unless they ingest a lot of it. It would take about a half-teaspoon full of powdered borax to make a cat sick enough to go to the vet. A lethal dose would probably be a full-tablespoon or more. It all depends on the cat, the size of the cat, the amount they ingest and other factors like environment and the cat's overall health, before they were exposed.

If you use common sense, there should be no problems. Just keep cats away until you've cleaned up the borax. If they get sick and start throwing up or getting the squirts, call your vet.

 

[stephanietx]

My outdoor kitty (neighborhood kitty) had fleas and we brought a few in . Two of my cats ended up with them, but the third did not. I treated with meds from the vet and we're done with fleas. It didn't lead to an infestation. We did treat our yard with beneficial nematodes, however, to hopefully stop them in the yard and to further protect our outside kitty more.

 

[Meowmee]

That's probably the single, best thing you can do. Clean and vacuum the crap out of everything!

It has worked for me, but it is a lot of work at the time we had the first minor infestation with Sybil I did put flea treatment on everybody too. However, after everybody and I started getting ill, I stopped using that and just did baths as needed, and shaving Sybil, and that took care of it. Then no more baths and nothing except shaving her. She still went outside for a walk later but at that time they were all indoor outdoor, but all sh except for Syb.

Years ago, we lived in England and we had a real infestation from three cats who were attached to a house we were renting. I’m talking you could see the fleas jumping in front of the vacuum! And my father and brother were covered in bites. Fortunately, my mother and I did not get flea bites or don’t react to them. I wonder if that means we would’ve survived the plague

Anyway, we did vacuum and clean a lot, but we also had to have the Health Board come to fumigate the house too. So, you may need something stronger, etc., and depending on what part of the country you are in or what climate you live in you may have to do more than what I have typically done.

When I brought Quinn home, the breeder was having some type of infestation of sand fleas I think. Even though he was treated with an oral medication he had them when I brought him home. I wish I had just given him a bath, but he was very skittish and I ended up taking him to Dvm who put flea treatment on him…then he started vomiting right away, and he had diarrhea for months after that so I regret that when I could’ve just given him a bath.

I did one treatment on Sybil too, and I vacuumed/ cleaned like crazy- everything, and it worked.

* part of the reason the infestation was so bad in England was that the family living there before us, a young couple with a baby, did not know that the cats had fleas and the house was infested etc. so they weren’t doing anything about it. I will never forget the night we arrived there. They had the heat blasting. They were covered in bites and they thought they had some sort of virus lol. I told my parents later, I think they have bites all over them!

Well, it turned out I was right because my parents quickly figured out that we had a house full of fleas, and the cats were the source. those cats were outdoor cats, but the family had been feeding them. What happened was the owner of the house arranged for a shelter to come and pick them up and they all got adopted into homes. I was sad about that because I was already a cat lover at that point.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Tonight I discovered fleas on my Suki. She has never had fleas before, so I'm kinda freaking out. I noticed she has been scratching lately. I decided to investigate and found them. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had any idea!!

I bathed her and killed the fleas that were on her. I'm gonna to get flea med from the vet when they open.

I have my toddler grandson with me for a week. I have wood floors, tile floors, one big rug, leather furniture, one upholstered sofa, and a cat tree. I only have blinds no curtains. I vacuum on a regular basis.

Please help me! What can I use in these areas to help deter and kill without harming my cat or toddler grandson? What other areas am I forgetting? Mattresses? Should I spray my yard? With what? We have neighbors with outdoor cats. I don't want to harm them or the birds and squirrels. I'm stressing out.. almost 2 AM, wide awake and should be sleeping.

The borax powder is a good environmental treatment. There is a brand called FleaBusters that we've used; it is very effective and safe used according to the directions.
I prefer flea combing to applying any kind of topical, but when using a topical, Advantage is the only one I've found safe and effective applied as directed, according to the weight of the cat.

 

[Kwik]

Caspers Human
That's right about using " common sense" and the Borax,Charlie( the exterminator) suggested it before I saw the infestation was uncontrollable as every time I'd vacuum they were hatching like mad

The house was infested when I moved in- the house was vacant 2 years-who knew?Thsts when I learned the eggs lie dormant until vibration-you move in and start vacuuming ,right?It was a nightmare and such a big 2,story place with wall to wall carpeting- here in South Florida there are sand fleas like crazy so Revolution is my peace of mind.... haven't seen a flea in decades( thankfully)

 

[tarasgirl06]

Caspers Human
That's right about using " common sense" and the Borax,Charlie( the exterminator) suggested it before I saw the infestation was uncontrollable as every time I'd vacuum they were hatching like mad

The house was infested when I moved in- the house was vacant 2 years-who knew?Thsts when I learned the eggs lie dormant until vibration-you move in and start vacuuming ,right?It was a nightmare and such a big 2,story place with wall to wall carpeting- here in South Florida there are sand fleas like crazy so Revolution is my peace of mind.... haven't seen a flea in decades( thankfully)

Valuable advice, Kwik -- yeah, who knew?
Really glad it's a past problem.

 

[Kwik]

Valuable advice, Kwik -- yeah, who knew?
Really glad it's a past problem.

Me too!

 

[danteshuman]

Just put cheristen on her and wash her bedding.

 

[Kwik]

Just put cheristen on her and wash her bedding.

Typo? You mean Cheristen ,right?

Ah,you saw it- lol

 

[Meowmee]

Just put cheristen on her and wash her bedding.

Someone posted about Cheristen here and said it killed one of the cats in her office, there are other posts about reactions/ deaths also. I looked it up because I had never heard of it.

Active ingredient in Cheristen: spinetoram

a neuro toxin

It does not have fda approval- it used to be called Assurity. Assurity caused a lot of adverse reactions and deaths in cats apparently. The company then reduced the active dose from about 39% to 11% and reintroduced it under the name Cherestin.

Do not use cheristin for cats!!!!!!!!!

I work at a veterinary clinic we were told to try cheristin on our office cats. We did and it killed one of them! This medicine is EPA approved not FDA approved!! The Elanco Company first put this product on the shelves under the name Assurity and after numerous animal deaths they took if off...

thecatsite.com

 

[Kwik]

Someone posted about Cheristen here and said it killed one of the cats in her office, there are other posts about reactions/ deaths also. I looked it up because I had never heard of it.

Active ingredient in Cheristen: spinetoram

a neuro toxin

It does not have fda approval- it used to be called Assurity. Assurity caused a lot of adverse reactions and deaths in cats apparently. The company then reduced the active dose from about 39% to 11% and reintroduced it under the name Cherestin.

Do not use cheristin for cats!!!!!!!!!

I work at a veterinary clinic we were told to try cheristin on our office cats. We did and it killed one of them! This medicine is EPA approved not FDA approved!! The Elanco Company first put this product on the shelves under the name Assurity and after numerous animal deaths they took if off...

thecatsite.com

Wasn't all that like 10yrs ago?I know a couple of organizations who use the product for single treatment at intake ,no issues there

 

[Meowmee]

Wasn't all that like 10yrs ago?I know a couple of organizations who use the product for single treatment at intake ,no issues there

I don’t know the time frame, someone posted about this on an amazon review too in 2016. Their cat died from using cherestin in the lower dose.

For me it wouldn’t really matter because I don’t use the treatments on my cats as I described above and I described the reasons why. I just wouldn’t want someone’s cats to have a bad reaction which could still happen apparently even in the lower dose.

from what I have researched and as someone else said here out of all of the toxin containing flea treatments, advantage is the safest one.

The only time I use a flea treatment now is if I’m bringing an outdoor cat inside. But now I don’t even do it if there are no fleas on them. The last couple times I brought two of my outdoor kitties to the DVM, they said there were no fleas on them and they didn’t recommend it.

* also a cheristin review from 2023 at amazon stating bad side effects in their cat