I brought my cat to my mom’s house just to learn she’s infested with fleas

gemmamiso

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Hi everyone— I am in kind of a panic. Here’s the story:
Two months ago I brought home a kitten I found on the street. I treated her for fleas by bathing her, she was too small for medication, and I thought the problem was gone. I knew I was going to visit my mother for thanksgiving, who has two cats, so I gave my now 3 month old kitten a bath shortly before leaving for my mom’s. Now that I’m here, I found a flea. My kitten and I are quarantined in one bedroom, but I am panicking about the fact that I may have just infected my mom’s house, and my mom’s cats, with fleas. I feel so terrible and I don’t know how to tell her and I don’t know how likely it is, if I take preventative measures like washing everything in hot water and spraying everything with flea spray and vacuuming, that I will spread them. I don’t even want to tell her. I don’t know what to do, and I feel so guilty. Any advice? Thank you in advance.
 

Tik cat's mum

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First piece of advice, stop worrying. Second is talk to your mum. I'm sure having 2 cat's of her own she knows how it is with fleas. Just tell her exactly what you have said here, your mum will understand. Who knows that flea may of come from outside and be nothing to do with you. But your mum will need to know so you all can take appropriate action. Tell your mum what you're doing in your room then your mum can decide what to do about the rest of the house and cat's. Advantage spot on is safe for kittens over 8 weeks old and alot easier than bathing. ;)
 
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gemmamiso

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Thank you so much for responding. I’m going to tell her today. I want to quarantine in my room until we have all of the flea supplies— is this necessary/will it be helpful? Should I treat my kitten while I’m here, or wait until we go back home? I leave in two days, and maybe it’ll lessen the fleas here if they don’t jump ship and land all over my mom’s floor.
 

Tik cat's mum

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I don't think you'll need to put yourself in your room, but I'd keep the kitten in there until she's been treated. If your using the spot on it keeps working for 4 weeks so you'll be OK to treat her at your mum's and she'll be protected when she goes home too. If your mum's cat's are already using a spot on that kills fleas then I wouldn't worry. Any fleas that go on your mum's cat's will die. Just keep up with the vacuuming. I'd spray the room when you leave because kitten is in there. It was only one flea you found when I brought my youngest kitten home he was covered in fleas. My older cat and house were fine.
 

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I'm sure your mom will be understanding, fleas so common. Please don't feel guilty.

Anyway, you are doing an upstanding job of being a cat owner. Bless you for taking in this kitten and providing such good care to her. :cloud9:
 

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Thank you so much for responding. I’m going to tell her today. I want to quarantine in my room until we have all of the flea supplies— is this necessary/will it be helpful? Should I treat my kitten while I’m here, or wait until we go back home? I leave in two days, and maybe it’ll lessen the fleas here if they don’t jump ship and land all over my mom’s floor.
Do not wait. Treat for fleas now!
 
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gemmamiso

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Thank you all so so much for giving me the confidence to tell her and for helping me calm down. You are all so kind. I am going to go out for the flea supplies first thing tomorrow— we decided to treat all three cats, and I’m going to do my best to make sure the house is free of flea eggs. My local Petco doesn’t seem to have the spot on, but they do have Frontline Plus. Does anyone have any experience with this medicine? Is it effective and safe?
 
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Sarthur2

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Yes, I use Frontline Plus on all my cats and it is very effective. It should really do the trick on all the cats. It remains effective for a good month. It should hopefully solve any problems.

I admire you for tackling this head on. Best of luck!
 
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gemmamiso

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I just inspected my kitten and her skin is blue. I am terrified. Here is a picture.
FB3EEF11-342F-4738-95A9-9C9232790B8E.jpeg
 
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gemmamiso

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I don’t even know what to say. Please help.
 
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gemmamiso

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Can this be caused by the fleas????
 

Sarthur2

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I think you may be over-reacting. Have you treated her for fleas yet? Is she eating and acting normally? If so, you’ve likely nothing to worry over.

Let us know.
 

Sarthur2

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If she’s got lots of fleas, she could become iron-deficient. I don’t know if this would cause blue skin. If you’re super worried, then please see a vet. Otherwise, flea treatment and a good diet should help her overcome any issues right now.
 
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gemmamiso

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I think you may be over-reacting. Have you treated her for fleas yet? Is she eating and acting normally? If so, you’ve likely nothing to worry over.

Let us know.
She’s acting totally normal— eating and playing as usual— other than the scratching. I will be picking up the Frontline first thing tomorrow. Thank you for responding, I’ll let you know how tomorrow goes
 
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gemmamiso

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I gave all three cats the Frontline, and now I’m on to vacuuming/spraying the house :)
 
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gemmamiso

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So I left my mom’s house and her cats are treated, and my kitten is treated, but we just arrived home after a long day of travel, and a few hours after being here, Empie is itching her fur again. I think she is becoming reinfested? I haven’t been able to go to the laundromat yet, so I’m sleeping in flea infested sheets, and it’s making me feel so itchy and paranoid. My entire closet has to be washed, because one day I let Empie play in it. All I’ve done so far is vacuum the rugs. And on top of all of this, my other cat, Sammy, who stayed here while Empie and I were gone, has sprayed all over the apartment. I live on the 5th floor of a walk-up. I don’t know where to start, other than taking bags upon bags of laundry down to the laundromat and vacuuming while it’s washing/drying. I tried to apply Advantage II to Sammy, but I have to wait for my partner to get home, because he doesn’t like to be touched and my partner is better than me at handling him. Are we doomed forever? I am going to buy some flea spray from the hardware store tomorrow. Sorry for the rant.
 
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