Need Advice 2 Cats W/fleas

[O & A]

Im having a terrible time at the moment, I am finding that the fleas are worse than I was thinking. My eye has been irritated for ages, and now under my chin and jawline is so itchy, and I am scratching like my cats scratch in a rigorous fashion, its terrible. I dont know if I can do this. I have been thinking of getting rid of the carpet in my apartment and just having concrete floors. Or should I change them to just being indoors cats. I wouldnt imagine that they would like that, going back to the litter box. I had them just inside for 3 months when I got them and now they have been allowed outside for 6 months. I think they really like living with me, but this flea thing is driving me insane. I dont want to get rid of them, I am treating them with the pipette flea treatment. and trying to get on top of vacuuming and keeping the house clean.
Does anybody else think changing them to be indoors cats would be good. Has anyone made that change?
Any thoughts/suggestions would be much appreciated.
Thanks in advance .

 

[darg]

Keeping them indoors is a huge help in keeping the fleas under control. Treat the cats with a vet recommended, monthly topical flea treatment. Treating the premises as well will provide a lot faster relief for you and the cats and is far more humane than solely relying on the cats as the flea treatment which will take time with an already infested home. You don't have to have the carpets removed. There are plenty of products that are designed to be used on carpets and upholstery. If you are getting bit up bad by fleas too, it's either due to a heavy infestation or the fact that the cats aren't present for the fleas to feast on, or both. This goes back to the benefit of having the cats indoor only as well as treating the premises since it seems like you have a heavy infestation going on.

On a side note, there are choices to be made in how to treat the inside of the home. Some people use natural products that don't contain insecticdes. They tend to have a very strong odor (cedar, peppermint) which are pretty much intolerable to some (a lot) of people. Others seem to deal with it. Personally, I'd just use an all in one product that contains insecticides and a growth regulator. Precor 2000 + is a very effective one. You just have to heed the instructions and precautions if you use it or something like it.

 

[rubysmama]

Hello and welcome to TCS. Sorry it's a flea problem that brought you here.

My Ruby girl is inside only, so she's not had fleas since I adopted her, therefore, I can't advise on them.

About your concern about making them inside only again, lots of cats, ferals included, become inside only cats.

Here's a few TCS articles that might help you with their transition.

The Five Golden Rules To Bringing An Outdoor Cat Inside | TheCatSite
How To Prevent Your Cat From Darting Out The Door | TheCatSite
How To Make Your Home Bigger (at Least For Your Cats) | TheCatSite

Plus a couple on fleas:
Cat Fleas | TheCatSite
Homemade Flea Remedies For Cats | TheCatSite

Good luck. Hope you get the fleas under control, and that your cats (and you) stop itching soon.

 

[O & A]

Thank you Darg> I really appreciate your reply to my question, and as soon as I read your response, I made an affirmative decision to keep them indoors, its been about tewo days now, and I think they get the gist that they are not allowed outside, though they still would like to go outside (of course). and I am going gun ho today (Saturday) with cleaning, and washing everything I can, and Its going to be a bit of a quarantine process here, but its necessary, and I am hopefull that it will be resolved.
Thanks again, best wishes for you and yours ;-)

 

[darg]

Thank you Darg> I really appreciate your reply to my question, and as soon as I read your response, I made an affirmative decision to keep them indoors, its been about tewo days now, and I think they get the gist that they are not allowed outside, though they still would like to go outside (of course). and I am going gun ho today (Saturday) with cleaning, and washing everything I can, and Its going to be a bit of a quarantine process here, but its necessary, and I am hopefull that it will be resolved.
Thanks again, best wishes for you and yours ;-)

You're welcome. If your cleaning efforts alone don't resolve your flea problems, do consider treating the premises with something. Once you have fleas inside the home and on the pets, it can be a battle to get rid of them. In the least, do consider discussing a flea treatment/preventative routine for the cats with your vet.

Best of luck.