Should I do another round of flea treatment?

[suh]

Hi! I took in some stray cats a few months ago, they were given flea treatment once so far by the rescue. One was given Revolution(luckily. she was also the one most infested with fleas at the time) while the other two were given Zodiac. But Zodiac was so soo greasy and spread across their backs so I ended up cleaning the treatment off in about 2 days because I was worried they would ingest it. Now it's been a few months, I can still find little dots of black all over my furniture where the cats are active, I even started finding little dots of black in my own cat's fur, who had no flea problem before. However, these little dots of black don't move. I assume they are dead fleas or flea poops? I test combed all the cats with a flea comb and didn't find any live fleas either. Should I still do another round of flea treatment? Is it normal for them to have these black dots falling off of them a few months after flea treatment? (the only one unaffected in this and remains pristinely clean is the one treated with Revolution) Thanks!

 

[Renne]

Black dots are flea poop, and it shouldn't be normal for you to find it in a few months after treatment. It's likely that some fleas live at your place now, not just on cats. Their larvae fall off the cats. I'd recommend another round of treatment + using a (cat) flea spray at your place and especially in places your cats really like, like their sleeping spots. Please check if the spray is safe for cats, though, they usually aren't, and you're supposed to take the cats somewhere else when you're using them. They could lick it up while there's still some on your furniture.

 

[MissClouseau]

Flea treatment is recommended every month anyway. At least if the cat goes outside, or if he lives with another pet who goes outside.

And yeah, unfortunately fleas don't go away without deep and repeated cleaning in the house. They also live on the surfaces in the house and leave eggs there.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi! I don't know anything about Zodiac. I do know that Advantage II can be re-applied sooner than 30 days if a flea infestation is bad. I tried to contact Bayer to find out how many times you can safely reapply in less than a month, but they never bothered to respond. So, I would suggest you try to ask your vet about doing another application before it is due.

As Renne above said, the back dots are flea poop. And, without treating the house, along with the cats, it will take a lot longer to get rid of all the fleas as a result of the eggs that drop off the cats and fall into carpeting, seams of flooring, furniture, etc. and then hatch later. Even when I treated my house, and Feeby, it still took 3 months to get rid of the fleas. And, I used a spray with IGR (Insect Growth Regulator) on the house as it is supposed to render the fleas sterile, and stop the eggs from hatching. I just sprayed rooms where Feeby was not, and didn't let her in them until the spray had dried.

I found this web site to be very helpful regarding fleas and how to get rid of them. FleaScience

 

[suh]

Black dots are flea poop, and it shouldn't be normal for you to find it in a few months after treatment. It's likely that some fleas live at your place now, not just on cats. Their larvae fall off the cats. I'd recommend another round of treatment + using a (cat) flea spray at your place and especially in places your cats really like, like their sleeping spots. Please check if the spray is safe for cats, though, they usually aren't, and you're supposed to take the cats somewhere else when you're using them. They could lick it up while there's still some on your furniture.

you are probably right. both me and my flatmate have woken up with 1 or 2 flea bites before. But it stopped after we both laundered our bedsheets a few times. the black dots decreased a lot after I gave them a combing as well. They used to leave black dots around where they sleep on my bed, but now the only place where I still find some black dots around is on my desk, so I probably need to wipe that down thoroughly. I do own a flea spray bottle, will try it out when I take them to my parents for babysitting in a month or so, and clean the entire place before bringing them back.

 

[suh]

Hi! I don't know anything about Zodiac. I do know that Advantage II can be re-applied sooner than 30 days if a flea infestation is bad. I tried to contact Bayer to find out how many times you can safely reapply in less than a month, but they never bothered to respond. So, I would suggest you try to ask your vet about doing another application before it is due.

As Renne above said, the back dots are flea poop. And, without treating the house, along with the cats, it will take a lot longer to get rid of all the fleas as a result of the eggs that drop off the cats and fall into carpeting, seams of flooring, furniture, etc. and then hatch later. Even when I treated my house, and Feeby, it still took 3 months to get rid of the fleas. And, I used a spray with IGR (Insect Growth Regulator) on the house as it is supposed to render the fleas sterile, and stop the eggs from hatching. I just sprayed rooms where Feeby was not, and didn't let her in them until the spray had dried.

I found this web site to be very helpful regarding fleas and how to get rid of them. FleaScience

The spray I have is from Vets Best, not sure if it's with IGR. Going to start spraying it tonight! I have no idea the black dots are poop. at first I assume it's fleas dying off and it was decreasing over time as well, especially after i combed them, that's why I haven't taken any action other than my regular cleaning. now i'm kind of grossed out haha

 

[Renne]

FeebysOwner , do you remember how your spray was called? It'd be great to know of a spray with IGR, in case of flea infestation in future