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At first I was very adamant about getting rid of them. I bought the flea medication from Wal-Mart, Pet Armor I think it's called, Flea collars, flea shampoo, vacuumed the whole house, washed the linen, clothes, myself, gave the cats baths twice a day. The flea problem persisted.
I tried again. I bought Frontline Advantage Plus, the most highly recommended stuff out there, cost me $50 for a supply of 3, which will treat each cat once for 1 month. Bombed the house the same day I put the medication on the cats. The frontline didn't really seem to do anything, the cats are sickly infested with fleas. I give them baths once a day now to at least keep the flea problem under some sort of control.
Between the 3 of them I average about 50-60 fleas in the bathtub when all is said and done, and I know that doesn't kill all of them, I'll check their belly and find five or 6 more crawling around.
I'm running out of options here, my next plan of attack is to possibly shave all the hair off of the cats, that way the fleas will not have anywhere to hide when jumping on the cat and I can more easily dispatch of them either through my fingers or a flea bath. I also plan to buy some added flea killers, stuff I can dump in the carpet and spray onto the upholstery of the furniture. I will continue to give the cats flea baths.
Am I missing anything? Is there anything else I should try? I think the flea infestation is getting worse, I find them jumping onto me sometimes.
Above all my main question is, is it okay or advisable to shave a cat to help deal with fleas? If I do I will most likely have it professionally done at the local pet store or the vet.
It is expensive however it is worth it. I currently use Sentry Frippoguard on my animals to maintain their flea control. I also keep the cats indoors 24/7. Cats are the common carrier of fleas and if you let them roam there is a good chance you will get fleas again even after the IGR treatment.
You have to give the IGR a month or two to interrupt the flea breeding cycle. If you want immediate results you can buy the insecticide the website sells to kill off the fleas.
Most of the stuff you can buy at Wal-Mart such as the foggers and other stuff is ineffective.
At first I was very adamant about getting rid of them. I bought the flea medication from Wal-Mart, Pet Armor I think it's called, Flea collars, flea shampoo, vacuumed the whole house, washed the linen, clothes, myself, gave the cats baths twice a day. The flea problem persisted.
Why not buy something that works like Revolution from your vet? The stuff sold in the stores or OTC are mostly worthless as the fleas have strong resistance to them. And buy an Insect Growth Hormone Regulator to spray your home with. Precor can be bought online. It's not expensive. It stops the flea nymphs from turning into adults and breaks the cycle.
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I tried again. I bought Frontline Advantage Plus, the most highly recommended stuff out there, cost me $50 for a supply of 3, which will treat each cat once for 1 month. Bombed the house the same day I put the medication on the cats. The frontline didn't really seem to do anything, the cats are sickly infested with fleas. I give them baths once a day now to at least keep the flea problem under some sort of control.
Baths will NOT help. For every flea on the cat there are 9 more in your home waiting to jump on them as soon as they dry off.
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Between the 3 of them I average about 50-60 fleas in the bathtub when all is said and done, and I know that doesn't kill all of them, I'll check their belly and find five or 6 more crawling around.
I'm running out of options here, my next plan of attack is to possibly shave all the hair off of the cats, that way the fleas will not have anywhere to hide when jumping on the cat and I can more easily dispatch of them either through my fingers or a flea bath. I also plan to buy some added flea killers, stuff I can dump in the carpet and spray onto the upholstery of the furniture. I will continue to give the cats flea baths.
DO NOT CUT THEIR FUR OFF!!!!!!!!!!! Get Revolution from your vet. Stop spinning your wheels.
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Am I missing anything? Is there anything else I should try? I think the flea infestation is getting worse, I find them jumping onto me sometimes.
Above all my main question is, is it okay or advisable to shave a cat to help deal with fleas? If I do I will most likely have it professionally done at the local pet store or the vet.
Shaving the cat will not work. Fleas will stick attack the cat as they do humans and we have no fur. Your cats can chill off and there is no way to remove 100% of their fur without anestizing them. Call your vet and get Revolution.
Whatever you spray, do not let the cats walk on it until it dries.
So I should get an insecticide for the yard to spray indoors? That sounds pretty powerful and probably effective, but how dangerous is it? I probably wasted another $10 today on sprays and powders, but I sprayed down all my furniture and threw the powder all over the floor. It said to let the powder settle for about 2 hours and then come back and give it a thorough vacuuming. Right now the 3 cats and I are hanging out in my bedroom with the door closed, powdered the entire house, after the 2 hours are up I'll vacuum it all up and then let the cats out.
Shaving the cat will not work. Fleas will stick attack the cat as they do humans and we have no fur. Your cats can chill off and there is no way to remove 100% of their fur without anestizing them. Call your vet and get Revolution.
Whatever you spray, do not let the cats walk on it until it dries.
A lot of people give Frontline praise and says it does miracles, and it's vastly more expensive than most flea medications out there. Maybe it only works for mild flea infections? Or maybe it isn't powerful enough?
Is this Revolution stuff that much more effective than Frontline?
A lot of people give Frontline praise and says it does miracles, and it's vastly more expensive than most flea medications out there. Maybe it only works for mild flea infections? Or maybe it isn't powerful enough?
Is this Revolution stuff that much more effective than Frontline?
I only have experience with Frontline Plus and it's always worked good for me (but I know Revolution works well too). But it's main purpose is to kill fleas that are on the cat. It won't be effective long term if your house/yard is not treated as well. Wash everything that will fit in the washer, and spray/vacuum everything else. The last time I had to do it I used a product from my vet called Knockout to treat the carpet & furniture and it worked quite well. I waited until the cats were due their Frontline and treated them, then immediately started the de-flea process on the house. I've always thought I'd have a better chance of getting the fleas under control by doing everything at the same time.
When I got the Knockout product from my vet, he made sure to tell me that for it work as good as it can you have to vacuum first (heat & suction to open up the flea eggs), then spray and wait until dry (15 to 20 minutes), and vacuum a second time. He said the spray won't be nearly as effective if the eggs aren't opened up and you won't kill them all.
As others have said here, don't waste your time & money on otc products, flea collars and baths, etc., they just aren't effective.
Add Capstar onto the list. It's a pill that can be given every day if need be. You can get it at the big pet chains. They were sold out and I ended up using Amazon which was much cheaper. It kills all fleas (not eggs ) on a pet within 4-6 hours and can be used when another dose of Frontline or Revolution cannot be given. I gave it to break the cycle on our pets, along with all the other products.
I found vacuuming, flea combing and the Capstar to be what worked along with the monthly flea meds which I have used for years with no problem, until this year. My pets haven't had fleas for 26 years (different pets at the time). This year really caught me off guard.
I think I'm making some headway, I know I haven't defeated it yet but I did make a dent today.
Gave the cats a bath, no shampoo or anything, just water, removed about 20-30 fleas between the 3 of them.
Sprayed down all the upholstery and furniture and rugs with a flea spray. I tested this on a flea I pulled off of the cat, the flea died in about 5 seconds, so on direct contact the spray is pretty effective. I also scoured a flea powder around all the carpeted areas in the house, said to let it settle for 2 hours and then vacuum it up.
Well, 2 hours comes and goes, I vacuum it up and take the canister to my trash can outside, before dumping it I looked inside...there must have been at least 100 fleas squirming around and trying to jump, I think the powder paralyzed them because they weren't jumping much, just kinda twitching. I went back and vacuumed every room in the house 2 more times, got several more fleas out with each vacuuming. Gave the cats one more plain water bath and pulled about 10 fleas off this time.
Washed all the sheets, all the clothes that were laying out, even washed myself. I don't think I've beaten the problem yet, but I have made some headway.
Thanks for all the good suggestions, I'll next have to invest in the insecticide and the capstar it looks like.
You're going to have to just keep up with vacuuming every single day for a few weeks, maybe months. Every flea lays eggs and those eggs hatch. That's why vacuuming is so important. You want to vacuum up those eggs, larvae, pupa too. Vacuum under the sofa cushions, etc., and everywhere an egg could drop. Seal up the stuff from the canister before tossing into the trash. I'd put flea powder in the canister. When the buy the insecticide, spray the inside of your outdoor trash can so anything that escapes dies before making it back into your yard.
Don't forget the flea comb! It doesn't just get fleas! It gets the eggs too! Combing will work better than dunking the cats in water. Eggs don't come off in water.
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