Fleas on cats

GardenMama

Hi friends! Our indoor kitty wound up with fleas (assuming they came from outside since we didnt have issues til we opened the windows and she lays in them).

And she has since spread them to her kitty bros and sisters.

First, we are headed to the vet Monday but I'm hoping for some info here.

We bathed in dawn, we dusted with DE, we've washed and treated anything fabric in the house, we applied an OTC topical.

Fleas laughed. Not an infestation but any means. We haven't found them anywhere but a couple here and there on the cats.

But still. Its insanely frustrating.

Vet said they use a 3 month topical called bravecto and will also give a tablet to kill anything currently on the cats (capstar).

Anyone have any experience with these? We have never dealt with fleas (and I've had animals my entire life) so this is just maddening for me.

blevinandwomba

I'm also struggling with this. We used to use advantage II for a while, but only with partial success, and some of the cats reacted badly to it.

We use a flea comb. Put soapy water in a dish, comb the cat, scrape any fleas on the comb into the dish. Soap kills fleas on contact. I've also used the Wondercide Evolve spray- only partially affective, but doesn't seem to negatively affect the cats.

I hear vacuuming very frequently helps.

GardenMama

@blevinandwomba glad I'm not the only one! We tried frontline. Vet said that one (and apparently most otc) arent super effective for cats anymore.

We have been combing them with the flea comb dipped in dawn daily. And while nothing is worse, there isnt a whole lot of improvement either.

I've been vacuuming twice daily and steaming the floors just in case.

Thankfully we don't have carpet.

Fingers are crossed this bravecto works some kind of Rx magic.

Hopefully your struggle with them ends soon too

RustBeltCowgirl

@GardenMama I have used both Bravecto and Capstar. Capstar works well. I have actually watched fleas "abandon ship" after a Capstar dose. Put down a light colored towel and take a good look at it after a couple hours if your cat will lay on it. My Balinese, Charlie, is highly irritated by fleas. Severe dermatitis and almost chews himself raw. A dose of Bravecto and a DepoMedrol injection have him feeling better within 24 hours.

bcabrobin

If you wash in Suave Coconut shampoo it will kill them, has to be Suave brand, I've even tried homemade and it doesn't work as well. Make sure you wash around the face and ears first, the fleas will go to those places if you start somewhere else.

If you can spray the areas around your doors and windows with Dawn or the Suave, to help keep them from coming in. I sprayed a bottle before a lite rain and the yard got foamy but we finally got ahead of them.

If the fleas are rabbit fleas not dog fleas they are really hard to kill. To tell the difference, to kill a dog flea you have to crush between 2 finger nails, but rabbit fleas can be rubbed between you fingers, they do not have as hard a shell.

You can make a tea using rosemary, thyme, cumin, lemon, lavender or chamomile. Use one or two to make sure your cat likes it. Cool and use a cloth to wipes on to the fur. If you wanted to you can mix any of them with a little coconut oil, wipe onto them.

Thomas

Suave Coconut Shampoo? I have to try that one! We are doing fine on fleas right now, but it is good to have information in your arsenal of anti-flea weapons.

ltwickey

We use Bravecto on our dogs up here in the NE where ticks are awful!! It works really well! I have used mint Listerine for mites and fleas. Depends on how bad the infestation is. We had kittens one time and just bathed them in the Listerine once a day for 2 days and it worked! Not sure how to do that with adult cats.

Karin

We don't usually have too bad problems with fleas, I usually comb one of the cats in summer and that seems to keep it under control, plus regular vacuuming. If it gets worse, I use flea drops which I hate to do. The brand we have here is called Evance, the active ingredient is imidacloprid. I think it's pretty toxic, which is why I resist using it till we have to. I have heard that healthy cats don't have as many infestations. We had a stray that adopted us as she was in kitten, and she was always infested, so maybe that is true.

Megan Venturella

Do you have carpet?

GardenMama

@RustBeltCowgirl oh that's great to know! I know there are a million different options, which I'm glad to have and keep in my arsenal (thank you @ltwickey @bcabrobin and @karen )

We go in a couple hours so I'm hopeful this will be resolved sooner over later.

Relocating the occasional spider or cricket or grasshopper is one thing. But I'm not playing around with things like fleas.

GardenMama

https://community.thegrownetwork.com/discussion/comment/876156#Comment_876156

We do not

KimMullen

I've had cats and dogs react badly to vet recommended products so I use a more natural approach that seems to work for us. Dawn dish soap bath, Dust with DE daily, flea comb 2-3 times a day, Flea lights in every room and spray the floors and furniture with Vets Best Flea and Tick spray for cats. You can also use this spray on the cat but test first to make sure they don't react to it.

Hassena

Ohh my gosh....the fleas and bitty bugs were real bad for us this year in western NC.

Weve sinced give with nexguard for the dogs. The flea collars weren't strong enough this year.

We also dust the basement, furniture and entrances with DE.

Sweeping our wood floors and furniture daily. Ugh...it's been a chore this year. Our dogs have really had a hard time we of it.

Hope you find meant things that work. :)

LaurieLovesLearning

https://community.thegrownetwork.com/discussion/comment/876111#Comment_876111

You bathe adult cats with extreme caution, & a lot of bandaids. Haha