Chloe and Misty have Fleas!!! Help!!

[Donna]

Oh the shame

I dont know how it happened, but I forgot to Frontline the cats last month and now they both have fleas.

I havent seem them itch too much, but my first sign of something wrong was Chloe covered in scabs. At first I thought they were from Misty as they are forever squabling and hitting out at each other, but the scabs didnt go away, but more kept appearing....

Me being thick didnt put two and two together....

Well I used a flea comb and found one live flea on Chloe which started jumping all over the place, landing on daughter Emma - we were both screaming Was scary!!

Anyways think I caught it and flushed it down the loo, and didnt find anymore "live" ones, but did find flea dirt...

Frontlined them both immediately. Have been hoovering and washing everything today. Downstairs floors are laminate so washed them all. All bedding has been taken off and I am slowly getting through all that in the machine/tumble dryer...

Is this enough to get rid of everything? In six years of cat ownership I have never had this problem before so unsure if I have done things right. I dont want to spray chemicals around the house as the kids asthma is triggered by things like that.

Will Chloe just heal up re the scabs? It feels terrible. And why does Chloe have scabs and Misty has no scabs, but evidence of fleas too?

HELP!

[trick]

To find out if there are adult flreas in the house put a bowl of warm water on the floor before going to bed and as they are attracted to the warmth by the morning you may find fleas in it.
If they have layed eggs in the house you may need to use a chemical spray, one application round the skirting of your rooms usualy lasts a whole year. I have been told by a pest control man that its harmless to everyone but fleas???
Good hunting.

[Manyana13]

oh no

When we got our puppy the frontline wasnt working on her (we now use a differnt product on her), but we saught advice and cleaned everything, sprayed the skirtings etc. One thing we were told over and over, is to treat even the areas that the animals don't go to regularly like under the bed, behind the sofa etc as these larva's can sit dormant and 'come alive' when disturbed (by vibrations or noise), so can sit there for months if not treated. They lie dormant all over the house, but obviously on busier areas will come alive. We were also advised to hoover before we treat, as it awakens them all and then the treatment is more effective.

We did all these things and it worked. Good luck

[angieh]

Fleas are horrid things. I would think that Chloe's scabs are because she has a flea allergy, whereas Misty doesn't. If you get rid of the fleas, the scabs will go.

Flea dirt is a mixture of flea excrement and eggs. You need to treat any pet bedding with spray and make sure that it is a sort that will kill the eggs and larvae. I found that those sticky rollers are very good at getting everything up off fabrics and you can use the rollers on human bedding, whereas you should not use flea spray there. Otherwise, it's as other posters have said - vacuum and spray, especially around skirting boards and carpets. Take special notice of the instructions on the spray can and use a spray that works, or all your hard work will be wasted. I found Acclaim works very well, it's expensive but goes a long way.

If you want to make sure that all live fleas are off Chloe and Misty, you could always try giving them a Capstar pill, which will kill all living fleas, but will not destroy eggs or larvae.

Good luck.

Recently, Dandysmom has used an electric flea trap to good effect. See http://www.catsey.com/showthread.php?t=37072

[Mags]

I haven't used Frontline on Cassie for a couple of years now. My vet told me that he had received complaints from several pet owners saying that the Fronline treatment wasn't getting rid of their pet's fleas. He has now switched his flea treatment to Advocate, which is what Cassie has now.

Good luck Donna, I hope you can get rid of these little critters...

[dandysmom]

I won't use chemical sprays, but have found the flea trap works quite well. Also, if you can still find flea powder put some down and hoover it up, before and after; it will kill any fleas you vacuum up so they won't multiply in the bag. Good luck!!

[Kazz]

Originally Posted by Mags

I haven't used Frontline on Cassie for a couple of years now. My vet told me that he had received complaints from several pet owners saying that the Fronline treatment wasn't getting rid of their pet's fleas. He has now switched his flea treatment to Advocate, which is what Cassie has now.

Good luck Donna, I hope you can get rid of these little critters...

I must admit I used to swop and change the flea treatments for the cats every 4-5 years as I swear Oscar's main associates in the cat world were the flea carrying kind. and although they did not bother him Cleo always came out in scabby lumps at the mere mention of fleas. the dog has always had stronghold.

[lynz85]

eugh, fleas! nasty little poops! it took me a good 3 months to get rid of every sign of a flea in my house! i used to be sitting on the couch then suddenly they'd come jumping out from under *still shudders at the thought!*. yes, great advice given already, as said hoovering regularly is important, dont waste your money on they flea bombs etc. if you go to a pound shop, they should have a large container of ant powder(same ingredient as in the bob martin flea powder but cheaper), shut the cats out the way, sprinkle it all over your carpets, leave for a bit then hoover up. also for catching any you find bouncing about lol, a bit of sticky tape does the job, they take ages to drown!

[dandysmom]

Originally Posted by lynz85

eugh, fleas! nasty little poops! it took me a good 3 months to get rid of every sign of a flea in my house! i used to be sitting on the couch then suddenly they'd come jumping out from under *still shudders at the thought!*. yes, great advice given already, as said hoovering regularly is important, dont waste your money on they flea bombs etc. if you go to a pound shop, they should have a large container of ant powder(same ingredient as in the bob martin flea powder but cheaper), shut the cats out the way, sprinkle it all over your carpets, leave for a bit then hoover up. also for catching any you find bouncing about lol, a bit of sticky tape does the job, they take ages to drown!

A trick I used years ago when I had a bad infestation was to put a mug of boiling (well, just boiled) water next to me on the table, and as I flea combed the cat, pop it quickly in the water when I'd gotten a few ... killed the little ^$*#@)! immediately!

[angieh]

..... or make a cup of tea!

One, two, three
Mother caught a flea ..................