We have 2 indoor cats so the fleas must be coming in from outside on us or our clothing, there are not a ton of fleas (we can’t see them jumping on the cats or furniture) I have tried flea collars, flea baths, bombs, sprays for the house etc… nothing seems to completely get rid of them.
Step One. Any flea treatment will be less effective if the home is not prepared properly by completing the following steps:
* Remove all items, such as toys, clothes, and pet food from all floors.
* Remove all items from under beds and in the bottom of closets.
* Wash or replace pet bedding.
* Vacuum all carpets and rugs thoroughly, including beneath beds and upholstered furniture.
* Clean all wood, tile, and linoleum floors by sweeping and mopping.
* Clean concrete floors with soap and water in the garage, basement or enclosed patio where pets rest or stay.
* Remove all pets including birds and reptiles. Cover fish tanks with a damp towel and turn off the air pump.
* Replace any pet bedding outdoors and make all shaded areas, crawl spaces, etc. available for treatment.
* Arrange to be out of the home for several hours until the treatment has thoroughly dried.
Step Two. The homeowner needs to arrange for treating the pet. A number of products are available, and should be used under the direction of a veterinarian.
Petcor is one of those products on the market and it contains natural pyrethrins to immediately kill adult fleas and ticks, plus Precor� IGR, an insect growth regulator that kills flea eggs for 63 days after application. An effective addition to a flea and tick control Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategy. Approved for use on dogs, cats, puppies and kittens. Convenient- Spray as needed.
Hi Laura…fleas have a lifecycle and there are some inexpensive solutions, however none are as effective as using either Frontline or Advantage are ideally the best solution. You can purchase these directly through 1800 Pet Meds http://www.1800petmeds.com/cat.asp?LV=10…
For some supplemental over the counter solutions consider sponge bathing a cat by using a damp washcloth with Pert Plus (not plain Pert) daily for a week…The human shampoo Pert Plus kills fleas but has little or no residual effect. In general, if a product contains pyrethrins and the label states that it is safe for cats and kittens. http://greyhound.marinar.com/html/faq.sh… (See section Special Medical Issues – 3rd paragraph).http://www.k9web.com/dog-faqs/breeds/gre… (fourth paragraph)
Products containing Pyrethrins are generally safe to use… Additionally, the human shampoo Pert Plus kills fleas on the cats, although it has little or no residual effect. Lather, wait a few minutes, and then rinse.
Be sure to thoroughly rinse all shampoo residues so that the kittens do not ingest as it may still be upsetting for their sensitive systems.
For around the home use Borax (boric acid) on the flooring found at any grocer or drug store…kills fleas both by causing dehydration and by acting as a stomach poison in a matter of minutes. In laboratory tests boric acid damaged sperm and caused miscarriages. Just sprinkle and vacuum up and repeat two weeks later. http://www.pesticide.org/fleas.html (See section Less Toxic Chemical Controls)
i have four inside cats and every season i use adams on them and they sell a carpet spray that i use on all my carpets and furniture us vacum it up and throw away the bag also around all your window screen by one of the flea bombs but don’t use as a bomb and spray the screens every couple of weeks.
First thing you want to do is put the cat’s on Frontline Plus. Advantage works, but it only kills adult fleas. Frontline Plus kills adult fleas, larvae, and eggs….and it prevents more fleas from infesting your cat for up to 30 days.
For the carpets, try a specially formulated carpet powder. The nice thing about the Frontline Plus is that the fleas that are still in your home won’t be able to reinfest your cats, so all you’ve got to do is purge them from your fabrics. I read an answer on here once about a woman using Dawn dish soap in a steam cleaner. She said it killed all the fleas in the carpet, but you have to make sure you rinse it really well or it will leave a film.
get rid of the cats and clean everything real good and then get two puppies..
all my goodness the legnth of the answers, ok go to walamrt get raid flea killer purple can, not bomb but spray so safe round kids and animals, get garbage bags gather clothes off floors, ect. any where u think the fleas can get to them, stuffed animals, soft toys, anything washable bag and spry some of the killer inside then tie good, vacum and spray the raid on ur floors, furniture, EVERYWHERE! everything in the bags either has to be washed or thrown out, rember even if u think they are gone they can wait months to come back out, (eggs) good luck
Add a small amount of garlic powder in the cat food each day. Fleas hate it and they will eventually die off. I do it all summer long and never had fleas since.
cat……..out the window
quite the task indeed… i used the stuff you get at petco, advantix.. after about 2 months the fleas in the house began to die off. And vaccum regulary. And I tried carpet power to kill them.. I couldn’t tell if it worked or not.
Are you ready to wage war? Cuzz that’s what you are going to have to do. Here’s what you have to do:
– go get some Adam’s foggers. They are the best. You can find them at pet stores, and they kill the flea eggs. Unquestionablly the best fogger on the market.
– drop the cat off at the vet. Let them know that they need to dip it, and get them to put the Frontline on. Advantage doesn’t work nearly as well.
– While cat is at vet, wash every linen on every bed you have in super hot water.
– After you have gotten all of your linens in the house either in the dryer or the washer, set off the foggers in every room of the house and open the closets.
This should do it. I had a flea infestation at my house on the beach due to my g/f’s lack of diligence to nip this thing in the bud quickly, and this process worked. You will have to use the Frontline every month to make sure this never happens again too.
Your vet will carry Frontline Plus or Revolution. Both are used on cats to kill and prevent fleas. Frontline Plus is reapplied monthly, but it’s definitely worth the hassle. Have you tried Adam’s flea and tick sprays? That’s what my vet’s office sells. We’ve never had complaints about it, but I’ve not used it myself.
You want to do a thorough job, and in the end it will be less expensive because the fleas will not return!
Fleas spend very little time on the animal. They feed, hop off, and lay eggs. The eggs hatch in about 3 weeks, jump back on and start the whole process again. The eggs can also lay dormant for up to a year.
What you need to do is give the cat a bath, rinse very well, and blow dry.
An alternative is to ask the vet for Capstar, which will begin killing fleas within half an hour. There are some very good flea prevention products on the market. My favorite is Frontline Plus. This kills fleas and prevents more from hatching. You apply it once a month.
In addition, you really need to treat your home with a flea “bombâ€. My favorite brand is Zodiac with Precor. Kills the fleas and contains a growth inhibitor to prevent more from hatching. Lasts for 7 months. Then apply a premise spray under any large furniture, such as your couch.
If this is an outdoor cat (hopefully not), you may want to treat around your house as well.
Here are a few sites where you can buy these products:
http://www.jefferspet.com Jeffers Vet Supplies (Dr. Jeffers & vet techs answer questions, too)
http://www.petedge.com/PetEdge
http://www.drsfostersmith.comDrs. Foster & Smith