fleas, fleas and more fleas....

Curry_Queen

moggins wrote:

I've never had a prescription from my vet, he just sells me the darn stuff

They won't tell you about them unless you ask, but you are within your rights to request a prescription to buy drugs/medications etc elsewhere.

It's a bit of a dilemma for me to actually recommend this course of action, but then this is a moneysaving site and my priorities here are to help people save money where they can

The thing is, vets get a fair amount of revenue from supplying drugs and other products, as many have a high mark-up value on net costs. You'd be horrified if you knew how much on some products! With the new ruling coming into effect next week, they can't even recoup some of the cost from lost sales by charging for the prescription anymore, so obviously this has to be made up in other areas.

What could happen as a result is that the cost of consultations, operations etc are increased, or at worst, cutbacks are made in staffing levels. Nursing staff already work incredibly long hours, undertaking numerous duties and responsibilities, often for quite low pay, so any cutbacks in this area will place far more pressure on them.

If that was the case I'm not sure I'd ever be able to return to that sort of working environment, as stress was a major factor in why I went sick and left in the first place

But anyway, that's not really something for me to worry about for quite some time yet. There are going to be some very big shake-ups amongst practices up and down the country though and my advice is that if you have a good vet who doesn't charge over the odds and you're happy with him/her then please support them, or they might not even be there next time you need to see them

purplegirluk1

Thanks C_Q for all the info. I have the same flea tablets as mentioned by moggins. They are made by Johnsons and are called 4Fleas Tablets. They come in cat, dog and rabbit form. The tablet is Nitenpyram and is 11.4mg. I did research into them and they are a new product and as far as I could see they were recomonded and do not have any serious side effects.

They don't kill immature fleas but they certainly did kill the adult ones. They affect the cat for about an hour after it has been taken as they adult fleas begin to move away from the skin, I was then about to comb them out. I also combed out all the eggs and dirt so that she is all clean.

We have had a few dead ones come off her and we have found one live one last night. I am impressed with these tablets but I would have rather not have to do it at all. The problem was that she came from a farm where around 20 adult cats live, some ferrell and some not. There were also two litters of kittens and the owner had not flead any of them so she arrived at our house covered in them. We did try a herbal spot on to begin with in the hope that we wouldn't have to use a chemical product, but it had no effect and she was still very upset by all the fleas. The only other product that I could find was the tablets.

I have had plenty of cats before and they have all collars. We live in a rural area where, once she is older, she will be able to roam around the woods with other cats. I want her to get used to a collar now so that she wont catch fleas from her play mates. Of course I will make sure they have a snap open clasp so that if she gets into difficulties it will release from her so she can get free.

Curry_Queen

purplegirluk1 wrote:

Thanks C_Q for all the info. I have the same flea tablets as mentioned by moggins. They are made by Johnsons and are called 4Fleas Tablets. They come in cat, dog and rabbit form. The tablet is Nitenpyram and is 11.4mg.

Now that's very interesting as Nitenpyram is the active ingredient in a new product called Capstar, which is only available from a vet as it's a POM product.

Johnson's do appear to have got a license for it but I'm wondering how they've managed to get around the POM and sell it as an OTC product :think:

Think I need to dig a bit deeper, but from what I've found so far it does appear to be a "safe" product to use ... and I say "safe" in that it's not been on the market long enough to judge any adverse side affects so far

Some of the older pet owners here may recall a cat flea product called Droplix which was eventually banned after causing serious health problems and deaths in cats, even though it had passed strict tests and checks and was stocked by vets nationwide.

I'm not trying to alarm people and it may well be a very safe and effective product to use, but I'd always be extremely wary of using something so invasive on my own animals


As usual, if ever in doubt give your vet a call for advice


Edit: Just to add, on further reading, that these new products (4Fleas or Capstar) are only supposed to be used as a one-off immediate treatment for animals with a major flea problem (fleas can cause severe anaemia, especially in young kittens/pups) and are not a preventative treatment against fleas, so should be used in conjunction with normal pet and household flea treatments.


Sorry for the fragmented info, but being out of practice means I'm not 100% up to date with new products and protocols anymore, or get the immediate feedback from clients and info I need from reps/drug companies

Str4berr3

Can anyone give me any details on how the bites may look like on humans skins?
As I had been what looks like biten several times throughout this week.

I have'nt been today, but somedays I have been bitten around 3/4 times but feel much better if I would change my clothes again. Altogether I have been bitten 17 times but no one in my family have.
The bites - if it is. swells up and a dot in left in the middle. Could this be a bite?
There is no pets in the family but neighbour recently has a kitten.

Curry_Queen

Yes, that sounds like a typical flea bite! You won't notice it at first until you feel an itch and scratch it, then it grows into a huge white lump with a dot in the middle and the surrounding area is red ... and it itches like crazy

I think fleas must pick on certain people because I'm always the first to get bitten if there's a flea in the vicinity, yet my ex and kids never had so much as one bite!

My cats are currently indoor cats so I don't generally have a flea problem any more, but DS must have picked up a flea at a friend's house a couple of months back and it bit me several times, as well as one of the cats who has an allergy to flea bites, so the poor darling was chewing herself to bits

You will no doubt have picked up from your neighbour's kitten

Str4berr3

Than C_Q, Just wondering if there was any particular place I should inspect for fleas in the house? I have never seen one before but I hear there can jump!!!??

Curry_Queen

Str4berr3 wrote:

Than C_Q, Just wondering if there was any particular place I should inspect for fleas in the house? I have never seen one before but I hear there can jump!!!??

If you haven't got any cats of your own, and there haven't been any on your premises for a long time (2+yrs) then I shouldn't worry too much. Whilst a flea can jump on you and take a bite, a female adult flea needs a host (i.e. cat) to feed on to be able to reproduce and lay eggs, so the likelihood is that this stray flea will just die off and you won't have any further problems. Just be aware that they can survive long periods without a host though if you ever intend on getting a cat, as there's a small chance it could still be around to feed and breed

System

Can i show my ignorance here folks, my friend has Bengal cats. The one is suffering particularly badly with fleas at the moment. She didnt say they had been treated but i presume so. I dropped into her house on the way to school but at this point didnt know about the fleas. The next day i had a itchy lump on my ankle, it subsided after 24 hours and i thought nothing of it.

I am now wondering if i have picked up a flea or two and if my puppy is at risk from having them from me. Are cat fleas and dog fleas the same? I have been watching her for any scratching and its been a week now since i went to her house but so far she seems ok and i did use some 'Spot On' flea killer a couple of weeks ago so i am hoping she is ok. Any ideas?

Curry_Queen

Different species of flea Judi so don't worry

Cat flea = Ctenocephalides felis

Dog flea = Ctenocephalides canis


Did you know there are more than 2000 species of fleas worldwide, including a human flea - Pulex irritans ... is anyone else itching and scratching now :rotfl:

sooz

squeaky wrote:

Composting of meat is not recommended - see the link below, and leaving them around can encourage rats, so I think the best thing to do is to wrap them well and put them in your bin.


http://www.hdra.org.uk/organicgardening/gh_comp.htm


And be grateful the bits are in your garden. Sally often leaves hers in my bed!

:eek:

thanks squeaky. read the link with interest. however my council is implemeting a compost collection scheme and is encouraging us to add meat to our compost collections, so am somewhat confused....maybe i could try to recycle the mice...i'll try the green box.

yes, i am very happy that mouse bits are in the garden...we used to be brought caught worms when he was a kitten, but no longer have a catflap, so have some control over what he can bring in..friends cat once brought in through the flap a half dead, still flapping pigeon :eek: ....country cats for you