CAT FLEAS - merged

hampshirebabe

Hi, I've been getting a couple of bites the last few days and have just worked out where they've come from, so need your help. I dont have any pets, but my next door neighbour's cat seems to have moved into my garden, and loves to sleep under the washing line. I was just putting the washing out and noticed a black speck jump onto my white towels. When I bring the washing in I usualy dump it straight onto the bed to sort, so that must be how they got indoors. But what can I do? We have wooden floors, but I think they could be in the clothes in the wardrobe, do I have to wash everything? and what about my other cupboards, they could be hiding anywhere.
I'm especialy worried about my 5 month old daughter, I know how itchy they are myself, I realy dont want her to suffer.
Any help appreciated.

Fen1

First of all, try to discourage next door's cat from your garden, especially your washing line. You could try things like sonic alarms, lion dung, or just stamping your feet in front of the cat to get it to scoot. As long as the cat is near your washing you'll keep getting fleas, no matter how clean you keep the house.

if you can't get rid of the cat, squirt anti-flea liquid onto your hands and give the moggie lots of TLC, especially around the ears and under the chin (prime locations for infestation). You will need to do this every month, at least, as puss will be reinfected from it's own home/other cats/furry things it hunts.

Stop sorting your washing on the bed. Sort on the kitchen table, and if anything moves, wash at a high temp again.

In the house, vacuum everything. A good tip is to put drops of pure juniper oil onto the fabric bit of the vacuum head. Fleas hate the smell. Repeat on a daily basis. Be careful about using juniper oil if you are pregnant - use lavender instead.

Use products on yourself and daughter containg tea tree oil. Again, it puts off the fleas.

Kimberley

You could educate your neighbour about flea treatment :rolleyes:

black-saturn

You can buy a spray from a vet or good pet shop for about £10. Depending on the size of your house you might need more than one. You will have to do it soon though as the will breed like wildfire in the summer and you will be eaten alive.

At the same time you could buy some flea treatment from the pet shop for about £4 and squeeze it on the back of the cats neck when your neighbours arn't looking. My guess is they have the same problem in their house though and will be doing something about it soon.

kickstart_3

I agree with a lot of the above but would also like to add , that animal fleas cannot live on humans , but will bite you. The best thing to do is go to the vets and get a spray (mine cost £20 but worth every penny!) please dont buy the supermarket products as they are a waste of time and money, i tried the flea bombs ..useless. Go to the vets explain what has happened and they will help.

jayne.doe

Why should you have to pay out for anything. Sorry tell your neighbours, be polite but i wouldnt put up with it. I have two cats we have had one infestation of fleas, its very noticable and soon put right. Its not fair on the cat and it needs sorting. I noticed straight away with my two, and i would not allow them to constantly scratch and be uncomftable. Pet owners need to sort their own animals out its not up to you, and it certainly shouldnt be brought into your home.

TheWaltons_3

jayne.doe wrote: »

Why should you have to pay out for anything. Sorry tell your neighbours, be polite but i wouldnt put up with it. I have two cats we have had one infestation of fleas, its very noticable and soon put right. Its not fair on the cat and it needs sorting. I noticed straight away with my two, and i would not allow them to constantly scratch and be uncomftable. Pet owners need to sort their own animals out its not up to you, and it certainly shouldnt be brought into your home.

I agree with this!


This is a Money Saving forum for US to save money for ourselves - not save the next door neighbours money :eek:

Tell them Pragmatically their lovely Cat has fleas and it bit you - don't be confrontational.. you could even lie about how you care about the Cat and say something like 'You were stroking their lovely Moggy and you got bit.. and the poor Cat must be upset with all the mangy fleas in its fur' ... or how you've seen it scratching like mad up your fence...

I appreciate your concerns for you and your Daughter... but really, if you want to invest in anything it would be something to deter the Cats from the garden... chuck water near it - not AT it (my Psycho neighbour threatened us over how we'd be charged £600 or something for intimidating her Cat and told me to chuck Water near them). Fair enough, my husband was shooting them with Ball bearings...

stamford

Fen1 wrote: »

First of all, try to discourage next door's cat from your garden, especially your washing line. You could try things like sonic alarms, lion dung, or just stamping your feet in front of the cat to get it to scoot. As long as the cat is near your washing you'll keep getting fleas, no matter how clean you keep the house.

if you can't get rid of the cat, squirt anti-flea liquid onto your hands and give the moggie lots of TLC, especially around the ears and under the chin (prime locations for infestation). You will need to do this every month, at least, as puss will be reinfected from it's own home/other cats/furry things it hunts.

Stop sorting your washing on the bed. Sort on the kitchen table, and if anything moves, wash at a high temp again.

In the house, vacuum everything. A good tip is to put drops of pure juniper oil onto the fabric bit of the vacuum head. Fleas hate the smell. Repeat on a daily basis. Be careful about using juniper oil if you are pregnant - use lavender instead.

Use products on yourself and daughter containg tea tree oil. Again, it puts off the fleas.

One of these would discourage the neighbours cat

orlao

I've one of those and next doors cat plays with him........:rotfl:

tiamai_d

Did you move in less than a year ago? Or has there been any animals in your house in the past year?

OK, this is how fleas work.

Firstly, they need a cat ( we will stick to cat fleas) to feed from and lay eggs on. The cat then walks about and the eggs fall off like tiny grains of salt. If this happens in a house, the eggs fall down cracks in floorboards ect and lie dormant. They can hatch upto a year later! Once they hatch and go through all their larval stages, they need a new host to feed and breed on.

They will bite humans but without that new host they die off.

So, what you have to do, and unfortunately it is upto you, is go get a flea spray for your home, making sure it kills ALL flea stages, including adult fleas and eggs. Spray your home and repeat in 14 days ( or as the instructions say ) You have to repeat or you will not get them all.

Until then, a little dab of tea tree oil on your ankles will help deter the fleas from biting you.

Then have a strong word with your neighbor about flea spray and drops for his cat. Sprays kill adult fleas, drops stop fleas from laying eggs but don't kill adults.

Hope this helps.