CAT FLEAS - merged

cheerfulness4

Usually Frontline will work within two or three days, provided that you let the cats go in all the rooms. We've used it for years.

beemuzed

I think the OP has the best solution - this happened to us some years ago when we went away and put the dogs in kennels (apparently the fleas then had nowhere to jump to and just bred!)- came home to an infestation. Had to treat all the animal bedding and the carpets - probably much easier to get the council to deal with this for you.
Have since used Frontline regularly on dogs and cat and the problem hasn't recurred.

FBThree

We got a big infestation last year. We think the cats were picking up fleas from where they were hanging out outside as well as inside. The vet said frontline works on the fleas that jump on the cat within 24 hrs. It's the eggs in the house that'll hatch later that'll be the problem.

We
- treated all the cats with Advantage (the frontline didn't seem to work well for us). We had to re-treat within 3 weeks on vets advice.
- stripped all the soft furnishings, bedding, linens etc and washed them at their highest temperatures. Kept them out of the infected area side as long as possible (used car as storage!). Took duvet to cleaners to clean (since it's too large for our machine anyway).
- hoovered the house several times - including all the corners, edges, sofas, chairs, petbeds
- Used ACCLAIM flea spray which we bought from the vets. Aimed it at all the difficult corners, edges etc. Stayed out of the house for an hour. It was expensive from the vets - over £14, but the effects last for a year, and the vets at my practice do use it themselves. You can find it a bit cheaper on web.

Note - the first couple of times we did this we used another flea spray from a supermarket. It wasn't successful. The acclaim one worked for us and in our 2 bed house we didn't use the whole can. I've just done the whole house again this year and I still have some left in the can.

Good luck!

Gingernutmeg

The council is definitely the best bet - you have to be so organised if you use the sprays/drops etc as you've got to break the flea's life cycle, you really must do it on the days etc it says on the can. It's much less hassle (and much cheaper) just to get the council out.

If you do hoover fleas up, don't forget to change the bag!

moanymoany

We had an infestation a couple of years ago. We did pretty much what FTBhree did. The spray stuff from the vet worked well. I sprayed, left it for as long as the tin said. I then washed the bedding and vacuumed everything within an inch of its life.

Cats can have the jab, this is what I did. The dog has the spot stuff. He was the one who brought the flea infestation back from the vets.

We adopted a cat, years ago. It had the biggest fleas I'd ever seen. It took three weeks to get rid of them.

Really cringy story coming up .......... One evening I flossed an enormous - dead - flea from between two of my back teeth. Eeeugh ... :eek:

helen0103

Before using the Bob Martin stuff please check the ingredients - if it has pemetherin in DO NOT USE IT. It is highly poisonious to cats.

You might be best speaking to your vet.

pusscat

You need to break the "flea life cycle". If you don't do this is in the right order the whole excercise is useless....speak to your vet as where to break it (and how) depends on individual circumstances.

We had a flea problem a few years ago - 2 cats, both outdoor and indoor - Frontline was not doing it's job very well, so the vet recommended "flea injections" it cost about the same as Frontline (£17 every 6 months for each cat at my vets - we combine it with a checkup, a wormer and their annual jabs) you could be really moneysaving and only have one injection through the summer months (when fleas are most likely) but for £17 I would not risk having fleas in the house again - it cost more than that to get rid of them!


We broke the cycle by.....

vet prescribed tablets to kill the live fleas on the cats, you then need to give them an ongoing flea treatment (we now use the injections). Luckliy, we were going on holiday so the cats went to the cattery (after having the live fleas killed by the tablets) and this broke much of the cycle for us as the house was sprayed and then left unoccupied for 2 weeks. We then had another spray when we got back and left collecting the cats for a few days. You need to vacum the house from top to botton - including all beds, carpets, mattresses, pet bedding, etc etc. A really good hot wash in the machine also helps for bedding and stuff. You need to use a really good flea spray (get one from the vets) to get rid of all the larvae, eggs, unhatched ones etc. It will take a little while to clear them.

Since starting the flea jabs we have not had sight nor sound of a flea (fingers crossed!) my vet is antipodean and he finds it really amusing that the Brits carry on fighting with flea collars,flea drops, nasty chemicals, sprays, powders etc - a simple shot twice a year is all that is needed......

Seriously, this kind of flea infestation is not fun - you need to understand what you are trying to do - where you are breaking the cycle,and you need proper advice - a quick spray with a can from the supermarket is not going to help much - the key is breaking the lifecycle!

Puss

Gingernutmeg

Agree with pusscat - the injection is so much better than the drops. Frontline seemed to make my cats really ill and 'off' for a long time after it, and triggered bad skin in one of them. They are so much happier having the injection (when they're back from the vets, that is )

kdean

Fleas also lay eggs in floorboards and skirting so as soon as it gets warm you are infested, I don't really rate Bob Martin flea stuff (used to work at pet chain). Vet stuff is very expensive but effective.

floss2

Your local Environmental Health department at the Council should be able to help you....