CAT FLEAS - merged

mhifoe

As other posters have said you really need veterinary grade flea killer.
We use Acclaim which works a treat.

greenmoneysaver_2

I support all the other comments - Indorex etc are fab to treat the house BUT what are you using on the cats?

It MUST be a veterinary licensed product to kill fleas. Flea collars DO NOT WORK, BOB MARTINS or similar form pet shop or supermarket DO NOT WORK. if you are not registered at a vets, please do so. They will usually allow a free consult for flea tx, and you can then buy basic Frontline from reception for a year (most vets allow this).

Your cats have probably not been in contact with any heavy flea burdens and so have not had problems before.

The flea cycle is such that no single product will kill all the stages in your house at once - even Rentokil.

Recommended treatment is house as you are doing - TOP TIP have you used a spray in the hoover bag/bagless area? The fleas will continue the cycle there.

Also where are the cats going when they are out? If you aren't treating them to kill any fleas they carry then where they were to get them in the first place, they may still be going to. Fleas do not jump form one animal to another - the cats must have been going to somewhere with a heavy flea burden to pick them up.

Sadly prevention is better than cure with fleas, as the life cycle is designed to make them live through most things. I would say Indorex or similar house spray and then a vet product for the cats will be cheaper and easier the Rentokil. You may need to do Indorex every 3 months to keep up to date wiht the life cycle, but you can do 1 room at a time.

TOP TIP - fleas hatch out in the ideal circumstance where they get CO2 (from exhaled breath), warmth and vibrations. They can stay dormant in flooring (even floorboards) for 2 years. To encourage hatching put on music with a good base, get the hoover out, turn on the heating and then spray, it should encourage as many of them hatch at once!

Remeber this does not mean your house isn't clean, it is just that they like to get their 6 little feet ubder a nice, well kept house...

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

frugalpam

Mine used to scratch a lot, yet there were no signs of fleas or tics or anything, and I use Frontline regularly.
I started brushing her more frequently and using cat wipes to clean her fur to get rid of dust etc and she very rarely scratches now

Pam

wuno

The fact that you can't see any fleas doesn't mean there aren't any fleas, and some cats are very much more sensitive than others. Couple this with a change of food (presumably you didn't change gradually from one to the other), and the heat, you could easily have a perfect recipe for a scratchy cat.

Never understimate the value of a good flea treatment - even for house cats - even if used only once a year. And if so, now is the time of year.

You could try a different food - but don't just switch, change over gradually. Eukanuba or Iams are reasonable quality starting points.

The initial vomiting issue could be due to over-grooming, which is another symptom of flea allergy. One benefit of dry food is that you get better carriage of hair through the digestive system so it builds up less, causing less vomiting.

I know this seems obvious, but there is loads of fresh water available for your cat isn't there? Dry food = lots more drinking.

Take a bit of extra time grooming your cat at the moment. Give it a good brush. Have a look for any bald patches, broken skin etc. Is it fatter or thinner than usual? Any lumps and bumps.

If in all other respects your cat is well, has not changed weight much, and is not extremely old, I would treat for fleas, change the food, and then look at the possibility of dust mite allergies, which can be reduced by a rigorous grooming approach.

wuno

Register with a vet - if not already registered. Ask for a free nurse clinic appointment. If your vet won't give you one, change vet. Tell the nurse your problem. S/he will send you out loaded with sprays to treat your house and treatment that works to treat your cat. They will try and sell you the more expensive Frontline Combo. Take it. It is perfect for your case because it stops fleas breading in your carpets.

Don't let them sell you Practic as it doesn't work as well as Frontline Combo.

You might have to go through the whole process again in the winter when the central heating comes on, but hopefully not.

This is going to cost you some money, but less than it will cost you to get Rentokill in.

After you've gone through the initial blitz, you can move back to basic Frontline. Throw away those flea collars, flea powders and etc. because you may as well sprinkle salt on your cats for all the good they will do. Keep up with the treatments on your cats at least every 3 months and you won't get to the place you are again.

rita-rabbit

DON'T use Iams they test on animals - use BURNS!

one of my cats had dry skin, the vet suggested putting oil capsules in food (I used to feed wet mainly then). I tried Burns & it cleared up completely. No additives in it at all. Still reasonably cheap.

Recently I had problems with work (not getting paid on time/short etc) & decided to mix with cheap supermarket dried food to stretch it but have realised fairly fast (shedding & dry skin reappearing) was a false economy. Have reordered the Burns & will give James Wellbeloved as a treat!

wuno

If they don't test it on their animals, you end up testing it on yours.

The problem with Iams is not that they test their products, but that they do not properly look after the animals they use for testing.

Either way, I take your point.

snowman2_2

rita-rabbit wrote: »

DON'T use Iams they test on animals - use BURNS!

I would kind of hope that my pet food was tested on animals! At least in an ethical and careful way otherwise the nutrition is a guess or based on other people's research. I would suspect most pet food is carefully tested and the test patients are looked after very well. As for the rest of Proctor & Gamble, I don't know if or how they test their cosmetics/ cleaning products on animals or not but animal products should be tested on animals in the same way that human products should be tested on people. Just carefully and ethically. Saying that, I don't advise Iams for other reasons.

As for the OP, I would worry about a food allergy if the itch started with the new food. I would treat for fleas as well but change onto a different brand of food with different ingredients to see if that helps the itch.

~Chameleon~

TangledMemories wrote: »

Thanks for that. He has had fleas in the past...there are absolutely none in the house because it's been fumigated and there were no pets here before we moved in.

It only takes you or someone visiting your home to inadvertently carry a flea indoors on footwear/clothing to cause a problem if your cat suffers flea allergies. You wouldn't even know it had happened and would probably never even see it

missstropy

Hi everyone,

Got a lovely kitten last week and he was supposed to have been deflead but he is full of them. Another kitten is arriving tomorrow and I wanted to do them both at the same time. they are both about 6-7weeks old.

What is the best de-flea treatment for kittens this age. Ive been combing the one I have with a nit comb and dunking it in a jug of boiling water (the comb not the kitty:eek: ). He quite likes being combed and brushed but Im not getting them all.