CAT FLEAS - merged

Edinburghlass_2

The ever so friendly fleas who like our cats' ears are in fact rabbit fleas the joys of living beside fields full of rabbits

minimoneysaver

I had an infestation a few years ago. I treated it in several ways. I bathed the cat and then used a flea treatment from the vet. This rid her of many of the fleas instantly. I then vac'd the house from top to bottom, but I put flea powder in the dust box on the hoover so the little blighters wouldn't live through that either and then emptied and washed the hoover box. I then sprayed all off the carpets, especially round the edges and bottom of the curtains. One way to test if there are fleas in the carpets is to set up a plate of water at night, leave it on the carpet and point a desk lamp at it. If there are any fleas in the water, you know you still have a problem.
Good luck.

DebDay

I absolutely hate fleas. Not for myself they have never bothered me, but my 4 year old breaks out in a rash evrytime she sees 1! lol

OH doesn't get paid until Friday so had to get a cheap store flea spray today just to abate the attacks. Will definatly buy Indorex or Acclaim on pay day though.

One quick question though according to previous posts can be used on couches, but mine are new(ish) leather, can I still spray them without staining??

MrsE_2

DebDay wrote: »

I absolutely hate fleas. Not for myself they have never bothered me, but my 4 year old breaks out in a rash evrytime she sees 1! lol

OH doesn't get paid until Friday so had to get a cheap store flea spray today just to abate the attacks. Will definatly buy Indorex or Acclaim on pay day though.

One quick question though according to previous posts can be used on couches, but mine are new(ish) leather, can I still spray them without staining??

When we had them I turned leather sofas upside down & sprayed from underneath, into the soft stuff rather than the leather.

We only had to treat the house once (Teds had minor fleas, but they've only got round the house once). It was just after we moved into our last home. Ted was before that an indoor cat & there an indoor cat, I still treated him with Frontline anyway. But a week after we moved in the place was riddled with fleas, do you think they were already there?
Luckily I was changing all the flooring anyway, so just ripped all flooring out & threw out, still treated skirting boards ect, to be on the safe side. Got rid of curtains, turned sofas upside down & sprayed & did beds well (they were the only soft things we didn't chuck.
Always puzzled me how he got them.
When we moved here (village) he started going out & does get a few now & then, but never so bad as to affect the house.

Is it odd that he gets a few & they don't seem to affect the rest of the house (I'm talking maybe once a year).

With that other place, can fleas live in the carpets till the cat moves in?
The woman before us didn't have any animals though (as far as I knew).

~Chameleon~

MrsE wrote: »

With that other place, can fleas live in the carpets till the cat moves in?
The woman before us didn't have any animals though (as far as I knew).

Yes they can! They can actually lie dormant for a whole year before hatching out and starting the cycle again!

Here's an excellent website with a video podcast explaining the life cycle of a flea, it's well worth watching for those of you struggling to control fleas in your home and will help you understand the different stages of the life cycle

http://www.vetstoria.co.uk/templates/the_flea_life_cycle-8-330-familypet.html

MrsE_2

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

Yes they can! They can actually lie dormant for a whole year before hatching out and starting the cycle again!

Here's an excellent website with a video podcast explaining the life cycle of a flea, it's well worth watching for those of you struggling to control fleas in your home and will help you understand the different stages of the life cycle

http://www.vetstoria.co.uk/templates/the_flea_life_cycle-8-330-familypet.html

Thank you.

Not saying my cat was too good to have fleas or anything, he's had them since:o
BUT the whole house within a week or two of us moving in, with an indoor cat, who had never gone out:rolleyes:

When he gets them now, I just treat him & their doesn't seem to be a problem, does the cat need to have a good few before they get into the furnishings?

I do 4fleas one month & frontline the next & just keep switching, so 6 of each a year.

The only time he gets a few is if I forget to do him on time, its happened once of twice.

~Chameleon~

MrsE wrote: »

Thank you.

Not saying my cat was too good to have fleas or anything, he's had them since:o
BUT the whole house within a week or two of us moving in, with an indoor cat, who had never gone out:rolleyes:

The chances are the flea larvae were already in the carpets of the house just waiting for your cat to turn up to have LUNCH!!!! As stated in the video, it only takes a few fleas to breed (50 eggs per day per flea) and cause an infestation and yes, 1-2 weeks is exactly the right time scale!

When he gets them now, I just treat him & their doesn't seem to be a problem, does the cat need to have a good few before they get into the furnishings?

By the time you notice fleas on the cat they will already have been present long enough to breed and lay eggs (24-48hrs) and these eggs will drop off into the carpets and start the cycle all over again, so yes you really should treat the house too if you find fleas on you cat

I do 4fleas one month & frontline the next & just keep switching, so 6 of each a year.

The only time he gets a few is if I forget to do him on time, its happened once of twice.

It's more than likely that he's picking up the fleas again from within the home and I think you'll find that if you treat the home with Acclaim or Indorex, which will give you 12mths protection, that you won't need to treat the cat as often. I only treat my cats twice yearly now with Frontline as my house is sprayed annually and it seems to be working well for us.

MrsE_2

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

It's more than likely that he's picking up the fleas again from within the home and I think you'll find that if you treat the home with Acclaim or Indorex, which will give you 12mths protection, that you won't need to treat the cat as often. I only treat my cats twice yearly now with Frontline as my house is sprayed annually and it seems to be working well for us.

Last time he had a few was after a fight (I think that might be how he gets them).

I think hes had them twice since we moved in here.
We only have 2 carpets, my bedroom & the stairs & landing, the rest is wood, tiles or vinyl. Massive rug in living room though.

I do have half a tin of acclaim.

~Chameleon~

MrsE wrote: »

Last time he had a few was after a fight (I think that might be how he gets them).

Yes, he could certainly pick them up that way!

I think hes had them twice since we moved in here.
We only have 2 carpets, my bedroom & the stairs & landing, the rest is wood, tiles or vinyl. Massive rug in living room though.

I do have half a tin of acclaim.

In that case I would spray the rug, round the skirting boards of the wood/tiled floors and the two carpeted areas. Where does he sleep? If he has a favourite blanket/bed then give that a quick spray too or if it's washable then stick it in the machine at 60C degrees.

Another thing I find Acclaim incredibly useful for is getting rid of flies I spray a tiny amount in the corner of each window (as that's where flies seem to like to head for) and that's enough to kill them all dead for a year too just have to remember to hoover all the dead flies off the window sill regularly :rotfl:

MrsE_2

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

In that case I would spray the rug, round the skirting boards of the wood/tiled floors and the two carpeted areas. Where does he sleep?

Where ever he damn well wants to:rotfl:
He would scream the house down if hes locked out of a bedroom at night:o

If he has a favourite blanket/bed then give that a quick spray too or if it's washable then stick it in the machine at 60C degrees.

Another thing I find Acclaim incredibly useful for is getting rid of flies I spray a tiny amount in the corner of each window (as that's where flies seem to like to head for) and that's enough to kill them all dead for a year too just have to remember to hoover all the dead flies off the window sill regularly :rotfl:

I use them yellow sticky strips for flies, I know they are horrible, but they work & they don't smell & they carry on working.

IF there was fleas in the house, wouldn't they keep getting back on him (hes a persian, lots of hair)?

Sorry to keep asking you questions:o