Getting rid of fleas with no chemicals?

creme_brulee

My cat (the little rascal) must have recently had an assignation with our resident hedgehog and has managed to bring fleas into the house-does anyone have a non-chemical way/tips of how to get them out of the carpets without resorting to a big can of nasty chemical stuff from the vets?

Cariad_3

I'm sure I read that hedgehog fleas only live on hedgehogs!
I wash my dogs regularly and for the first shampoo I use hibiscrub- you can buy it in the chemist for under £3.
I then alternate and use a flea or t tree oil shampoo.
T tree oil spray is good and keeps the dogs smelling lovely. Sometimes I rub bicarbonate of soda in their coats, read that this isa flea deterrant.
In the summer I give regular garlic capsules- our large dog will swallow it whole, the little ones i pierce the capsule on to some food.
Most importantly I check their coat daily, I can honestly say my dogs have not had fleas for many years.

Cariad_3

Sorry, misread your message. ::)

I wash dogs bedding weekly and regularly steam areas of carpet that our dogs lie on.

16011996

i spray my areas with tea tree oil spray, and the cat. works a treat.

Caterina

Still on the subject of cats and natural care:

My new kittens peed allover my son's bedroom floor (where their litter used to be but now we have moved to a more hygienic place downstairs)...

Questions:

1 - how can we help the kittens to remember where the new litter place is? (we keep taking them down there at intervals but they forgot in the night hence the accident)

2 - What to do about the pungent smell of cat pee?

and while I am here:

3 - How can I feed them frugally but still manage to give them all the nutrients they need? (I would like to do a mix of dry kitten food and some home-cooking but I am afraid to deprive them of nutrients if I give them anything other than the 'regulation' kitten food)

thank you cat lovers

Caterina

frances2

Hi Caterina

You have to get rid of the smell of the wee to their sensitive little noses before they will stop peeing on the carpet. I use biological washing powder or their is a product that you can buy from the pet shop called enz stain remover by Secto.

If you keep the kittens near the litter tray particularly at night they are naturally clean and will go to the litter.

If you buy supermarket own brand of kitten food it should be cheaper I buy Asda own dry kitten food and it is around the 50p mark for a box.

The problem with feeding them home made food as you say is the risk of them missing out on nutrients. You could supplement with lean fish and meat, but that is more likely to put the cost up not down.

A breeder once told me that pilchards in tomato sauce are very good as the tomato sauce contains trace elements that the cats need .I do treat my cats with pilchards with is about the same price as a can of cat food!

How many kittens do you have and how old are they?

16011996

i squirted my cat with water from washing up liquid bottle every time he went back to same place, soon made him go to litter tray.

Chris25

......that's how we trained our cat to use the cat flap.

Caterina

How many kittens do you have and how old are they?

Hi Frances,

thank you for the very useful response! We have two kittens, they were born 19th May (think it makes 12 weeks or so) and they are called Ziggy and Twist. They are adorable gingers!

Unfortunately buying cheaper ASDA food for the kittens is off limits for me for ethical reasons as I am trying very hard to boycott supermarkets (especiall ASDA!!!! with their Walmart link) and buy organic/local etc.

I know that is not very frugal in terms of immediate savings - but in the long long term I hope to make a difference to the earth and its future inhabitants (hope that does not sound too pompous, it is not meant to be!).

That's why I was hoping to feed them at least some home-cooked food. Today my son, nephew and his friend had steak (the rest of the family is vegetarian, so no go for the kittens there) and the leftover cuttings were given to them, they loved it. Also some leftover tuna from the tin the other day, and bits of mince when I cooked it for my son. I hope that together with a bit of dry kitten food they will be ok! Pilchards sound a nice idea, will try that, thank you.

I saw in another post somewhere in the forum, that other people are also calling for a dedicated 'frugal pet' thread, I hope that it gets followed up and it happens!

ciao

Caterina

trafalgar_2

Most, if not all dry cat food has all the nutrients that cats need....................you can feed cats on just dried and they won't miss out on anything..............it's the owners that feel they have to give them fresh as well ;D

But it really isn't necessary

Caterina

Hi Trafalgar
I know that all the nutrients are in the dry food but sometimes I understand it is better to give wet food to male cats because they can get kidney stones and urethra problems (if they don't drink enough water).

Do you know anything about this?
Thanks

Caterina