Help!!!

joannaemmas

Please help, the cats flea stuff is not working!! :eek:

He is a 'ginger long haired fluffy thing' (as he is affectionately known in our household!). I have tried both frontline and advokate over the last few months and neither work, but its now 14 days since the advokate and they're back!! I've regularly treated the house (off to get some more bomb things tonight!) and hes also got a flea collar but nothing seems to work.
I know I cant try the spot ons again so quickly as its only 14 days so am gonna go through him with a comb later and use the spray in stuff on him.
Any other ideas from anyone?

Thank you!

tango

I would be careful about using a flea collar and other treatments,not sure your cat is going to be feeling too good . The vets can give an injection ,may be worth seeing them

spike7451

I agree with the vets approach,flea collars & all that 'bob martin' stuff are a waste of time.I'd get something from the vet.You may pay a bit extra but don't forget that during the wait for the Spot On to reapply,the fleas are multiplying expeditionary.

*onlyme*

We stopped using Frontline and Advocate as didn't work anymore so we have started to use Effipro this year and so far, touch wood, no fleas!

We have 3 cats and 1 dog and the dog has a severe flea allergy so we are so happy this year she isn't suffering

Fire_Fox

There have been numerous threads on this, it's well worth running a search. Why are you treating the house regularly, if you are using a good spot on every month your home should not be infested? Only a couple of days ago a vet nurse posted that you should not combine flea collars with other spot on parasite treatment, and you certainly should not be combining systemic with sprays unless recommended by your vet. Fleas are becoming resistant to many non-prescription remedies plus many products designed to treat the home only kill the live fleas not the eggs. Get Stronghold for the cat and Indorex for your home - both from your vet. Don't forget to also treat for worms as fleas carry their eggs.

ItchyFeet

As horrid as it sounds, i used to literally pick the fleas off my pair. :eek: They would lie there and let me search through their fur. The fleas are bit too hard to squash so i just used to run them under the tap. It worked!

joannaemmas

I have spoken to the vet, hence why I have got the prescription only (and very expensive in relation to frontline) Advokate spot on treatment. I have not combined everything together although the bathing stuff for fleas can be used with the spot on treatment (again confirmed with the vet).

Fire Fox - "There have been numerous threads on this, it's well worth running a search. Why are you treating the house regularly, if you are using a good spot on every month your home should not be infested? Fleas are becoming resistant to many non-prescription remedies plus many products designed to treat the home only kill the live fleas not the eggs. "


In relation to this if I find fleas on the cat surely they can be laying eggs etc in the house (def not wanted) and as the spot on is not working then they will not be killed. The Advokate does worming as well as fleas (theoretically), but I will certainly look into the Stronghold and Effipro, thank you.

The funny thing is the frontline is still working with my other cat!!

I think I will have to stick to the age old combing them out!

Thank you all

hotcookie101

*onlyme* wrote: »

We stopped using Frontline and Advocate as didn't work anymore so we have started to use Effipro this year and so far, touch wood, no fleas!

We have 3 cats and 1 dog and the dog has a severe flea allergy so we are so happy this year she isn't suffering

Effipro is fipronil-the exact same drug at frontline, so not quite sure how that is?

OP-treat the house with a good household spray-indorex, or vetkem acclaim-these will kill adult fleas, eggs and larvae. Look for something that is an "insect growth regulator" They won't get the pupae so you can continue to get some fleas hatching out for a short period of time.

Treat ALL pets with the same product (eg advocate, stronghold, frontline (I like the combo better than the regular as it helps the household situation too)

The flea injection is program-it just stops any fleas that get on your cat having babies, I dont like it as an only source of flea control, but can be very useful to prevent future infestations

Treat the whole house, washing ANYTHING that can be washed at as hot a wash as possible.

It might take a month or so to stop seeing fleas-as any that hatch out will still jump on, and no flea product has an instant kill. Don't use flea collars, or any other sprays on your cat now. I would just stick with the advocate and spray the house. Hoover first as that will help remove some of the eggs, and anecdotally you may stimulate the pupae to hatch..

If your cat goes out, you will need to continue treatment monthly, as they can still pick up fleas from outside, but you shouldn't need to repeat the household treatment for 12 months

Fire_Fox

joannaemmas wrote: »

I have spoken to the vet, hence why I have got the prescription only (and very expensive in relation to frontline) Advokate spot on treatment. I have not combined everything together although the bathing stuff for fleas can be used with the spot on treatment (again confirmed with the vet).

Fire Fox - "There have been numerous threads on this, it's well worth running a search. Why are you treating the house regularly, if you are using a good spot on every month your home should not be infested? Fleas are becoming resistant to many non-prescription remedies plus many products designed to treat the home only kill the live fleas not the eggs. "

In relation to this if I find fleas on the cat surely they can be laying eggs etc in the house (def not wanted) and as the spot on is not working then they will not be killed. The Advokate does worming as well as fleas (theoretically), but I will certainly look into the Stronghold and Effipro, thank you.

The funny thing is the frontline is still working with my other cat!!

I think I will have to stick to the age old combing them out!

Thank you all

Sorry if not clear.

Some products kill live fleas, some prevent breeding. So depends what you use as to whether the fleas on the cat will lay eggs in the home or not. It's more likely dormant eggs are reinfesting your home as they are much harder to kill than live fleas and larvae. Your original post was not clear as to whether you have been treating the cats religiously throughout the flea season or whether you have been waiting until you already noticed a problem.

Assuming you are using the right dose for the weight of the cat, the product should work on both or neither. If one cat appears to be infested and the other not, it may be that they are spending time in a part of your home where there are dormant eggs. Having moved into a badly infested property I know how difficult it is to eradicate them - we had to have the house professionally fumigated three times. _pale_