Fleas/Frontline question...

Fire_Fox

There_Goes_Trouble wrote: »

Thank you, I shall have a think and read up about this. 'No sugar'...... gulp!

I'm not massively allergic, I sneeze a bit, get a blocked up nose and itchy eyes. My cats are 9 years old and I just put up with it although I think it's got worse as we've all got older, although from what you've said it could have gotten worse due to their diet...

My cats diet has been difficult over the last year. I switched them to a wet food after my female had a particularly nasty bout of cystitis that took months to resolve. However they are very fussy cats and won't eat what I class as 'decent' cat food, i.e ones that actually have meat in them. They were both losing weight, constantly hungry and scavenging around the house, and being grumpy with each other. My male cat was going next door and stealing their cat food which is cheap crap full of fillers and sugars.

So, after a year of trying I've gone back to free feeding dry food. They both look healthier and are no longer starving all the time, also they are less grumpy with each other.

I did try raw food but neither was interested, I also had a bad experience with it as I switched my dog to raw (slowly, like you're supposed to) and she got pancreatitis and nearly died. I don't know if the diet was completely to blame, but it put me off big style.

Sorry to hear that: raw isn't for everyone anyway. Have you tried a cheap commercial wet cat food? These are generally lower in grains/ cereals/ carbs than most dry foods, even if not meat-based look for animal derivatives, these are still reasonable nutrition for an obligate carnivore and are comprised of protein, fats and minerals. Butchers Classic tends to go down well. I assume you already tried the infamous Bozita?

Having said that if your allergy symptoms are not too severe you might find modifying your own diet is sufficient, there are cases of hayfever completely clearing for example. Allergies can worsen with age, but part of that is believed to be that the body absorbs and processes nutrients less well, partly chronic effect of bad lifestyle choices. The human body does have an amazing ability to heal and repair itself, so you might be surprised how fast you feel a difference. :cool:

hayley11

Hi!

Please can I join the flea club? We moved into a new house just over two weeks ago and after a few days started noticing fleas on the dogs and then I started getting bitten. We bought a sofa off the owners of this house so i'm wondering if they were in that?? Either way i'm having a nightmare trying to get rid of them

I used the spot on thingy on the dogs on the same day as I sprayed everywhere but it seems to be getting worse. I've sprayed the living room again since then. I've washed all their toys and changing the bedding every day in the crate where one of the dogs sleeps at night.

It's so frustrating and I feel so bad for them, they are just itching all the time I'm covered in bites too but my husband has no bites at all!!

We have all laminate and tile flooring downstairs so I hadn't been hoovering, just sweeping and then using my little hoover to clear it up but I had been hoovering the sofas with the little hoover, how effective it is I don't know. My Dyson doesn't have a hardwood flooring setting but i'm going to try it and hope it doesn't scratch the floor as i've seen a few mention to hoover a lot on here.

I really want to spray it all again but I don't know where to put the dogs, it's bouncing down with rain and I don't want them upstairs. Sigh.

Fire_Fox

Which spot on product, Hayley11, and which brand of spray? Vacuuming will keep the numbers down but you need to spray everywhere including hard floors, under all the furniture and the sofa to actually rid yourself of the infestation. You may find a professional extermination service has products that can be used around your dogs - the council will be cheaper than a private company.

Speak to your vet about giving the dogs an anti-histamine to relieve the itching.

There_Goes_Trouble

hayley11 wrote: »

Hi!

Please can I join the flea club?

I'm sorry you have to join us, but you are very welcome!

Good luck with it, it is very frustrating and depressing I know, but you can and will win this battle. Fire Fox and Chameleon amongst others have got all the answers and most of it is already posted on this thread so if you haven't already read from the beginning, I suggest you go back and start at page one.

My only advice is don't scrimp on the spraying. Don't think "oh there won't be any fleas there" because there will be, and if there aren't any then there will be eggs which will hatch.... Get it right first time. I'm on my third spraying this weekend but mainly because I didn't do it properly first time.

~Chameleon~

hayley11 wrote: »

Hi!

My Dyson doesn't have a hardwood flooring setting but i'm going to try it and hope it doesn't scratch the floor as i've seen a few mention to hoover a lot on here.

As I mentioned in a previous post, it's the hoovering which is causing the fleas to hatch out due to the vibrations. Hoover thoroughly 2-3 days before spraying everywhere with Acclaim or Indorex and you'll catch the newly hatched fleas. Repeat this cycle monthly whilst you have an infestation, treating the animals at the same time (Advantage or Frontline) and the cycle will soon be broken

Azmataz

The cats had it bad with fleas last year, despite meticulous cleaning, combing, Acclaim and regular Frontline. With the warmer weather, we found that as the flea cycles were overlapping, many critters were surviving at the egg and larvae stages (which Frontline doesn't touch). However, using a product like Stonghold with an active ovicide is what did the trick. We now alternate Stronghold and Frontline to keep on top of the blighters!
You'll need a prescription for Stronghold, but the vets should provide one for a nominal fee.
Good luck all you flea-bags!

There_Goes_Trouble

Azmataz wrote: »

You'll need a prescription for Stronghold, but the vets should provide one for a nominal fee.

Nominal fee? Where do you live? My vet charges £16 for a prescription!!!

Azmataz wrote: »

Good luck all you flea-bags!

Thanks!!!

hayley11

Thanks for the advice, I have read the thread from start to finish now

I sprayed everywhere yesterday (after hoovering everywhere first) and we've hoovered again this morning, going to hoover and spray again later.

I'm a bit worried that the dogs will keep catching them from the garden, is this even possible?? We get cats coming in the garden, plus squirrels run along the fence and there's a dog next door that sticks it's nose under the fence. I'm sorry if this sounds really stupid but just trying to think of anything that could bring them back in.

I've been using a bob martin spray I got from jolleys but i'll order some of the indorex or acclaim. Do the fog things work at all? Or is it best just to use a spray?

~Chameleon~

hayley11 wrote: »

I sprayed everywhere yesterday (after hoovering everywhere first) and we've hoovered again this morning, going to hoover and spray again later.

Don't hoover after you've sprayed, leave time for it to settle for a week or so. However, I've just noticed you've been using Bob Martin which is completely useless so you'll have to start all over again when you get the proper stuff anyway

And don't spray more than once a month either. These products usually give 12mths protection but lots of people seem to be having pretty bad infestations at the moment, hence my advice to treat the house more frequently initially. It should only take 2-3mths to break the cycle as it's only the pupal stage that can't be killed.

ETA: what product(s) have you been using on your animals? It's important not to overdose or use different products within certain time frames.

hayley11

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

Don't hoover after you've sprayed, leave time for it to settle for a week or so. However, I've just noticed you've been using Bob Martin which is completely useless so you'll have to start all over again when you get the proper stuff anyway

Noooo don't tell me that!! :eek: Really?? Might cry. :rotfl: Can we buy the proper stuff at pets at home or somewhere or do I need to order it online?

Right, so hoover everywhere, then spray everywhere, then don't hoover again for like a week, then what? I can't hoover for a WEEK? Wow even a scruff like me will struggle with that! :rotfl:

Thanks