Fleas/Frontline question...

HappyMJ

There_Goes_Trouble wrote: »

This is awful!

I've just picked about 10 fleas off my dog and she's still scratching. One cat is scratching although the other doesn't appear to be. My dog is so patient bless her, she'll stand or lie still for ages while I go through her coat and catch fleas. The cats though just wriggle and it's nigh on impossible to hold them still with one hand and flea pick with the other. I've found loads of eggs in the dogs coat and her skin is very dry and flaky.... I really feel that she needs a bath to clear it but don't want to interfere with the frontline. The flea comb isn't shifting the eggs. I also had a flea jump on my foot in my bedroom last night....I sprayed everywhere on Saturday afternoon/evening. I will hoover again shortly, but I'm sensing an absolute nightmare ahead.

I wouldn't bother flea picking...for every flea you find there'll be another half dozen hidden in the fur and another hundred waiting in the carpet. If it looks really bad I'll give the cat a Johnsons 4Fleas tablet and all fleas drop off within a few hours. That can be given at the same time as topical treatments and I've only ever had do to that a couple of times over her life (usually my fault because I've missed too many topical treatments and the weather has warmed up very quickly bringing them all out suddenly).

There_Goes_Trouble

HappyMJ wrote: »

I wouldn't bother flea picking...for every flea you find there'll be another half dozen hidden in the fur and another hundred waiting in the carpet.

I know, but if it makes her a bit more comfortable even for half an hour then I can't just do nothing.

If it looks really bad I'll give the cat a Johnsons 4Fleas tablet and all fleas drop off within a few hours. That can be given at the same time as topical treatments

That's interesting, do they do it for dogs too? I've heard of Capstar for dogs although never used it. I might have seen 4fleas in PaH yesterday when I was looking for a better flea comb (which I didn't find...)

Fire_Fox

There_Goes_Trouble wrote: »

This is awful!

I've just picked about 10 fleas off my dog and she's still scratching. One cat is scratching although the other doesn't appear to be. My dog is so patient bless her, she'll stand or lie still for ages while I go through her coat and catch fleas. The cats though just wriggle and it's nigh on impossible to hold them still with one hand and flea pick with the other. I've found loads of eggs in the dogs coat and her skin is very dry and flaky.... I really feel that she needs a bath to clear it but don't want to interfere with the frontline. The flea comb isn't shifting the eggs. I also had a flea jump on my foot in my bedroom last night....I sprayed everywhere on Saturday afternoon/evening. I will hoover again shortly, but I'm sensing an absolute nightmare ahead.

(((hugs))) It's not the fleas presence that is making your pets itch, that is the histamine released in her skin due to the bites themselves. The vet may be able to give you something for the dermatitis, be that an antihistamine or corticosteroid.

Many years ago I moved into a house that was infested and had the professionals treat the house three times before we stopped being bitten for good (no pets). Two were free 'top ups' so it worked out cheaper than spraying the house from top to bottom ourselves. The exterminator advised us we needed to treat all the hard floors, not just the carpeted areas, because the eggs can be found in all the corners and crevices. We had to leave the product down for a fortnight before vacuuming because it was still killing newly hatching fleas. AFAIK bleach is ineffective on the eggs.

Could you get help grooming the cats, be that an experienced friend, pet groomer or vet nurse? If you could time that with a professional extermination you might be able to get the levels down to almost nothing until you can treat the animals with a more effective product in a couple of weeks. I'm no vet but I don't see what you have to lose by interfering with the Frontline given that you could well be dealing with a resistant flea population (based on your having treated monthly all summer). Please note I am NOT suggesting an insecticide shampoo just a bath or thorough brush. Please don't use the Johnson product without the advice of your vet.

HappyMJ

There_Goes_Trouble wrote: »

That's interesting, do they do it for dogs too? I've heard of Capstar for dogs although never used it. I might have seen 4fleas in PaH yesterday when I was looking for a better flea comb (which I didn't find...)

Yes for dogs as well. Only lasts a few days and costs about £1 a tablet so use only as a last resort.

~Chameleon~

There_Goes_Trouble wrote: »

I really feel that she needs a bath to clear it but don't want to interfere with the frontline.

Bathing your pets won't have any effect on the Frontline applied as this is now dispersed within the subcutaneous fatty layer beneath the skin but neither will it have much of an effect on the fleas and may cause the skin to become even more dry & flaky. Brushing & combing will protect the natural oils of the coat and help get rid of the fleas

~Chameleon~

There_Goes_Trouble wrote: »

I know, but if it makes her a bit more comfortable even for half an hour then I can't just do nothing.



That's interesting, do they do it for dogs too? I've heard of Capstar for dogs although never used it. I might have seen 4fleas in PaH yesterday when I was looking for a better flea comb (which I didn't find...)

Capstar and Johnson 4fleas is exactly the same product

Bloomin_Freezing2

As well as flea treatment (advocate from the vet which kills eggs, fleas, worms etc...) I use an electric nit comb on the cats. It zaps the live fleas as soon as it comes into contact, it pretty much kills all of them but I still like to squash them for good measure!

There_Goes_Trouble

Well I don't think I'll use any more products just yet. I don't want to overload any of my animals, they're all older pets so I'd prefer to be cautious I think.

The elctric flea comb has got mixed reports so again I don't think I'll bother. I'm pretty adept at catching and killing them it seems, so I'll just catch what I can while I wait for the products I've used to do their jobs.

Luckily I'm off work this week so have got plenty of time to hoover properly every day. I had a look in the dust today and there were a few dead fleas, but not many and no live ones either.

There_Goes_Trouble

I've been out for a couple of hours this evening and since I've been home again, things seem much more settled on the scratching front. I took one flea off the dog before I went out and didn't see any others, and can't find any on the cats although I know that that doesn't mean there are none, or that eggs aren't waiting to hatch...... I also have no new bites myself today at all.

Dare I hope that things are on the up, or is this the calm before the next lot hatch?

Sugar_Coated_Owl

I thought it was just our house having this problem. We have 2 cats who have both been treated with Advantage and a dog that was treated with Advocate from the Vet. The cats seem okay but the dog does nothing but scratch and bite her feet and tail. We've vacuumed and sprayed the house as well. I just don't know what else we can do.