Cats and fleas and flea collars and skin applications

Peter Principle

Our cat is crawling with fleas. We're not sure why since we put that skin application stuff (skin absorbed pesticide that you put on the back of their neck) on her at the end of August and she's been wearing a flea collar since the end of September. Why aren't these anti-flea measures killing the goddamned fleas on the cat?

Feral

You need to reapply the topical flea ointment every 30 days. And don't use a flea collar, they don't work and can actually make matters worse.

EggyToast

Take off the flea collar, for starters. They don't really do anything, and if you're applying a topical solution, they can easily hide under her collar.

Does she go outside at all? Other pets, or other outside things? Have you washed her bedding area in hot water?

Fleas typically do take a while to get rid of, as the eggs hatch and do their thing, etc. Which brand of topical solution do you use now?

Peter Principle

How do flea collars make things worse? (Oh, just remembered, we put more anti-flea liquid on her at the end of September, too.)

Feral

Peter Principle wrote: »

How do flea collars make things worse?

The topical ointment works by dissolving into the cat's sweat glands and spreading across the entire body. When a flea bites the cat, it gets a lethal dose of insecticide. Some flea collars repel fleas, causing them to hide out in bedding or the carpet and then bite humans instead. You don't want that; you want the fleas to take the bait and bite your pet.

Others can cause allergic or even toxic reactions with pets. And some do nothing at all. Basically, flea collars suck.

And, yeah, Eggy's questions are important.

EggyToast wrote:

Does she go outside at all? Other pets, or other outside things? Have you washed her bedding area in hot water? ... Which brand of topical solution do you use now?

Improvolone

There are fleas in your house at this point. No matter how much stuff you put on her, there are fleas living and breeding in your house.
Get a contract with an exterminator. Have them spray once a month. Within 6 months of this PLUS the cat stuff, you should be fine.

I had this issue a few months ago. We are fine now.

Cycophant

Oh, and just as a warning, be sure the flea medication is specifically for cats.

I had this issue come up last Christmas at an ex's house. They have several dogs as well, and just through lack of luck, got them mixed up. The cat basically had their nervous system shut down. How it managed to live, I'll never know. But know that flea medication for dogs, on cats, equals death basically.

Probably not an issue for you, especially if you don't have a dog in your house as well. But I wouldn't want someone to go through the same thing, and so I offer the warning.

LadyM

Over the counter flea collars from Hartz and such . . . are crap. Usually they don't work at all. If they do work, the fleas will simply move away from the cat's head and live on its rear end.

Get a topical application for the cat, like Frontline or Advantage. You'll also have to kill all the fleas / flea eggs in your house.

Blake T

You problem is your house and surrounding area.

If you cat goes outdoors, spray the entire area with a flea pesticide and talk to you neighbours about doing similar things or going next door and doing it yourself.

Also go the topical spray.

Also flea bomb your house (you can buy these at hardware stores) remember to wash all dishes afterwards even if they were in a cupboard and make sure there is no exposed food as well.

Improvolone

Flea bomb only kills the fleas in the latter stages of their life. As an egg, they're fucking invincible. This is why you need a continuous house treatment.
Get Frontline+, the best hands down. Also, order online from and get Australian drugs. Dirt cheap by comparison and the SAME medication.

Peter Principle

EggyToast wrote: »

Take off the flea collar, for starters. They don't really do anything, and if you're applying a topical solution, they can easily hide under her collar.

Does she go outside at all? Other pets, or other outside things? Have you washed her bedding area in hot water?

Yep, no other pets, yep.

Fleas typically do take a while to get rid of, as the eggs hatch and do their thing, etc. Which brand of topical solution do you use now?

I believe it was Sargeant(sp?).

Peter Principle

Improvolone wrote: »

Get a contract with an exterminator. Have them spray once a month.

Cost is a factor for us, unfortunately. This is gonna be a DIY arthropod genocide.

a penguin

I would not recommend any topical flea medecine that is not Frontline + or Advantage.

I've only heard bad things about the cheap ones, and I tried one once on my pets and it seemed to affect them...negatively. They started acting nervous and twitchy, and altogether unhappy. They had never had any reaction at all to Frontline (or Advantage). I actually bathed all my pets within hours of application to get the crap off.


I switched back to Frontline +, and all was good.

Frontline also kinda treats the areas the pets sleep/hide/whatever. Might help with the infestation.

Back before that stuff existed, my parents had a nasty flea problem. The only way to get rid of it was to call Orkin. We tried home remedies, powders, sprays, nuking the house with flea bombs...it just pissed them off.

Preacher

Where can you get frontline? Is that from the vet only or can you pick that up over the counter somewhere?

a penguin

Vets and the Interwebs.

At least, I used to get it from a website whose name I can't recall. There are a bunch to choose from if you go that route.

Lately, I've been picking it up at the vet.

Trowizilla

Whatever you do, don't use Hartz or any other topical flea treatment other than Frontline or Advantage. There's a lot of documented cases where flea treatments can cause seizures and other poisoining symptoms in cats. If the cat is picking up fleas from outside, keep her inside for awhile, make sure you keep up with the Frontline, and try your best to de-flea your home. Wash as much fabric as you can: rugs, curtains, bedding, etc., and use bleach if at all possible. If you have stuff you can't wash, put it in an airtight plastic bag for a month or so, which will let the flea eggs hatch and then starve. Flea bombs help, but you have to stay out of the house for awhile.

flerchin

In california, and maybe other states, they keep the good flea medications (frontline+ or advantage) locked up in the store. You don't have to go to the vet, but any store that those medicines will keep them under lock and key, and you will have to specifically ask for them. Any flea medications/collars that you can buy for your cat off the shelf WILL NOT WORK. Unfortunately, the locked up meds are also the expensive meds, but they work without fail. If you get frontline+ / advantage, your animal will be flea free tomorrow, and for the next several months to come. If your house is infested, you may need to bomb/spray it once, but then the cat running around with meds on it will clean up any recurring stragglers.

/learned at the cost of great frustration and many months of experimenting with useless crap

Improvolone

Peter Principle wrote: »

Improvolone wrote: »

Get a contract with an exterminator. Have them spray once a month.

Cost is a factor for us, unfortunately. This is gonna be a DIY arthropod genocide.

My Truley Nolan contract is about $500. Yea, that is alot. However, we can call them anytime to do anything and it's included in the price.

If you don't like this option, I hope you like fleas.