cat fleas

[vicky2498]

i treated my cat with frontline 3 weeks ago, the fleas seemed to go but i found one again today and i am covered in bites. i no cats dont like bathing but i cant use frontline again for another couple of weeks so would you think it was ok to bath her inbetween treatments. I did bath her a couple of weeks after the first treatment any way. i have treated the house as well. and i did leave it for a couple of weeks after the frontline treatment to bath her because i no it can interfere with the treatment.

[sandmaster]

You seem to have done everything right. Just try again when the time is right - including the house. There are so many places for them to hide - but they will not feed off the cat whilst she is protected - and eventually the life cycle of the fleas will end.. Just persevere.

[britta]

although fleas visit pets, and sometimes people, they spend a lot of time in carpets and other furnishings. they also breed in carpets etc. the best defence against fleas in the house is a good hoover. go around everything carefully with this, not forgetting the corners and edges, then go to the vet or supermarket and buy a spray that is designed for household use. do not use this on your cat though. by using frontline you are going to break the egg pupae adult cycle eventually but a good hoover and spray around the house will help a lot.

[daisycup]

Go to the vets and get some flea stuff from there. i've tried frontline and it never really works that well. I also bought some spray from the vets which you spray in every room. You have to leave the house for a while though afterwards because of the fumes.

[Nosha123]

Can I ask why you need to bath a cat??? I have heard that it removes the oils from their fur and can cause dry skin and dandruff - I have had many cats and never needed to bath any of them. I also have used Frontline (the drops on the back of the neck) and its been fine for me. Though to be honest in hot weather it may not prevent fleas for much more than 3-4 weeks - espeically if they are already living in your carpets.
Since moving into a non carpeted property I have hardly hat to de-flea our cats! when we had carpet they had to be done every few weeks.

[lankeela]

These will be the fleas that have hatched from the eggs laid by the previous fleas. I always find the Frontline spray more effective than the spot ons. You can get away with spraying more regularly than the spot on treatments too. I use less than they say, but do it more often. Use a rubber or latex glove, and spray that, then stroke the cat with it.

[Noweia]

As previous answers have said, only 5% of the flea population is on the cat. The rest is in the house! You need to also treat the house and vacuum thoroughly and regularly everywhere the cat has been.

[Miss-Ladybug]

I was going to ask the same question!
We are using frontline and yet im getting covered with bites!

[vicky2498]

Thanks for all your suggestions, i wouldnt be getting so worried if i wasnt getting covered in bites. they seem to really enjoy my blood because they never bite my partener. my local pet shop sugested these tablets to put in there food and they said it starts to kill the fleas in 15 mins, does any 1 no if these sort of things work and could you use them with the frontline?

[firetracie]

It's the carpets and furnishings you need to treat as well as the cat. Fleas can live for weeks without feeding (which they only do off animals, although they bite humans) and their eggs can lay dormat for months.

I agree with everyone here. You need to get a good treatment from the vet, clear everyone out the house and spray all carpets and soft furnishings. Wash anything you can - curtains, cushion covers, rugs etc. and the vacuum through.

I only had to do the house once and with repreated treatement on the cat the problem never returned.

[sue11]

Although I am repeating what everyone else has said, I agree that the most likely offender is going to be your carpets and soft furnishings. I always treat both cats and carpet etc when doing my cats and never have many problems with fleas or perhaps they do not like my skin!
I must say you are very brave to bath your cat, I am just imagining the outraged yowls and unsheathed claws if I dared bring any water near my cats!!
Cheers Sue