fleas, fleas, fleas!

[stonekicker]

i worm and de-flea my two cats regularly (and spray the house!) using frontline for the fleas, but they both seem to be continually scratching and my son is now being bitten too. are we having a particularly flea-friending season or is it just my two little toads? any constructive advice would be welcome to sort this scratchy problem - i am doing everything i should be, but it isn't working! help!!! mtia x

[MWB]

Might have to flea bomb your house.

[lankeela]

http://www.petplanet.co.uk/product.asp?dept_id =329&pf_id=6261

[Nosha123]

An interesting point to make here - my Mum lives in Spain and has 2 cats and has found that the fleas have become resistant to frontline so when she came over last month she gave me her remaining stock....

Wonder if the same has occurred here!!!!

[Mr Veritas]

Having had (and still having 3) cats over the years,can I give you some suggestions?
My Vet said this little saying to me "Comb as if you hadn't sprayed,and sparay as if you haven't combed"
Let me make this a bit clearer.
When we got fleas we througly hoovered the carpets,and they sprayed the room with a flea spray(paying especial attention to the place where the skirting meets the carpet).
We used any reccomended(by the vet) "on cat" drops,but we also goa flea comb ang every day (or more) combed the cat.If we found fleas on the comb we pushed them off of the comb into a bowl of water(where they drowned).
Only following this schedule will you break the cat~flea~cat~flea cycle.Hoovering and spraying is essential as flea larvae can live dormant for years in furnishings,carpets etc,and will awaken when they sense a source of blood(sorry).
Conversely,the adult flea only bites the cat (or you) for food,and will then (eventually) drop off lay it's eggs (wherever) and die.Of course if you haven't hoovered/sprayed it will alll happen again.
Don't worru too much,it's not difficult to get on top.
BTW,DON'T use flea collars,they are useless as they only put the flea killing agent near the cats neck and shoulders,and can (in some case) be harmful to the cat.

[Miss-Ladybug]

Urgghhh same problem here!! I think they must be resistance to frontline as im covered in painful bites! Ask your vet + i heard mixing your own batch of spray (for furnishings and tabletops etc) can work well. Google it, i think lemon is quite effective. Good Luck, if you come across anything great let me know!!

[markja]

i used a night light and saucer of water underneath. the fleas 'see' the heat from the light, asume it's a live body and try to hop on for a feed, land in the water and drown. this will help keep the level down and you may be amazed at how many fleas you drown the first couple of days.
a drop of fairy liquid in the water breaks the surface tension and ensures the fleas sink.
let us know how you get on if you try this way. we had a very bad problem ten years ago and netted over 70 on the first night. ( it was a vary bad problem! )