Topic: Cat fleas.

[grannyjanny]

Our cat has fleas. I have been to the vets & got the stuff  for on her neck which I've done. They also sold me the spray for the house but with having ME am concerned about the chemicals. Has anyone any tips on how to be rid of them without chemicals. I do have a steam cleaner & many essential oils. Any recommendations would be appreciated.
BTW we haven't seen any of the little blighters so far ::).

[goodlife]

Well..for your information..there is something 'non-chemical' indeed..
I'll just have to get back to you with that info tomorrow..the product is in chickens ched..and I just don't remember what it was called ::)
BTW..same thing can be used for chickens for against mites.. ;)..catching two 'flies' in same time.. ;D
I'll post the info in here so anybody else that is interested can see too..

[grannyjanny]

Wonderful. Can always rely on you & your sponge brain ;D ;D ;D. Thank you.

[queenbee]

Hi Grannyjanny,

A number of years ago my two cats were infested with fleas I got the neck stuff and it worked very well. I was told by my vet to be patient as it would be an almost impossible task to completely rid the house entirely in one go. So I did nothing with my carpets etc. Just washed the girls bedding. Within a very short time there wasn"t a flea to be seen. As they jumped on the cats and bit them the fleas died. Vets seem to love you to spend your money with them and I have a draw full of useless items purchased by recommendation of my vet. Does anyone want an almost new tube of cat toothpaste and a lovely pink cat toothbrush. Or maybe several brushes. Has anyone tried to clean a cats teeth on not got bit or scratched. Patience grannyjanny and in a few weeks time they will be all gone. just put the stuff on at the recommended intervals. (I bought the last lot from my local supermarket and it was half the price of the vets).

[schmelda]

Our cat got fleas even though she was treated with the supermarket stuff.   ???

Only every FrontLine and Stronghold for her now!

[Morris]

Well..for your information..there is something 'non-chemical' indeed..
I'll just have to get back to you with that info tomorrow..the product is in chickens ched..and I just don't remember what it was called ::)
BTW..same thing can be used for chickens for against mites.. ;)..catching two 'flies' in same time.. ;D
I'll post the info in here so anybody else that is interested can see too..

Diatomaceous earth? That's what I use in the chicken shed?

[Jeannine]

Dead right, don't worry about the house, with the stuff you have the problem will take care of itself.. .

Old tricks.. apple cider vinegar in the drinking water and garlic in the food, permanently

XX Jeannine

[lewic]

My old cat used to scratch raw patches on his head when he got fleas, and the only thing that worked was something called Program which you get from the vet and put in their food  (or squirt down their throat if they won't eat it!). It is a flea contraceptive, which doesnt contain any other chemicals and doesnt harm the cat. You need to kill the fleas first but this stuff stops fleas breeding in their fur. I'm not trying to sell the stuff but it sorted his scabby head out in a couple of weeks, and he never needed to wear a flea collar after that.

Frontline (neck drops) were rubbish, only worked for a couple of weeks and the poor cat would be re-infested by the time you were allowed to dose him again. Frontline contains nasty chemicals, as do most flea collars, and I have seen cats drooling and falling over from licking the stuff.

[grannyjanny]

Thank you folks. What a relief. The scratching seems to have stopped this morning. It would have completely cream crackered me to do what the vet suggested ::).

[Mortality]

When my kids got nits from school or the nursery, I kept the flea combs after treatment and the cat occasionally gets a comb out with em, the fleas I do find just get washed down the sink.
My cat got them badly last year (even though he had a flea collar and neck drops), I wet dusted every surface to pick up the eggs and Larva, washed his bedding and hoovered daily for weeks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_flea

Shows the life cycle of fleas.

[Ragdoll Lady]

If she has been given stronhold than the fleas around the home will die once hatched as they will not be able to feed off the cats, hence the flea cycle will be broken. Wash all the bedding on the hotest wash you can and have a through vacume. There is a product you use on chickens that you can sprinkle on bedding and carpets and sofa's etc called DIOMETREUS  earth (i know I have spelt it wrongly) it coats the flea, sliverfish, ant with something that dries them out. IT can be used as a wormer for animals and people too. The common one is called Smite.  IT is natural so wont effect your ME. But if your cats have stronghold and you vac and clean the bedding I dont think you will have a problem. I have six long haired house cats and I only treat for fleas when I see evidence (they are show cats so get brushed and inspected every day) they go out in a secure back garden. We have had fleas in three occasions in 6 years and when it happens I use Stronghold and we have never had a flea infestation. Good luck.

[Borlotti]

I buy Frontline from the Cat Gallery, order line 01904 413000 at the cost of £24.00 for six pipettes, cheaper than going to the vet and they are friendly people so support them.   If it is put on the back of the neck the cat can't lick it off, and it does seem to work. After having a bad infestation of fleas a few years ago, when it was very hot, don't want that again.  Tried hoovering, spraying everything, crawling around at night with a torch but they still kept biting my son and jumping in food (horrible) enough to put you off cats.  We had to get pest control in in the end, and the house was sprayed, had to keep cats out all day, and humans, but it did cure the problem, now it is frontline every month, don't want to go through that again. Good luck.

[BarriedaleNick]

Our Vet has stopped recommending Frontline saying that it is no longer effective - We now use Advantage which works in a different way.. apparently it
Stops biting fleas in three to five minutes
Kills 98 - 100 percent of fleas within 12 hours
Kills reinfesting fleas within two hours
Waterproof - remains effective after swimming or shampooing
Protects from fleas all month long
Kills over 99% of flea larvae within 20 minutes
Kills 100% of chewing lice within one week and lasts for a full month

I have no idea if this is true but there is a lot of chatter saying that Frontline no longer works due to Fleas aquiring immunity..

[goodlife]

Code: [Select]

Diatomaceous earth? That's what I use in the chicken shed?You got it there before me.. ;D That's the stuff..mine is under 'total mite kill powder' from nev-tex.
Diatomaceous earth is the proper name for the stuff and can be used for dogs, cats, horses etc.
But trick is to get the powder deep within cat's coat.. ::)..mite be a little problem.. ::)
BTW..use the proper name when doind search in Ebay..cheapest that way..they selling it as 'loose' just bagged without fancy labelled container :)

[Poppy Mole]

Although it tells you to use Frontline every month I only put it on my cats during the summer & then only about 3 times a year & we don't have any problems (fingers crossed), the cats don't then get a build up of nasty chemicals.

[Borlotti]

I have just had to have my house sprayed as the fleas are jumping, even in my tea/wine and bit the grandchildren, although they don't bite me.  Tried Frontline, and flea comb and crawling around at night with a torch.  I hate the b- stards (fleas, not the cats or grandchildren).  Don't remember these problems with fleas in the past and have alway had cats (even in bed, although my Dad told me off). Maybe it is the hot weather.  Want to get a new carpet and settee but whilst we still have a cat, not sure that is a good idea.  Lucky it is so hot so they can sleep outside.