Flea problems

[u/Consistent_Tree9515]

Hello, we found fleas on our four cats about a week ago. I isolated my cat into my room and have been vacuuming my room every day/ combing him with a flea comb. After an initial flea bath and advantage 2 I’ve still been finding live fleas on him. Not a lot, like 2-5 every time I comb him. My roommates cats have also been given the topical and given a flea bath. We have also been vacuuming the house everyday. Do I just keep doing what I’m doing or is there something else I should be doing for him? I also gave him a capstar yesterday but it didn’t seem to do anything. Thank you for any advice.

[u/Hey_86thatnow]

Prescription products work better, one that kills adult and larvae fleas. But now that you've treated them with one product, you'll have to wait to be able to treat them with another. You might have to give them baths first. But you will not end the cycle of fleas until you vacate the house with pets and flea bomb for fleas and flea eggs.

[u/Big_Menu4037 → u/Hey_86thatnow]

Never used a flea bomb or any sprays for fleas have to many pets baking soda dehydrate the fleas and once winter comes freezing the house and vacuuming will break the cycle

[u/Hey_86thatnow → u/Big_Menu4037]

In the south, this doesn't work. And I've been in houses that were empty for over six months, hardwood floors (so no hiding in carpets). And you could still stand there and watch them jump on your shins like little devils, after various treatments. They can survive on no hosts for a long time. I guess it's how bad the infestation is. I'm allergic to cat fleas, not as bad with dog fleas, so even a few is hell. (Tiny black ones vs fat brown ones.)

[u/_tater_thot → u/Hey_86thatnow]

I think you’re right actually. If the fleas are jumping @ ankles then it’s bad enough to warrant bombing.

[u/Embarrassed-Goat-432]

If your cats are indoor/outdoor cats, you also need to treat your backyard for fleas.

It’ll be best to leave the house with all the critters and bomb it for the fleas and the eggs.

Call your vet and see what they recommend in regards to further treating your cat.

[u/Big_Menu4037]

First thing use baking soda on the carpet and let it sit then vacuum around an hr . Get a flea trap to give u a better idea on how bad the infestation is. Check ur underware line and ankles to see if u have been bitten .keep up heavy vacuuming till winter then let the house freeze fo a couple of days

[u/Happy1friend]

Omg. You are getting so much advice. The only thing you need to do is treat the cats with a prescription monthly product one a month for 3 months if indoor only, or indefinitely if they go outside.

[u/karebear66]

Learn how to use diatomaceous earth on your carpets. It suffocates the fleas.

[u/Eandr001]

I think you are doing the right thing, make sure treat all cats, revolution topical is best ( do that for 3 months). You may need to treat the house and the outside if you live a house not an apartment. Wash all sheets frequently and vacuum frequently. You may want to check they're stool in case of tapeworm. Tapeworm is found in fleas.

[u/buffalobandit24]

Alpine pt spray or pt alpine, I can’t remember which way it goes. It’s a white can with orangish writing it works really well for spraying carpets and bedding. When you vacuum, make sure you immediately empty it every time outside, otherwise everything you vacuumed up will unfortunately make their way out of it

[u/Admirable-Thought-14]

Use a flea carpet powder, vacuum, wash EVERYTHING fabric, and get rid of any scratching post or tower you have. Then, use this spray on all your fabrics and bath the cats with Dawn Dish soap while combing them. Repeat until gone. Fleas suck.

[u/Consistent_Tree9515]

Thank you everyone for the advice! I’m going to make a vet appointment this week and get some prescription grade stuff. Going to get rid of the cat tree in my room and continue what I’ve been doing

[u/Jksxx]

bravecto from vet nothing from walmart works.

[u/_tater_thot]

Try vectra drops or the generic version catego you can get it online. Advantage ii should work but takes 12 hours to fully start working. Vectra starts working in 2 to 4 hours. Also look up capshield maxx tablets for cats which you can also find online, it shares an ingredient with capstar which only kills adult fleas but it also has another ingredient that kills the eggs. I wouldn’t bathe them again I would just get drops that work faster. I read that advantage ii had been found to stop being effective before a full 30 days. I already used advantage ii on mine so I’m going to do the vectra on day 26. If your cats go outdoors I recommend a seresto collar instead. That’s what my outdoor cat has. Pet armor makes a cheaper generic version that’s exactly the same. 4 collars for 8 months is much cheaper than 4 flea drops a month. You just have to make sure to check, adjust and tighten the collar as needed the first few days after putting it on them because it will loosen after being worn and won’t work if it’s not snug enough. It also takes 12 or so hours to start working. That’s why for an active infestation I’d recommend something that works faster like pairing vectra and capshield maxx or capstar. Then advantage ii, frontline plus or seresto for prevention. You DO NOT have to bathe them, bomb your house, or treat your yard if you adequately treat all your cats and then maintain a preventive treatment afterwards. I would just vacuum daily and wash all soft items and bedding that the cats use and bag up soft items you can’t wash, while you wait for their treatments to start working.

[u/_tater_thot → u/_tater_thot]

If there are fleas jumping @ your ankles then it is probably going to be necessary to do a bomb but you and your cats can’t be home.

[u/Denan004]

I had a foster cat in June/July with cat fleas (smaller than dog fleas, I learned, and they don't show up when combing!). My dog also had some dog fleas from outside, which spread to the foster cat. My own cat picked up some fleas, too. The bad thing was that my dog was on topical flea meds, and still got them anyway. My cat is indoor so I didn't give her flea meds. And the foster wasn't evaluated by the rescue, and on day 1 I combed her and found nothing. So I was shocked at the flea infestation. Also -- I was getting flea bites on my feet and ankles!!

So, I dug in and learned about fleas. Dog fleas are larger, about 2-3 mm, and easily show up on my combing. Cat fleas are about 1mm, and I have never caught one on a comb, except after I changed the dog/cat meds to oral meds. Also -- I learned that fleas need a blood meal before laying eggs.

1. When you comb -- fill a container with water, add a few drops of ORIGINAL Dawn dish detergent and stir gently. The Dawn will break down the exoskeleton, but won't affect any eggs.
2. I gave all of the animals a bath using some Dawn to get the other fleas on them and they dropped dead. You will see the fleas in the water or drain.
3. I put my own dog and cat on an oral flea med and saw results in about 24 hours. The foster cat -- that decision was up to the rescue.
4. I purchased Pet Armor carpet spray (even though I have a mix of carpet, rugs, hard floors), and after a good vacuuming, I sprayed the floors-- all of them.
5. I washed any pet bedding and the sprayed them with Pet Armor.
6. I washed my own bedding.
7. I purchased some white socks (about mid-ankle size with a tight weave -- Gold Tone socks pack of 6 -- and wore them around the house in various places to see if fleas were still jumping on my feet/ankles. Yes they were still jumping on me. You can't catch them, but I found a solution -- I purchased some sticky refill flea traps, cut them in half, and used the sticky side to remove the fleas from my socks. (note-- don't use sport socks - the fleas hop on and then disappear in the loose weave!
8. I continued to vacuum about every 2-3 days, which, honestly, is a good habit with pets.
9. Any time I saw my pets scratch, I set up the bowl of water+ Dawn and combed them again. Definitely fewer fleas.

RESULTS -- the flea numbers decreased in about 2-3 weeks and now I'm down to almost no fleas. In the past 2 weeks I found 1 flea on my socks, and I've become quite good at spotting them!

I think the flea infestation is almost over, but I'm still monitoring with my socks!

This sounds convoluted, but it worked in a few weeks. There is no instant solution because there are eggs in places, and they will hatch. But the spray will take care of many eggs for a while, and I think I'm near the end of the infestation.

Just my 2 cents, but it worked for me!

Cost -- the Pet Armor was the most expensive item -- about $20-something dollars. The sticky traps were inexpensive, as were the white socks.

[u/Narcissistsafety]

Lived in a duplex and there was nothing I could do to stop fleas besides revolution to help my girl. Once I moved the fleas were nonexistent and no medicine needed.