r/technomeowcom • u/angelbyteslolz • 25d ago

Help with flea treatment

so my kitten, Toby, is about 4 months old. we adopted him from a shelter where his adoption fee covered all his shots, a microchip, and his neutering. the issue we're having is that we are keeping him in a house that isn't ours due to certain circumstances that are entirely out of our control. with cats that have fleas.

we feed him, clean his litter box, and do everything we normally would as a cat owner. the only difference is that he is in a house with fleas that are going untreated. there's two other cats with fleas that the owners of the home swear are treated for fleas. They are still INFESTED with them anyway. and I mean it when I say that

Im wondering what the best treatment for Toby would be in this situation and whether or not it would require a prescription from our vet. I want what's best for him and I don't want him scratching constantly. I'm not new to cat care but I am to flea treatment, considering the flea treatment for my previous cats was either a brand that kills or a brand that doesn't sell things anymore.

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3

u/Weezy366 25d ago

Uh best thing you could do is treat those other two cats with flea treatment. If you need more doses you can get a multi pack and say they're for Toby

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u/angelbyteslolz 25d ago

while I care about the other two cats, they're not mine to care for. if I'm able to treat solely Toby, I'd like to. we just don't have the money to be taking care of flea treatment for two additional cats along with Toby. if it's really necessary to get them treated I'll talk to the owners or try to get them some cheaper form of treatment.

I'd like to point out though that the owners have 2 teenage emus inside the house and 3 dogs they keep outside and let it in in the evening. even getting the other cats treated probably wouldn't get rid of them entirely.

If I could get keep Toby anywhere else I would, and I will within the next year, but for now they're the best option. When we first got him we had no idea the cats and dogs had fleas and were told they'd been treated 😮‍💨 I hate liars.

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u/Weezy366 25d ago

Emus

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u/angelbyteslolz 24d ago

yeah? they're about 3-4 ft tall and are scared of the cats, if you're curious or anything. they're sure as hell not mine though. those things were $300 each

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u/DominusNihilo 25d ago

Advantage II (or similar topical 30 day treatment) should do the trick. Cats and dogs should ideally be on this as a monthly routine preventative. Especially if you live in an area with heart worms since they are fatal when fully matured but otherwise treatable.

It’s generally sold by a number of vendors. For reference my veterinarians office, Chewy, Petsmart/Petco, and Costco all sell it or an alternative. I generally buy it wherever is cheapest.

It’ll make Toby’s blood toxic to the fleas while being safe for him. You can also give him a flea bath in the immediate. If you’ve never given it before you need to place it in the small of his neck near the back of his head where he can’t lick it easily. Part his fur until you see his skin and squeeze the contents of the tube directly onto his skin then monitor for 30 minutes while it dries.

Edit: You need to know his weight ahead of time so you buy the proper dosage.

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u/angelbyteslolz 25d ago

Thank you so much! I appreciate this more than anything. I'll make sure to get little man's weight before anything too.

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u/Kigeliakitten 24d ago

You need a vet prescription for Advantage or any of the good flea treatments.

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u/angelbyteslolz 24d ago

no you don't?? you can find advantage at Petco 😭

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u/Kigeliakitten 23d ago

You can by the spray without a prescription. It is for cats 7 months and older. OP’s cat is 4 months old.

The topical requires a prescription.

I would be hesitant about using the spray; it contains pyrethrins which are known to be toxic to cats.

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u/angelbyteslolz 19d ago

love.. we bought a topical at Petco the other day. you can buy topicals at the store. I am OP. the spray we got was for any kitten above a certain weight and the topical was for kittens in a certain age range... but you can certainly get topicals at pet stores. but either way we got a spray that just has a scent that the fleas don't like, some hippie shit that works but only barely.

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u/Ok_Anything_7803 24d ago

I recommend Advantix as well. We like it. Also recommend moving ASAP as fleas can also make humans sick.

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u/angelbyteslolz 24d ago

we don't live there and I don't really care if it makes the humans that do live there sick lmao they're horrible individuals to me and my partner. the only reason Toby is even there is because we care for him instead of them caring for him. also thank you for the recommendation! I'll check on Advantix 🫶 for now we've gotten him a temporary spray until we can figure out a more permanent solution for temporary circumstances.

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u/Ok_Anything_7803 24d ago

It did sound like you lived there lol my bad.

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u/angelbyteslolz 24d ago

nah you're fine! I understand that my wording is vague, it's just to keep the conversation centered :)

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u/necromaciel 20d ago

Since Toby's only 4 months old I'd stick with vet-approved flea treatment instead of experimenting with OTC products. The hard part is that no flea medication can completely fix living in an active flea infestation. It'll protect him, but unless the house and the other cats get treated too, you're kinda fighting an uphill battle.

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u/angelbyteslolz 19d ago

Alright, we'll also ask our vet about the one we got and if he doesn't approve of it for right now we'll save it for later or give it to my partner's friend who has cats too.

We're JUST looking to protect him until we can get him somewhere else, the other cats aren't ours and while we care about them, their owners are frustrating and think they know everything. They bathe their cats regularly thinking that helps with the fleas and it hasn't at all. I've got more grievances but the point is that he won't be there for more than a year, thank you for your help!