Fleas!

Friendly chat, questions, reviews, find old friends or relatives. Not limited to Sydenham only issues but keep it civil!
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Yellow Peril
Posts: 34
Joined: 9 Dec 2007 00:34
Location: The 'Nam.

Fleas!

Post by Yellow Peril »

Yeesh! My cat has a flea infestation.
Last month I used Frontline succesfully and sprayed the carpets and whatnots.
After having doused him with Frontline on Friday, I thought tonight I'd give him a thorough combing - to discover (horror of horrors) giant fleas complete with bulging abdomens full of eggs.
Does anyone recommend giving the poor laddie a bath? I discovered that fleas drown very rapidly (Don't ask - I grew up with brothers! Nuff said.)
What's a gal to do, other than hit the gin bottle?
Please help.
Ronski
Posts: 437
Joined: 6 Jan 2006 01:19
Location: SE26

Post by Ronski »

take them to a vet, years ago our cat had fleas for weeks they kept coming back, the vet gives them something to make them sterile (the fleas!) so no more eggs.
Nicholas
Posts: 74
Joined: 14 Sep 2007 20:41
Location: Florence

Post by Nicholas »

My cat has them aswell and lots of them. We used frountline but no luck there So we paid pest contro £100 :roll: and that did't work. Apparently they lay eggs in the carpet and only 5% of them are on the cat at any one time.
Gaz
Posts: 366
Joined: 17 Sep 2007 23:22
Location: Sydenham

Post by Gaz »

Aye, the eggs may be on the carpets/curtains etc so you'd need to make sure cat + flat is cleaned thoroughly.

Have you tried those flea-collars? They always worked with our dogs when they had fleas...
bensonby
Posts: 1655
Joined: 18 Jun 2008 12:28
Location: Kent

Post by bensonby »

shave him?
Bamy
Posts: 12
Joined: 9 Jan 2008 15:37
Location: Sydenham

Post by Bamy »

My cats had fleas last year and the vet told me that the stuff they sell in the pet shop for carpets etc doesn't work - you need to get the home spray and the flea treatment from a vet as they hold a licence to supply the extra-strong stuff. I have floorboards so didn't bother, but the flea spot-on treatment worked really well once the vet put it on - I'd been dousing them uneffectively until she showed me how. Hope this helps!
jackieboo
Posts: 113
Joined: 6 Feb 2008 21:42
Location: croydon uk

Post by jackieboo »

Yes Frontline or anything you buy from shops is useless.

I buy Advocate from the vets and have 2 cats and a dog and have never had a problem.

We have a mixture of laminate and carpet.

Be aware the eggs can live under things for years, they just need a decent heat source to thrive. Especially under beds!
lambchops
Posts: 770
Joined: 11 Jan 2008 10:57
Location: Your mum's

Post by lambchops »

bensonby wrote:shave him?
yeah, shave that pussy!
Yellow Peril
Posts: 34
Joined: 9 Dec 2007 00:34
Location: The 'Nam.

Post by Yellow Peril »

Ha ha! Thanks for your replies. He's going to the vet next week for a Goebbels, so I'm going to have him de-flead at the same time.
I would shave the pussy, but I find that when I do the stubble itch is unbearable!!
:wink:
BingBong
Posts: 76
Joined: 31 Oct 2006 18:52
Location: se26

Post by BingBong »

Hi Yellow Peril

Yes - fleas are a nightmare (tell me about it). Problem is, if your moggy goes out, s/he's likely to pick up fleas from the grass where they've been deposited by visiting foxes/ squirrels etc.

The gin is an excellent idea (for you), but I wouldn't recommend trying to give your cat a bath.

The new millennium superfleas are like today's mice and headlice - they're not being eliminated by older insecticides (you can spot them with their tiny capes and pants).

The latest vet-recommended treatments are Stronghold drops on the back of the neck (like Frontline but a different recipe so currently more effective), plus a good spray all around the house with Genetrix 'RIP fleas' spray. The older insecticide sprays stink to heaven - you have to keep children, pets and adults out of the sprayed room for about 3 hours because they are seriously toxic. RIP Fleas has silicone in it which immobilises the little b**gers, thus disabling the adults plus the eggs and larvae in one go. You still have to vacate the room of people and pets, but for not as long, and one treatment lasts longer (a good spray before you leave for work should do it).

You say your little chap is up for the chop soon and will be deflead at the same time - good idea, but the defleaing will be drops on his neck, (which will make his blood less appealing to fleas), but the eggs will hatch and go for your legs anyway, so that's not enough. It would be a good idea to get the spray beforehand and use it liberally while he's being done, so your furnishings are blitzed. If you are being bitten too, fleas hate garlic, so either eat lots of it or start taking capsules.

Finally, you think you have problems with fleas? We've got two CATS in our house and trust me, they're much bigger and they keep coming back!! :lol:
Yellow Peril
Posts: 34
Joined: 9 Dec 2007 00:34
Location: The 'Nam.

Post by Yellow Peril »

Thanks for your lengthy reply, Bing Bong. The house has been fumigated. I can hear the last gasps of any resilient creatures. I have been combing the carrier daily and drowning any findings. No POWs. I am quite fascinated to watch the fleas disappear into the depths of the water, tiny limbs outstretched (Leonardo di Caprio style - Titanic) fighting for life. Only to be beaten - by me! It's so satisfying!
The wee laddie will have a flea injection and I'll stock up on the mega-death spray.
Incidentally, my mother's called Bing.
Cheers!
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