Anybody have advice on fleas or have this cat flea problem?

[Wolf Frankula]

Bowtie is now our only cat. He has fleas. He is an indoor cat and doesn't go outside. We tried Pet Armor. It didn't work. We tried a Petco flea collar. It didn't work. We put a Seresto flea collar on him. He now has no live fleas on the first two thirds of his body. On his lower back, tail, back legs and hips he has fleas? What do I do?

Wolf

[Midnight Writer]

1. Go with Frontline or Advantage. They work very well.

[ramblin_dave]

2. I would try Capstar (nitenpyram)

This is a capsule that gets rid of fleas very quickly but wears off after a day or so. The Seresto collar should then be good enough.

Also you can try one or two flea traps - the kind with a small incandescent light and sticky pads. I find these to be very effective.

[TexasBushwhacker]

29. Yup, Capstar to kill the fleas on him now

Seresto to keep them off. If you have carpets or rugs, dust them with diatomaceous earth (get it in the insecticide department at the home improvement store), leave it down for 24 to 48 hours, then vacuum. It's non-toxic, but you don't want to inhale it, so wear a mask when you spread it and when you vacuum.

[at140]

3. Don't know about cats, but our long haired Lhasa dog would acquire fleas from

neighborhood cats running around without leash. I used flea killing shampoo and scrub her thoroughly with it.
The fleas were gone for several weeks. And adding a new Hartz flea collar after bath helped keep fleas at bay for 3-5 more months.
But cats probably hate baths.

[Skittles]

4. I get Bravecto from my vet

it's a topical (back of neck) and can last up to 90 days - I find it to be very effective

[irisblue]

5. Capstar+ Dawn dish detergent bath. Fleas can cause anemia in cats

[TexasBushwhacker]

6. Ask your vet

if you can give him Capstar orally (or another oral medication) while he's wearing the Seresto collar or use a topical by his tail.

You say he is now your only cat. Does that mean you have a dog or dogs? Although dog fleas PREFER dogs, they won't pass up any warm blooded mammal for their blood meal. They just aren't that picky.

I used to dust my cats with nutritional yeast powder. Fleas don't seem to like it and as your cat licks himself, he'll ingest the yeast and the B vitamins, particularly Thiamine, will make him less tasty to fleas.

You say he's a 100% indoor cat, which means you have fleas, somewhere, in your home. Rugs and carpets are the most likely places.

[GreenPartyVoter]

7. Our plan is comfortis pills with mycodex house spray.

[Wolf Frankula]

8. Thank you

I'll get the Cap Star, the vet recommended and see if I can find flea traps. The vet said no topical if he has a collar.

Wolf

[Big Blue Marble]

10. First, buy as many flea traps

as you can afford. Then buy a flea comb and comb your cat 3 or 4 times a day.
It is best to use a glass of ice water to catch the fleas from the comb. Dump the water with the fleas in the disposal and grind them up or they will come back to life.

Fleas spend 95% of their time in your cats environment not on your cat so vacuum your carpets and mop your floors with soap and water daily. Clean and wash all bedding where your cat sleeps daily.

I have successfully removed serious infections multiple times with many animals in the house without chemicals using these methods. It does take time and work, but it is worth it. You have not exposed your cat or your family to harmful chemicals.

[Merlot]

24. I do the same routine: comb, comb, vacuum, comb daily

Both my cats are strays and I don't think they'd handle the stinky flea stuff very well. Plus, I once gave a flea potion and my cat developed bald spots and licked his tail bald. Lasted for a couple seasons before his fur came back. So, no chemicals for my kitties.

I put a drop of dishwashing soap in the glass of water to catch the fleas from the comb. Kills them instantly.

As for bedding, I stick it in the dryer on hot for an hour even if it hasn't been washed.

[Big Blue Marble]

27. It is good to know that others like you are committed to pesticide-free flea removal.

It works with a lot of effort as you know, but you and your cats are much safer.
Do try the flea traps with green lights. It is best to keep your cats out of some areas of the house
to keep the flea activity down. But if they have had access which is closed off,
you will need traps to capture the remaining hatchlings as they emerge or
they will attack you. Go into the space with white socks and be ready with your soapy
water as they jump on your socks.

My vet told me I would never remove the fleas without the poisons. But of course I did.

[Merlot]

28. It's been working, so far no indoor flea infestation.

[alittlelark]

11. Frontline and advantage work very well.

I used to use them, but now I just put diatomaceous earth on their beds and sometimes rub it into their fur when I pet them.

[raging moderate]

12. Take him to your vet.

Let them give him a flea treatment. Let them keep him overnight, set off flea bombs in your house, and sleep/live elsewhere one night/day.

Then use Frontline, or something like it.

During my life, I twice moved into a place infested by fleas. Take this seriously.

PS This did work, both times, very quickly.

[Doodley]

14. That's good if the OP has plenty of money. I would never even consider taking an animal

to a vet for flea treatment, let alone a stay overnight. Just don't have money to throw around.

[raging moderate]

15. PS We had very little money when this happened.

We lived on canned tuna and rice, kraft dinner, and lettuce for awhile. Unemployed husband, underpaid wife. It was worth it. We came out at the other end okay, and so did our two children, and so did our two cats. It was worth it.

[Doodley]

13. Our cats are indoor cats too and were badly infested. We tried a lot of stuff and spent a fortune.

They are long-haired Persian cats. They were going crazy scratching. We could literally see the fleas on the skin and they kept coming back. We tried flea spray, collars, shampoo and drops on back of neck. A hundred bucks gone and still a problem. Eventually, I ordered flea capsules from a pet sanctuary on Ebay (those search terms with "include description" ticked should find it). I believe it is a generic of Capstar. It cost under $10 for 10 pills including postage and it worked immediately. It kills all the fleas in less than an hour. We repeated over the next few days to kill any eggs as well. No side effects for our cats. It was a big relief for us to see our cats get relief. I could not recommend it more highly.

[Phoenix61]

16. If you have carpet this works really well

https://www.chewy.com/flea-away-diatomaceous-earth-dogs/dp/111419?utm_source=google-product&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=hg&utm_content=Flea%20Away&utm_term=&gclid=EAIaIQobChMInce22MLL6QIVz8DACh31IAUZEAQYBSABEgLUlvD_BwE
I’ve used several different brands and they all work. It’s non-toxic and lasts until you steam clean the carpet.

[Polly Hennessey]

17. I use Advantage for my two cats - no

fleas. They have doses for small and large cats. Pumpkin Pie uses the dose for smaller cats, 5 to 9 pounds. Millie uses the dose for cats nine pounds and above. I put it on the back of their necks.

[Karadeniz]

18. Kitty needs a vial application that lasts a month. Since reinfection is occurring, you must have

Fleas and eggs in the environment. Frequent vacuuming is a a must. This happened to us in England. I took flea powder and spread it over all the floors. In the States it happened again. This time I went to Chem-something and treated the house. Each treatment worked with one application.

[Wolf Frankula]

19. I have VETBEST Spray

I need to spray the whole house. It kept them off the chairs he likes to sit on and one of the beds.

Wolf

[Thekaspervote]

20. We use Revolution for our 2 cats. Also protects against heart worm and other nasty parasites

As chemicals go, it’s potent but less harmful to the animal than advantage and frontline

[tblue37]

21. Revolution for fleas & other parasites. Cheristin for just fleas. Both work on my 4 cats. nt

[Wolf Frankula]

22. I gave him Capstar

An hour later I saw stumbling fleas trying to get away from him as fast as they could. The areas that had fleas are flealess.

Wolf

[Wolf Frankula]

26. I've been using Revolution Plus for 3 months

Haven't had a flea.

Wolf

[I_UndergroundPanther]

30. Flea problems..

My neighbor downstairs apparently didn't flea protect her cats and the infestation moved into my apartment.

Poor Othello was hiding on top of the cabinets to escape the fleas. He was on Frontline when this happened,one week into his monthly dose.

I got him a seresto collar and paid to have it delivered overnight and that worked however it took a little while to kill them all.

Meanwhile I was going scorched earth on the fleas. Put salt everywhere. Used sprays flea powders etc. Washed everything in hot water over and over.

Made multiple flea traps every night. Vacuumed and swept over and over. Put flea powder in the dust collector in the vacuum too.

Would have used a flea bomb if I had the capacity to stay overnight somewhere .

After Othello got his collar I had those fleas wiped out in less than a week.

I was going crazy because of them, they were biting me and the fact they were tormenting Othello just made me hate them more and I let all that crazy out on the fleas.
Sekhmet was working through me I think.

Than when I was seriously killing off the fleas I got something in my mailbox,thought it was the mesh coffee filter I ordered ,nope to my surprise it was two seresto collars my neighbor downstairs ordered too late. I took them to her and I guess she picked up my body language that I was not pleased about it..


After that flea episode I kept feeling ghost fleas jumping on me.
Guess I got traumatized from it.

[spinbaby]

31. I like Advantage II

It seems to work better than other brands to keep fleas in check. I haven’t had a flea problem in years. That said, I have a small(ish) number of cats in a mostly clean and uncluttered house.

The flea problem I’m battling at the moment is down the street where my retirement project is to bring a cat hoard under control. I don’t even know how many cats—in the last year I’ve fixed and returned 16 cats and also removed 7 kittens. They’re all living with their charming elderly humans in a decaying 12-bedroom cluttered mansion. Think Grey Gardens with cats.

My approach to the flea problem this year is to provide Advantage II for the indoor adult cats and Frontline spray for the kittens. I’m also giving the elderly humans diatomaceous earth to sprinkle around. In a couple of weeks we’ll do it again. I don’t anticipate that this will eliminate the fleas—we’re hoping to just beat them back. The outdoor cats are too feral to do much with and they all have ticks and lice in addition to fleas—they get treated only when they’re trapped to be fixed.