Fleas Please!

babyandhoney · Post by **babyandhoney** » Sat May 17, 2003 6:10 pm

Hello to all. (and thank you Jason!)

I have two cats. A 1yr old female siamese and an 18yr old male siamese. The younger has never stepped foot outdoors. The older cat has been requesting to go out about once a day and stays out for approx 2-3 hours. We live an about 1 acre without any other animals. Just moved here in Alabama from CA about 7 months ago.

I have ALWAYS used the Zodiac breakaway flea collar for my cats. My older cat has never used anything else that I can remember. Never had flea problems. Now, I can't seem to get rid of them. I can only guess that the older cat is carrying them in. Last night I noticed my younger cat was scratching so I looked. I was astonished at the amount of fleas and flea dirt that has accumulated in such little time. I just examined her in detail like a week ago. The both have brand new collars on. I just treated them both about 2 months ago with Ovitrol spray. I HATE using that stuff cause they lick themselves and it causes foaming at the mouth. I don't like putting pesticides on my animals.

How effective are these new products with the drops to be placed on the back of the neck. Does it take care of eggs AND adult fleas?

Last night I used the Ovitrol spray again on them both. It was awful putting them through that. I try not to get it around their face but rather put it into my hand and rub around the face. Today, the little one still has fleas and their all around her head!

I'll be leaving them for 3 weeks tomorrow afternoon. someone will be coming in to care for them and spend some time with them. I feel the need to eliminate the fleas before I go that they don't multiply. HELP!! Any suggestions? (vet is closed now till after I leave)

MA · Post by MA » Sat May 17, 2003 6:43 pm

Please don't use flea collars on cats, they really do cause more problems then they solve. Your best bet is to use a spot on flea repellant that you get from your vet- and not one you just buy at the store. Many of those are toxic to your pet. Use Frontline or Advantage and ask your vet for quidelines on how much to use (if you are unsure, as it goes by weight) Before you flea treat them, give them both a bath (clip their nails first) once they are dried out from their bath then put the flea treatment on. Vacuum the heck out of your floors, move furniture, vacuum well along the baseboard (where fleas hide) Flea bomb your home as well- removing your cats for at least 5 hours before during and after. Good luck- tis the fleason!"

Susan and the girls · Post by **Susan and the girls** » Sat May 17, 2003 7:33 pm

Just as an FYI -

Advantage for cats is mainly for fleas.

Frontline for cats is for fleas and ticks.

I've used both, and personally I prefer Advantage. In my experience, it killed the fleas dead very quickly - within less than a day. $\:D/$ I'd be vacuuming dead fleas from the kitchen linoleum the next morning.

When I used Frontline, the cats continued to scratch for several days, and when I'd find fleas on the off-white linoleum in the kitchen, the fleas would be wiggling around.

That's just my experience, and I wanted to share that. You may have a totally different experience. Either way, Advantage and Frontline are well worth the extra expense. They work for a while - a month or more - and they really kill the fleas. Some of those collars just aggravate the fleas so they jump off the cat - and onto the next available food source....which could be YOU! 8-[