cats and fleas

@jbrooks (264)
United States
April 24, 2008 3:59pm CST
my cats have fleas and i can not seem to get rid of them. once they seem like they are gone, they are there again. i have given the cats flea bathes and used frontline once a month. i also have a flea collar on both and i use one to vaccuum the whole house from top to bottom any ideas on how to evict these pest forever
2 people like this
15 responses
@carmelanirel (20942)
• United States
24 Apr 08
I haven't try this yet, saw it on mylot last fall after we finally won this battle, but I heard that using dawn for dishes, only the original scent, kills and repels fleas..I just bought some the other day in anticipation of flea season, for it is upon us again..
@jbrooks (264)
• United States
26 Apr 08
do you use this to wash them. this is all new to me
1 person likes this
• United States
26 Apr 08
Yes, when you give them a bath, use the Dawn instead of shampoo..If you are concerned about dry skin, use skin so soft oil on their coat when they are almost dry, not a lot, just pour a little in your hands and rub them together and spread over their body..The skin so soft also repels fleas..
@Malyck (3425)
• Australia
25 Apr 08
When I first got my kitten, from a friend's litter, she was coated in fleas, but before actually bringing her into my home I took her to the vet for all her shots and a flea wash with frontline, so I've never actually had fleas in the house. But my vet did recommend that if she were to get them again, to use frontline every two weeks. Are your cats outdoors cats, because they can pick them up from the grass/trees, if they are. What I would do, would be to take myself and my cats somewhere away from the house, and get someone to come and spray (no harmful chemicals), but some sort of extermination, and also flea-wash the cats while they were away from the house. If they do spend time outdoors, though, you might not be able to shake the flea problem, as they are likely to continue to get them. =) Goodluck!
@jbrooks (264)
• United States
26 Apr 08
both of my cats are indoor cats
@gemini_rose (16264)
25 Apr 08
This can be a problem with cats, especially when the weather starts to get warmer. When I had cats and they had fleas we used to use the frontline and baths, but we also used to buy stuff to put around the whole house, because the fleas jump off the cats and then they will nest in carpets and furniture, bedding and even floorboards, they can be a nightmare once they are in the house.
@ellisa (3)
• Canada
27 Apr 08
Years ago, fleas were a problem with my cat and house and I was terribly allergic to bites. At your vet's, there are products (one is called Control)- a liquid medicine - which you give your cat once a month from roughly May to October. It basically prevents fleas from reproducing and in the years I have been giving it to our lovely cat (check out "how to pill your cat" online for advice on how to administer any meds to your cat without too much stress), fleas are not even thought of. Imagine!
@wiser2 (237)
• United States
25 Apr 08
I Was told to use dawn.I have not as yet but will give it a try as i have to indoor cats that never had fleas but now i just got a puppy so ya i am to try and keep her flea free.Plus i was told to make sure the grass is short that helps cut down on fleas and that.
• Canada
26 Apr 08
Take your cat to the vet. My daughter is a vet tech and she says the store bought flea treatments are useless and you might as well flush your money. She has had cats come in that are so anemic, they end up dying from the flea bites. There blood is just like water.
@sedel1027 (17846)
• Cupertino, California
24 Apr 08
I don't think flea collar really work. When you bathe the cats are you waiting long enough after you use the frontline? Have you tried putting borax on your carpets, that is really suppose to work. We had fleas that we couldn't get rid of - even vacuuming daily, washing all bedding once a week, and we used frontline spot on and we haven't had any problems since.
@jennifer611 (2514)
• United States
24 Apr 08
it took months to get fleas out of our home. our cats and dogs had them and it was the most difficult thing to get rid of. you have to constantly vacuum, get rid of the bag or dump the vac. wash all the clothing, blankets, rugs, even curtons, they can hide everywhere. we had to bomb the house repeatedly, I can't even tell you how many times we bombed and fumigated. they also would be in the yard and would jump on our clothing and come right in the house with us. we made sure to buy bombs that kill the whole life cycle of the fleas. it got so bad that we couldn't even have the animals in the house anymore. if u just have the cats u might want to try getting them flea dipped at a pet place. they are really hard to get rid of and even when u think their gone there's a good chance their not. after bombing and laying down powder and all kinds of stuff we finally don't have anymore fleas but we also had found homes for each pet, we just couldn't keep them anymore and let the fleas keep coming back and biting the kids. we all had sores all over our legs. they'd get in our socks and just bite our akles so bad.. ewwwww I get itchy just thinking about it! lol Good luck.
@scribe1 (1203)
• United States
25 Apr 08
From my own experience with cats and fleas, I have found that the expensive stuff at the supermarket and pet stores doesn't work. The cats sure don't like that stuff either! My vet recommended Advantage. I applied it to the back of my cat's neck so that he wouldn't be able to lick it off or scratch himself there. I also gave it to Waffles, my other cat. The stuff worked like a charm. Before long, neither cat was scratching and the fleas were gone. Of course, the stuff should be applied on a monthly basis, but it's worthwhile. I'll never go back to other expensive ineffective stuff like flea baths and cat collars. None of those things work effectively.
• United States
25 Apr 08
check your friends,seriously. we had people with pets and fleas bring them in after we got rid of them the first time.my cats are indoor and the poor things got them from that. i put them on revolution,and that got rid of them for them.
@youless (112243)
• Guangzhou, China
25 Apr 08
That's not so difficult to get rid of the fleas, my friend. You just need to buy a flea collar from the pet shop and everything will be done. It works so good in my side. I don't know why it doesn't work in your side. Perhaps you have to try another brand. I love China
@heidibur (310)
• United States
25 Apr 08
I use frontline plus and it took almost a month but my dog is flea free finally. I know my girlfriend used brewers yeast on her dogs food just a sprinkle a day kept the fleas away. they also have this stuff called seven dust it works. and I have done the dawn dish soap it worked a little but the dog still had fleas. It is hard to get rid of them I am a dog groomer and deal with fleas every day you can buy a flea comb its just like a lice comb and get them in the tub and every time you get one pop it between your thumb nail. it is easier if you have a shower head that is on a hose that will reach your tub so you can wet down and either comb or scratch them off with your nails and rinse them away.
@fifileigh (3615)
• United States
25 Apr 08
i have always had problems with fleas as well. with my 3 late shihtzus whom i had to walk so they can go to the bathroom, and the bought fleas inside my townhome, which jump on my late indoor cat and she had a flea problem. i used to fog the townhome once a month which controlled it for a while, as well and give all 4 them flea baths. now all 4 have gone on to Heaven. and i have a new cat, who is indoor cat. i hope my townhouse is flea-free...it has been 2 years since i havent had any pets. and i have fogged the place, mopped it with bleach, used flea carpet powder on the carpet areas. so hopefully they are all gone so that my new cat doesnt get it from the area.. if you come across a good natural and herbal form to control the fleas, tell me. i continually to search of a better way...
@synuay (33)
• United States
25 Apr 08
I have four cats and a dog. I also have two pine trees in my backyard that seem to be a treehouse for fleas. My pets never had fleas badly until i moved where i currently live. I use washing borax on all my carpets and keep up with the vaccuuming (it does make a difference), also I have never heard of anyone else using this for fleas but it works wonders in my home, I use lavendar cleaning products. Like lavendar pine-sol. just put in a spray bottle, half and half if you want, and just spray the furniture and carpets and drapes every other day. When i was pregnant the fleas would just stick to my ankles like magnets and no one else in the house would even have one mark. I started using the lavendar pine-sol and it made a tremendous difference. (I even planted lavendar around those pesky pine trees.) There are other flowers that are said to help deter fleas as well but for the life of me i cant remember what they are. Good luck with your cats!
@jhl930 (3601)
• United States
24 Apr 08
i know that they say that those collars will really work but i have had cats for years and they don't work quiet as well as they try and say that they do...i know of something that might work on them but i don't know that it will for sure...i remember something that my mom bought one time from the store it was suppose to be for dandruff for cats and fleas and its like a suds kind of thing and that really worked for it...maybe that was just my cats but it wouldn't hurt to try..