Cat With Fleas

I have two small dogs and a very hairy cat. The cat is and always has been flea ridden. I take him to the vet but they are right back. Any help? I've bought all the Frontline and other stuff, it hasn't worked. How bout 20 mule team borax? The cat has never gone out but to go to vet. The dogs are both indoors also.

PEACHEE from BYRON, GA

Answers:

Cat With Fleas

I just went through this with my brother who has a dog and a cat. You have been to the vet and gotten your flea meds so that is the first step to making your babies more comfortable. However, the problem must be addressed inside your home and possibly on your lawns.

Flea eggs are vicious and almost impossible to get rid of without professional help. Call around and get some estimates. Good luck! (07/10/2007)

By Brandee Neal

Cat With Fleas

I used 20 Mule Team Borax in my carpet in South Florida to dehydrate flea eggs and would even sprinkle some on our dog who had very long fur. It interrupts the life cycle but doesn't kill fleas. Tho I hated to, I had to at times resort to diazanon in the yard and on the carpet. I even lightly sprayed the highly diluted chemical on my dog and sort of rubbed her fur backward as I sprayed to allow some of it to penetrate beneath her coat.

She never had any adverse effects and it took care of the flea problem. She lived a long, happy and healthy life. They don't sell diazanon anymore but I'm sure there are other products on the market that you could apply when all else fails.

Tho we have no pets now the house we recently moved into had a flea infestation in the yard due to feral cats. The cats were gone but they left their fleas behind. I sprinkled Sevin Dust all over the yard, watered it in, waited a couple of weeks, then sprayed the more highly infested areas w/ leftover diazanon and since we were having very dry weather sprinkled Borax over those same areas and I haven't seen one since.

They had also come in the house so I utilized a tip from another website which I had doubts about but it worked like a charm! I plugged nightlights into the baseboard sockets and put shallow bowls of water in front of those lights and in the morning I couldn't believe the fleas that had jumped to their deaths in that water! I also sprinkled Borax on the hardwood floors in those rooms and on the carpet in the living room.

I left the bowls and lights for about a week til I didn't see anymore. Obviously, you have to dump and refill the bowls daily. I also sucked up some of the Borax into my vacuum cleaner, vacuumed daily and to avoid having to replace the bag, squirted some flea killer into the nozzle after each vacuuming to kill the ones I vacuumed up.

I hope this information helps. I haven't seen any fleas for months and if I do, I'll go to war again! (07/11/2007)

By Nita Pruitt

Cat With Fleas

Please do NOT use borax! It is poisonous for all pets and can also harm humans. One of our cats died from it. You can get some powder at the pet store or from your vet to treat your floors & carpets. But you'll have to be vigilant and keep repeating the treatment both to your animals and your house. Good luck!

By Sheila May

Cat With Fleas

If your pets are all indoor pets than the problem must be coming from inside. Not everybody is bothered by fleas, so you may not notice when you are bit. You'll have to clean them out of your house and off the pets at the same time. (07/16/2007)

By Beth

Cat With Fleas

We found the key to be vigilant, vacuum everything every single day after bathing & treating the animals w/ a squeeze-on flea product. If you use the home remedies mentioned here & elsewhere take precautions w/ pets & children. Those remedies will work if used in conjunction w/ treating the animals & daily attention to the task at hand, getting rid of fleas. This takes TIME, about a month or two maybe before you no longer see fleas or larvae, or flea dirt (tiny black specs that run red when water is put on them).

The life cycle of the flea must be broken. You will see fleas after beginning a treatment program, however, those hatched later will either not be able grow to adulthood, or produce eggs, thus breaking the cycle. Do an internet search on "flea life cycle", very informative. (07/16/2007)

By kidsNclutter

Cat With Fleas

My mom uses something in her home she just plugs in like a night light. It attracts the fleas in the home and kills them. Look at Wal*Mart or somewhere similar or even Amazon. I would plug it in near their favorite sleeping spot and food bowl.
Good luck (07/18/2007)

By Sarah

Cat With Fleas

If your animals don't go out, they are getting fleas somehow. Where we live, in the summer we must check ourselves, or fleas get on our pant legs, shoes, socks, etc. and come in the house with us. Keep using the stuff on the cat, and get some for the dogs too --if you have fleas, they are on the dogs too even if you don't see them.

Treat the house however you choose to, and remember that it should be done at least twice, once now and later when the new eggs hatch. If you vacuum, seal and throw the bags out immediately. Fleas will get out of the vacuum to re-infest the house. I keep a small jar of oil on my counter.

Whenever we find a flea on our cat or us, we pick it off and put it into the oil, where they drown (Fleas float on water if you try to drown them, and if you try to 'pop' them, you can release new eggs.). While this can seem to be a bother, it definitely kills them and soon they will be eliminated.

If you are serious about eliminating fleas, you should treat your yard also, however you choose to. Once you get on top of the problem, you'll be glad that you did.

Oh, I'm sure you know that when cats or dogs bite fleas on them, they get worms from the fleas. You might want to consider getting your pets wormed. Good luck. (07/18/2007)

By susan