I put a flea collar on my cat. Will there still be fleas on her? Do I have to do more, like washing her up to get the rest of the fleas off? I cleaned my basement but I'm not sure if they are still on her or in the basement.
By kita
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My vet told me that flea collars only kill the fleas on the pets head, neck & shoulders. You will need to buy a stronger (whole body) product to completely rid your pet of fleas.
Flea collars work when you shampoo your pet regularly & can't shampoo the face & head area with an anti-flea shampoo because you don't want to get the shampoo in their eyes, then the flea collar will kill the head & neck fleas.
I would recommend you buy Revolution or Advantage. It cost $15 to $17 for one dose, but it lasts for over a month killing fleas the whole time. Most vets only sell packages of 4 or 6, but if you call around & ask vets who sells individual doses you can usually find a vet who will sell just one dose ($15-$17) I would recommend you only buy one dose anyway because this way you can try the first dose to make sure your pet isn't sensitive or allergic to the medication. (my cat is allergic to advantage, but CAN use Revolution)
Also, so you don't tox out their system, give them half the first day then wait 2 days & give them the other half. Don't let any of it get on you skin! Buy plastic gloves at the dollar store & put it high up on the top-back of their head where they can't lick it off!
There is a pill called "Capstar" that costs $4 (for one) that is safe that will kill all of the adult fleas for 48 hours, but it doesn't kill the flea larva (baby fleas & eggs) so you need to use another flea product in combination with it. Capstar is great when used in combination with Revolution or Advantage because it takes 24 to 48 hours for them to start killing fleas & if your pet is really going crazy, this pill can bring instant relief.
My cat was doing crazy things like jumping & running when he was bitten & generally just acting crazy, so this pill was like a little miracle that calmed him down. We split it in half & gave him half one day & half the next. I did research on the net before I gave it to him (its safe) & read up on everything I give him. Most cats can safely use Advantage, but last year we had a close call after using it & almost lost him. These days, I'm super careful to read up on all pet meds & only give him a little at a time instead of one big toxic dose.
If you cat is still young & you can teach it to take baths, then bathe it every few weeks with a flea shampoo. Remember, when you clean carpets & wash pets bedding, there are still flea eggs that haven't hatched. There's lots of great flea information on ThriftyFun & on the internet. I recommend you do some reading.
For Cats, here's a good place to start:
www.vetinfo.com/
The product you need is called Advantix you use regularly once a month. Ask your Veterinarian the correct way to apply on Cat. Good luck.
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