Really struggling with cat fleas

[cptrayes]

I'm really struggling with trying to rid my cats of fleas. So far I have used fipronil spot-on and pyrethrin spray on on them and every variety of permethrin known to man in the house.

I think the problem may be that we have a feral cat outside - we live nowhere near any other domestic cats and have had a feral three times in the last 22 years - and every time I get rid of them they are talking to the feral again and getting more live ones off it.

I picked seven live ones off my female on one day last week even though she had been done with fipronil twice at a month interval and then sprayed with a pyrethrin too.

I am extremely reluctant to collar them. They are all free roaming farm cats who could far too easily get caught in wire or natural obstacles. I know they should, in theory, break but it seems a terrible risk.

Does anyone have any ideas? Is the chemical in Advantage any better? How about this new non-chemical 'sticky stuff' I saw in Tesco the other day?

Ideas all welcome please!

 

[AmyMay]

Your vet can jab them for fleas - or you could try stronghold (which is what I only ever use).

 

[cptrayes]

thanks Amymay, off to google stronghold, but the injection is a definite option. I didn't know about it, thanks.

 

[AmyMay]

You're welcome

 

[star26]

Last year i was using frontline (for ticks and fleas) every month on mine, which i thought was fine, until i noticed my old girl had a lot of flea dirt, and on closer inspection there were live fleas on her. I was quite annoyed as i always flea/worm regularly and just assumed they were covered, it was only the older cat who had any flea symptoms- maybe her age made her more susceptible?

I also live in a rural area, with my cats being the only ones around. I don't want to collar mine for the same reasons you mentioned, plus the two older ones have never worn a collar so they wont be starting to wear one anytime soon!

My vet said that using the same product over a long period can build up a resistance, she didn't rate frontline too highly either and suggested i tried Advocate. I put it on that evening (i always do them in the eve then keep them in overnight so it doesn't get washed off!) and within 2 days she was 100% clear and looked a lot happier!

I also made sure i binned her cat bed and had a thorough clean/hoover/disinfect of the utility room where they all sleep and the other rooms they are allowed in! I am still using Advocate (and Profender for worms) and all is going well- not a flea in sight!

I wouldn't buy any sort of flea/wormer from a supermarket as i don't think they are effective enough, especially when dealing with an infestation. Plus i have heard a few brands, sold only in supermarkets, have been known to have a bad reaction in some cats, so wouldn't want to risk it.

Best thing to do is to take the cat to the vet, or pop in and ask what they recommend, as an infestation is something which you want to nip in the bud asap, esp if they come in your house. Plus it's not very nice for the cat to be suffering with fleas biting 24/7!

Anyways, hope this was useful! Good luck with becoming flea-free!

 

[twiggy2]

there is known resistance to fiprinol and that is why the drug company put more money in to research and frontline has been down graded and is no longer a prescription only medication.

try advocate it seems to be far more effective and also treats mange which may be a bonus if your cats are mixing with ferals. also use indorex spay (or similar) for the house-have agood hoover first to disturb all the fleas and get them active.

 

[Mrs B]

We used Program (I believe that also can be injected, but we used the liquid in food once a month). It renders the fleas infertile so after a while the population dies out. We also have some very flea-ridden mogs come into the garden and apart from the odd rare one we find when we comb them, we've been a flea-free household for over 6 years ...

 

[Maesfen]

Give cats a bath in a decent flea shampoo - but you might need to wear armour plating to do so! You'll see the fleas rise and move to the head where you can squish them easily. Always worked for us before the new fangled treatments came in both for dogs and cats.

MTA, do it fortnightly to break the cycle.

 

[cptrayes]

Thanks everyone. The war has just gone up a notch. I'll beat those little devils

Maesfen where do you source your chainmail ???

 

[Mrs B]

Maesfen where do you source your chainmail ???

There are spare suits hanging up outside the door of the Tack Room for anyone about to mention draw reins, Parelli or cobs...

 

[cptrayes]

There are spare suits hanging up outside the door of the Tack Room for anyone about to mention draw reins, Parelli or cobs...

 

[Umbongo]

I use advocate on both my cats and dogs and never a flea in sight.
Stronghold is also a good option, and is alcohol based so not as greasy as advocate.

Acclaim/RIP fleas house spray for the house. Hoover, hoover and hoover again. Hot wash the beds etc.

If you do go down the collar route, my MIL cat was a little flea bag. They got the serestro collar from the vets, it lasts about 9 months and she is happy and flea free!

 

[Pinkvboots]

You also have to treat your house as they may be lying dormant in the carpet and furniture, the spray you can buy in homebase and b & q does work we have used it some of our rented places that have had animals.

 

[meandmyself]

Your vet can jab them for fleas - or you could try stronghold (which is what I only ever use).

Stronghold works really well. Killed the fleas overnight on my new kitten. And I got it free at the vets. (Kitten health check- they give free samples.)

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

I also use Advocate, works a treat

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

Frontline is as useless as a nun in a punch-up and has been for some time; amazingly its still on still and well-meaning owners buy it for their Fido's and Pussycats and slap the stuff on........... but it doesn't work and the poor creatures continue to be tormented by fleas.

We alternate with Advocate and Stronghold with both the dogs and the cats; the other problem we get here is ticks because of the sheep.

Agree with not using cat-collars, ours are farm-cats and I'd be very wary of using them too.

Like the idea of injections, BUT our cats are very wiley and one of the kittens hasn't forgiven me for bundling her into the dreaded cat-box and taking her to the vets for her first set of inoc's!!! That was a week ago; she has to go back again soon and scarpers every time she she's me, won't let me near her!!! So gotta feeling that an injection might be a tad challenging, for now anyway.

Have you tried Diatomaceous earth? Its cheap, cheerful, non-chemical, and I use it for creepy crawlies on the chooks. Yes, it does work too! Research it on Google, loads of info there and a scientific explanation which I won't even try to explain

 

[Arizahn]

Any way you can treat the feral cat too? Another vote for treating the house, btw

 

[cptrayes]

Any way you can treat the feral cat too? Another vote for treating the house, btw

House has been fumigated and is constantly hoovered and sprayed

Treat the feral? Can't help but smile, we live in the Peak National Park and these are REAL feral cats. Think wildcat and you'd be close. We have trapped two and they were ferocious.

 

[cptrayes]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I have Stronghold on the way.

 

[MagicMelon]

Is the outside cat vaguely friendly? If so, I'd definately treat it. Thats the source then gone. You're lucky with your feral cats, only 3? At my mums house, she's had one after the other - its quite amazing, one arrived in our garden when I was really young then slowly got friendlier then moved in! When that one died from old age, literally within days another one would arrive and the whole process would start again! All were very scared of people to begin with but every single one eventually became so friendly, they moved in and then rarely went outside preferring instead to sleep in bed with their new human

 

[Arizahn]

House has been fumigated and is constantly hoovered and sprayed

Treat the feral? Can't help but smile, we live in the Peak National Park and these are REAL feral cats. Think wildcat and you'd be close. We have trapped two and they were ferocious.

Spray bottle of some kind? Tranquiliser guns? Safari at cptrayes! Bring flea treatment and chainmail!

 

[Emma_H]

Ever since I have had cats I have used program. It used to be on the food but they don't do that any more so I have both my cats injected with Program every 6 months. I haven't had fleas in the house for as long as I can remember.

The thing I like most about it is that by taking them to the vet every 6 months they can be checked over for other possible issues which can be caught early if there's a problem.

 

[cptrayes]

Spray bottle of some kind? Tranquiliser guns? Safari at cptrayes! Bring flea treatment and chainmail!

I like the safari idea! Mounted or on foot?

 

[flirtygerty]

I was advised by Enviromental Health many years ago to spray the rooms with Coopers Fly Spray, no need to move the cats, couldn't find Coopers so used normal fly spray and it worked wonders, flea eggs can live for years in empty rooms etc, till a live host enters, it's always useful on moving to a new house to roll a can of beans across the floor, spray and shut the door, eggs hatch and starve to death

 

[Hoofprints in the Snow]

I was also advised to use fly and wasp spray for the house, spray a really good amount to cover carpets and furnishing, leave room and close the door till it is dry, then open windows to air. I spoke to a chemist at one of the major flea spray companies and the chemicals in the wasp and fly spray are the same or similar and much cheaper. Don't spray on cats or dogs and make sure nothing alive is in the room (except the fleas of course)

 

[cptrayes]

I did use Tesco fly spray to start with, just as effective as any flea spray.

I've done the cats with Stronghold - result in 12 hours!

Thanks for the tip guys

 

[Janah]

As a pet shop owner I have recently bought in a laundry product that cleans and kills fleas,ticks and is good against viruses and bacteria. I have used it on my dog's vetbed and that seemed to have solved my flea problem. I have two young cats that kill every small furry animal in the vicinity, known to man, and some that aren't! They bring in said prey to the house and give them to the dogs or better still allow them to scuttle under the sofa where they die. I have treated the house and animals. The best thing about this laundry treatment is it effective at low temperatures as most pet bedding needs to be washed at.

 

[SusieT]

Let's hope these ferals at your 'isolated home' don't carry any virus'

 

[cptrayes]

Let's hope these ferals at your 'isolated home' don't carry any virus'

As I said on the thread you are referring to Susie , 66 cat years here with no problems that would have been prevented by vaccination. So why are you bothering to resurrect this thread where everything has been wonderfully resolved by HHO members whose comments are actually helpful?

 

[cptrayes]

As a pet shop owner I have recently bought in a laundry product that cleans and kills fleas,ticks and is good against viruses and bacteria. I have used it on my dog's vetbed and that seemed to have solved my flea problem. I have two young cats that kill every small furry animal in the vicinity, known to man, and some that aren't! They bring in said prey to the house and give them to the dogs or better still allow them to scuttle under the sofa where they die. I have treated the house and animals. The best thing about this laundry treatment is it effective at low temperatures as most pet bedding needs to be washed at.

Sounds great, can you give us the name?