My cat brought fleas into the house!!

WannaBbride · 02-09-2015 8:33am #1

Can anyone help me please. I've used the flea & tick spot on twice on him. I've hoovered all the sitting room, washed the bedclothes just incase. 2 or 3 fleas appearing in the sitting room daily still. What else can I do? Should I wash him with flea shampoo? I've not seen any on him only the dirt. He's outside all day long but comes in every evening & night. I've restricted him to the kitchen for now. Is there anything I can use in my house to kill them bearing in mind I've two small kid

GrumpyMe · 02-09-2015 8:47am

WannaBbride wrote: »

Can anyone help me please. I've used the flea & tick spot on twice on him. I've hoovered all the sitting room, washed the bedclothes just incase. 2 or 3 fleas appearing in the sitting room daily still. What else can I do? Should I wash him with flea shampoo? I've not seen any on him only the dirt. He's outside all day long but comes in every evening & night. I've restricted him to the kitchen for now. Is there anything I can use in my house to kill them bearing in mind I've two small kid

You could possibly get away with having the cat wear a flea collar. It will kill any fleas that try living on the cat and any others it comes in contact with! Keeping up the hoovering routine should keep the infestation under some control!
Indorex Household Flea Spray will kill any fleas in the house. And dust mites and fish and bees and...
It is an insecticide so must be used with caution...
It is not direct use on the cat or the kids!
HTH

WannaBbride · 02-09-2015 10:33am

Thank you, I never even thought of a flea collar. I'll get one today. This is such a nightmare. I'll hoover again today when I get a chance.

FelineOverLord · 02-09-2015 1:17pm

WannaBbride wrote: »

Thank you, I never even thought of a flea collar. I'll get one today. This is such a nightmare. I'll hoover again today when I get a chance.

Please don't get a flea collar, they can be toxic. Did you get the spot on from the vet? Usually the products the vets stock are much better than what you'll get in supermarkets/pet shops. We had an outbreak of fleas and we got a can of Rip Fleas Extra from our vets, 1 can will cover most houses, it's not cheap, about 20 quid but it's very effective. Hot wash everything that needs washing, vacuum thoroughly and redo the flea treatment for the house 4 weeks later to make sure you get any eggs.

looksee · 02-09-2015 1:21pm

I second what FOL has said. You need the spot stuff from the vet, it is cheaper in the long run to do that about 2 or 3 times a year (they say monthly but I find every few months is sufficient). The supermarket sprays are a waste of money. You will pay €20+ for stuff from the vet, but it will work.

Prevention is better than cure but you need a total infestation to be convinced of that!

bisounours · 02-09-2015 1:23pm

Frontline - you apply it to the cat's neck (make sure in a spot he can't reach/lick off) Toxic to fleas and non- toxic to cats. You can buy them online in 6 packs, if it's an outdoor cat apply once a month during the summer and every three during the winter.

WannaBbride · 02-09-2015 3:24pm

I just rang my vet there & they have the Spot on & household spray so gonna call in later & get some.

New Home · 03-09-2015 9:15pm

One thing that I always found extremely useful and effective, especially for mattresses and soft furnishings and for the gaps on wooden floors, was a steam cleaner. It's definitely non-toxic, and even though you might have to use it frequently at first (to make sure that the eggs haven't hatched, and if they have then you'll be dealing with the new generations), but it will get rid of the fleas in your house. I got mine from Lidl a lifetime ago and I wouldn't be without it now, it's excellent for disinfecting carpets too, and for general cleaning around the house.

Obviously, not to be used on pets...

03-09-2015 9:20pm

We had a plague of fleas this year. (We have three dogs in the house and flea collars, drops, spray proved useless!). We got a louse powder from our local pharmacy and sprinkled it all over the house. In our beds, carpets, dogs beds, everywhere. We then left the house for the day, with the dogs. Returned in the evening and hoovered everywhere, while wearing a face mask. Had to repeat 10 days later, but finally got rid of the little pests!

FelineOverLord · 03-09-2015 9:26pm

The bloody things are resilient. We have a lot of birds that gather on a cable over our garden and other than sometimes being a bit messy with the washing on the line I never gave it a second thought, but yesterday I was doing some weeding in the back garden and when I picked up an old plastic dust pan that had some soil on it a LOAD of fleas hopped off it:eek: At first I thought they must be fruit flies until I realised they were jumping not flying. So that was an evening of throwing bucket load after bucket load of warm soapy water down the yard to kill them off.

Rancid · 03-09-2015 10:36pm

FelineOverLord wrote: »

The bloody things are resilient. We have a lot of birds that gather on a cable over our garden and other than sometimes being a bit messy with the washing on the line I never gave it a second thought, but yesterday I was doing some weeding in the back garden and when I picked up an old plastic dust pan that had some soil on it a LOAD of fleas hopped off it:eek: At first I thought they must be fruit flies until I realised they were jumping not flying. So that was an evening of throwing bucket load after bucket load of warm soapy water down the yard to kill them off.

They sound more like springtails than fleas if they're under something in the garden.
They're under every plant pot in my garden and they hop away just like fleas when they're exposed to the light.

hadook · 04-09-2015 3:23am

We had fleas this year for the first time in a decade, there must be a particularly resilient strain around!

Ended up having to do a spot on twice and indorex the entire house as well as the usual hoovering of skirting/ corners & steam cleaning or washing all furniture and pet bedding before we got them all.

FelineOverLord · 04-09-2015 8:44am

hadook wrote: »

We had fleas this year for the first time in a decade, there must be a particularly resilient strain around!

Ended up having to do a spot on twice and indorex the entire house as well as the usual hoovering of skirting/ corners & steam cleaning or washing all furniture and pet bedding before we got them all.

It was the same for us. We got lazy about the spot ons during the winter and had an outbreak in a room we don't use much but the cats do, never had a problem with fleas before that so I won't be lax about the spot ons this winter.

mags16 · 04-09-2015 9:05am

If you have already bought the flea collar but don't want to use it on your cat, a handy tip is to cut a bit off it and put it in your hoover bag. If you are hoovering up flea eggs, you don't want them hatching and escaping from your hoover.

WannaBbride · 04-09-2015 1:20pm

It's so hard to get rid of them. I got the spray but haven't been able to use it yet as I'm home alone all day with my kids this week. My boyfriend is off tomorrow so will do it then & head off a few hours after. I do have a stream mop so must get that around later too. The feckin bites are driving me demented! The vet advised to do the flea spot on again in two weeks.

New Home · 04-09-2015 1:24pm

For the bites you can get an antihistamine cream in the chemist, it does help.

janmaree · 05-09-2015 3:35pm

I react very badly to bites too and honestly, vinegar is the most effective remedy for me. I just dab it on with a tissue or cotton wool and repeat when they start to act up. Cheap and effective and really speeds up the recovery time. I also use diatomaceous earth in the house to deal with the beggars, sprinkle on carpets, under sofa cushions, animal bedding, animals themselves even and it's very effective for a natural, non-toxic treatment. I've also used homemade flea traps with great success.......a shallow bowl of warm soapy water on the floor under a small lamp, the light and the heat from the lamp attract them and they hop into the bowl for the bubble bath of a lifetime. I use washing up liquid as I've read that the grease cutting action of the liquid soap damages their waterproofing and they drown. Fleas have been very troublesome for the last few years and I've had to try everything. These are the most effective and inexpensive remedies that I've found because the spot-ons are great but the fleas are opportunistic little bleepity bleeps! Hope it helps, you have my sympathy.

If you try the traps, you need to replace the water/soap every day and in the process you will see the numbers drop as you win the battle.

FelineOverLord · 05-09-2015 4:21pm

There's a product called After Bite, it's like a roller ball applicator pen and you can get it in supermarkets, great for any kind of insect bites. It stinks of ammonia for a couple of minutes until it's dry but we'd never be without some of it.

WannaBbride · 05-09-2015 8:22pm

Thanks for all the tips! What is diatomaceous earth & where do you get it? Today I stripped all the beds yet again. Sprayed the vet strong flea spray all over the entire house, left it a good hour, hoovered everything again, followed by the stream mop. I am knackered! Washing machine is still going. I think I will cry if that doesn't work.

I must see if I have any vinegar. I hate vinegar so slim chance although I did love it while I was preggers so there might be a bottle lurking in the back of the press!

janmaree · 06-09-2015 12:12pm

Here is a link to the place where I bought it, they're really helpful and it works for me. Once you've applied it, leave it for a good few hours or overnight if you can live with the dusty look.

http://www.organicanimalfeeds.ie/diatomaceous-earth/

I absolutely understand how you feel, it's like a home invasion but you can't see the culprits even though you know they're there. If you can, do try the soapy water trap because it really works. One of my cats kindly left fleas in, on and around my bed.........I was not pleased and they chewed me to smithereens from head to toe. I was so stressed out that I could cheerfully have set the house on fire........to get rid of them, of course! But I put down the traps, I dusted all carpeting and upholstery with d.e., I applied the vinegar, took antihistamines AND went on B complex tablets because apart from being good for you, I read that fleas don't like the taste of it and they don't like garlic either. Call me crazy but when you're going crazy you'll try anything. Btw, if you know the spots in the garden where the cat likes to sleep or sunbathe, dust around there with the diatomaceous earth as well, at least you don't have to vacuum outside. I hope it helps.

P.S. You can sprinkle the d.e. in your own beds too, I put it on the mattress first, then each layer after that. Try not to breathe it in, it can make you cough for a while.

Teyla Emmagan · 06-09-2015 12:29pm

God I think I see the cat scratching..

WannaBbride · 06-09-2015 6:40pm

Thanks a million, I'll have to get some asap. Fresh bites on everyone over night including the kids so they are still there despite all my efforts so far. It's horrendous. I will never let dosing the cat slide again! I've had cats all my life & this is the first time this has ever happened.

FelineOverLord · 07-09-2015 2:22pm

WannaBbride wrote: »

Thanks a million, I'll have to get some asap. Fresh bites on everyone over night including the kids so they are still there despite all my efforts so far. It's horrendous. I will never let dosing the cat slide again! I've had cats all my life & this is the first time this has ever happened.

Ah no, that sucks. Is there anyone who gets more bites than the rest of you? The reason I ask is that we had our flea outbreak last winter and it was mostly me who was getting bitten and almost always on my lower legs. It turned out the the 'epi centre':D was in a room we use as a home office/laundry room that was mainly used by me and one of our cats who had a basket under the radiator in that room.

Pac2015 · 07-09-2015 3:19pm

WannaBbride wrote: »

Can anyone help me please. I've used the flea & tick spot on twice on him. I've hoovered all the sitting room, washed the bedclothes just incase. 2 or 3 fleas appearing in the sitting room daily still. What else can I do? Should I wash him with flea shampoo? I've not seen any on him only the dirt. He's outside all day long but comes in every evening & night. I've restricted him to the kitchen for now. Is there anything I can use in my house to kill them bearing in mind I've two small kid

Frontline you can buy it in the vets and you spray it on the back of the neck and the tail and you must rub it in then 2 weeks later do the same again it kills fleas and lice and it works but spreading itself all over the body of the animal when they are dying it may look like dandruff on the cat so dont worry once you see them stop scratching you know they are okay.
You can clean and hoover your house as much as you want but you really need to get the fleas gone, the good thing is lice does not spread to humans but the fleas will bite you.

Pac2015 · 07-09-2015 3:26pm

WannaBbride wrote: »

It's so hard to get rid of them. I got the spray but haven't been able to use it yet as I'm home alone all day with my kids this week. My boyfriend is off tomorrow so will do it then & head off a few hours after. I do have a stream mop so must get that around later too. The feckin bites are driving me demented! The vet advised to do the flea spot on again in two weeks.

I have 7 cats of my own plus often have fosters or strays Frontline is brilliant you can get it in the vets it stinks but works really quickly you need to wear gloves putting it on and the cat will go mad, spray on the back of neck and top of tail rub it on and put some on the belly of the cat too then repeat the process two weeks later some of the spot on treatments dont work but I swear by this.

WannaBbride · 07-09-2015 3:54pm

FelineOverLord wrote: »

Ah no, that sucks. Is there anyone who gets more bites than the rest of you? The reason I ask is that we had our flea outbreak last winter and it was mostly me who was getting bitten and almost always on my lower legs. It turned out the the 'epi centre':D was in a room we use as a home office/laundry room that was mainly used by me and one of our cats who had a basket under the radiator in that room.

It's me at the minute. I think my dressing gown was the epicentre! He sleeps on me every evening & then I'm everywhere in the house morning & evening wearing it. I could have been polluting the whole house for days! He has the run of the house & sleeps everywhere but the sitting room seemed to be the worst.

WannaBbride · 07-09-2015 3:57pm

Pac2015 wrote: »

Frontline you can buy it in the vets and you spray it on the back of the neck and the tail and you must rub it in then 2 weeks later do the same again it kills fleas and lice and it works but spreading itself all over the body of the animal when they are dying it may look like dandruff on the cat so dont worry once you see them stop scratching you know they are okay.
You can clean and hoover your house as much as you want but you really need to get the fleas gone, the good thing is lice does not spread to humans but the fleas will bite you.

Yes the cat was the first action we took. Have to get more to dose him again, have the date on the calendar. Have also ordered diatomaceous earth. I've checked his coat & the flea dirt is nearly gone. Am brushing him as often as I can to clear it off.

Pac2015 · 07-09-2015 3:57pm

WannaBbride wrote: »

It's me at the minute. I think my dressing gown was the epicentre! He sleeps on me every evening & then I'm everywhere in the house morning & evening wearing it. I could have been polluting the whole house for days! He has the run of the house & sleeps everywhere but the sitting room seemed to be the worst.

Can I just ask why are you holding off spraying the cat just because your partner is not there?
Is it that you dont want to use the spray with the kids there or you cant hold the cat down ?

WannaBbride · 07-09-2015 3:58pm

Pac2015 wrote: »

I have 7 cats of my own plus often have fosters or strays Frontline is brilliant you can get it in the vets it stinks but works really quickly you need to wear gloves putting it on and the cat will go mad, spray on the back of neck and top of tail rub it on and put some on the belly of the cat too then repeat the process two weeks later some of the spot on treatments dont work but I swear by this.

I'll have every possible flea treatment & prevention going by the end of this week. I never want a outbreak again!!

WannaBbride · 07-09-2015 4:01pm

Pac2015 wrote: »

Can I just ask why are you holding off spraying the cat just because your partner is not there?
Is it that you dont want to use the spray with the kids there or you cant hold the cat down ?

It was household spray not spray for the cat. It was for all the furniture & around the skirting boards, carpets etc, you have to wear a mask. It kills the eggs & larvae. The vet recommended it

Pac2015 · 07-09-2015 4:07pm

WannaBbride wrote: »

It was household spray not spray for the cat. It was for all the furniture & around the skirting boards, carpets etc, you have to wear a mask. It kills the eggs & larvae. The vet recommended it

Okay I see but unless you get it sorted on the cat it will never go away they are the source so you need to clear that from them first.

FelineOverLord · 07-09-2015 4:12pm

Pac2015 wrote: »

Can I just ask why are you holding off spraying the cat just because your partner is not there?
Is it that you dont want to use the spray with the kids there or you cant hold the cat down ?

She doesn't have to use a spray on her cat. We have 4 cats and our vet never suggested something to spray on the cats. I wouldn't even consider spraying my cats tbh. The spot ons and house spray we got from the vet did the trick. There may be no fleas on the cat at this point and if there isn't then there's no point adding additional toxins into the cats bloodstream.

Clearlier · 07-09-2015 4:16pm

Another vote for indorex here. We got a flea infestation courtesy of a second hand sofabed. I thought that we were getting nasty mosquito bites (counted 51 in 2 days at one stage!).

It was only when we brought the dog to the groomer that the penny started to drop. I tried the spray that the vet suggested but it was pretty useless.

A little bit of online research suggested indorex. I carefully hoovered the whole house particularly the sofa and room where the sofa was, closed all doors and windows then applied indorex and left it for several hours. To be on the safe side I did it again in the room with the sofa a couple of months later after I realised that there were also fleas in the garage where we had briefly stored the sofa. No bites and the dog has been flea free since.

Chemical Byrne · 07-09-2015 4:35pm

If I were you I would stop letting a cat into the house. Save you a lot of hassle.

Pac2015 · 07-09-2015 4:43pm

Chemical Byrne wrote: »

If I were you I would stop letting a cat into the house. Save you a lot of hassle.

Its not really that simple the cat is an obviously an indoor / outdoor cat and has picked the fleas up from another cat or stray.
You cant just put it out and hope that solves the problem it will still have the fleas and when they petted it or went near it they would get bitten the simple solution is to get rid of the fleas from the cat.

Ayyyy Lmao · 07-09-2015 6:54pm

The only thing that works is a spray that kills both fleas AND eggs! We had an infestation, and it was a nightmare until we got this stuff.

You have to know that fleas live in carpets, chairs beds everywhere, not just on the animals. Little blighters somehow manage to get everywhere! Use the Egg and Flea Killer, worked an absolute dream for us when nothing else would.

WannaBbride · 07-09-2015 6:57pm

Pac2015 wrote: »

Its not really that simple the cat is an obviously an indoor / outdoor cat and has picked the fleas up from another cat or stray.
You cant just put it out and hope that solves the problem it will still have the fleas and when they petted it or went near it they would get bitten the simple solution is to get rid of the fleas from the cat.

I rang my vet & he suggested the liquid capsule thing, I can't remember the name, bought in the vet not the petstore. He didn't give me or mention Frontline. I don't want to double dose him at this stage as it seems to have worked on him grand. I'll ask the vet about it next week as I've to get another one to dose him again.

WannaBbride · 08-09-2015 8:40am

Well I've had no new bites and have not seen any in 24 hours. I hope to god we have gotten on top of it. Will dose the cat again next week and hoover again in the meantime and will spread the diatomaceous earth once I get it.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and helpful comments

My cat brought fleas into the house!!

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