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oranges

oranges

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
May 18, 2009
Messages
1,108
Hello PSers!
I appreciate all of the support that the fellow cat lovers gave me a few weeks ago when I was introducing my new kitten to Jinx. Now that they are practically inseparable and getting along great-- I have a HUGE problem.
I started finding fleas on Ranger last weekend I have found 13 in total--over the span 5ish days. I can't see any on Jinx since she's black but I'm assuming she has them too. The kittens have both had capstar and frontline. I have also used a spot pesticide on all of the cracks in the floorboards of the apartment. Yesterday I boraxed all of the rugs and cracks for 4.5 hours. Today I flea bombed the apartment and used a Raid flea spray on the couch. I also got a dehumidifier after learning that flea eggs, larvae and pupa need relatively high levels of humidity in order to survive. After all of this madness and of course cleaning and vacuuming like a crazy person over the last 4 days I just found a live flea on Ranger. I gave both kittens another dose of capstar. I'm at my wits end. Have any of you had to deal with fleas? How did you get rid of them?
 
oranges|1343952806|3245122 said:
Hello PSers!
I appreciate all of the support that the fellow cat lovers gave me a few weeks ago when I was introducing my new kitten to Jinx. Now that they are practically inseparable and getting along great-- I have a HUGE problem.
I started finding fleas on Ranger last weekend I have found 13 in total--over the span 5ish days. I can't see any on Jinx since she's black but I'm assuming she has them too. The kittens have both had capstar and frontline. I have also used a spot pesticide on all of the cracks in the floorboards of the apartment. Yesterday I boraxed all of the rugs and cracks for 4.5 hours. Today I flea bombed the apartment and used a Raid flea spray on the couch. I also got a dehumidifier after learning that flea eggs, larvae and pupa need relatively high levels of humidity in order to survive. After all of this madness and of course cleaning and vacuuming like a crazy person over the last 4 days I just found a live flea on Ranger. I gave both kittens another dose of capstar. I'm at my wits end. Have any of you had to deal with fleas? How did you get rid of them?
Click to expand...

If you can, do a search here about fleas, as there are a few threads on it. We had issues every summer from our apartment neighbor's cat (we didn't have pets). We boraxed, flea bombed, etc to varying degrees of respite. But those eggs hatch every 4 days and if you don't move quickly you can have millions (yes MILLIONS) of fleas in a short amount of time. flea bombing doesn't kill eggs.

Do yourself a favor: Call a professional.
 
When we adopted our first two cats, they were completely flea-infested. We gave them Advantage and then, incidentally, went on a short camping trip that weekend. While we were gone, all the fleas jumped on to the cats, bit them, and died. The fleas were mostly gone when we got back.
 
Obsessive vacuuming with something in your bag or canister to kill fleas picked up by the vacuum. (flea collars are okay. I used the awful perfumy powder (see suggestion below) and it seemed to work best) Empty canister or replace bag frequently.

Bathe (or have bathed) your cats after carefully combing out all traces of fleas. (repeat as frequently as your cats will tolerate)

That awful perfumy powder (we got at Petsmart) that comes in a round can. Sprinkle heavily, let sit, vacuum. Repeat every few days.

Check with a small pet store for herbal sprays for your cats to kill fleas on fur. Use between baths.

Obsessively wash every blanket, pillow, rug, etc that can go in the machine. For pillows that can't, at least run them through the dryer until heated through.


On second thought, it took me months to finally be rid of those dang things.... if you can manage it, hire a professional!
 
Move to somewhere with high altitude :)
 
1. Call a pro
2. Vacuum daily
3. Empty your vacuum daily


I had a flea infestation a year ago and it was seriously the most miserable thing my cats and I have gone through. I had bites on my legs for weeks. It got bad enough that I could put bare skin down on my floor (a hand, a foot, etc.) and before I could blink I'd have at least 5 fleas on my hand. It took a month to really get rid of all of them, and part of that month included removing everything living from my apartment that they could feed on. Horrible, horrible experience.
 
Thanks for the replies. Sounds like a professional is the general consensus. We'll see if what I did worked in a few days I suppose. I'll keep cleaning like a crazy person in the interim and then if I find ONE more I'll call a pro. I was trying to avoid having to do that but they are clearly so persistent :(sad .. I'm lucky that it isn't a terrible infestation yet... just a few but it's so important to nip it in the bud. Thanks for the other tips-- I'll look up more flea threads on PS!!!!
 
There is a powder that is supposed to be a healthy substitute for your home and animals. Its all natural and works by cracking the exoskeleton of crawling critters and kills them.

Put this into your search engine

food grade diatomaceous earth

People even dissolve it into water and take it so I know that its healthy and supposed to be the best stuff around. I am currently looking into getting some, but initially would need a lot so I'm looking for the best price. They even sell it on Amazon.
 
radiantquest|1344016917|3245459 said:
There is a powder that is supposed to be a healthy substitute for your home and animals. Its all natural and works by cracking the exoskeleton of crawling critters and kills them.

Put this into your search engine

food grade diatomaceous earth

People even dissolve it into water and take it so I know that its healthy and supposed to be the best stuff around. I am currently looking into getting some, but initially would need a lot so I'm looking for the best price. They even sell it on Amazon.
Click to expand...

The ladies at the pet food store we shopped at warned us to be super careful that we or the animals don't inhale any of the powder. I don't remember exactly why, but there was something about the respiratory system.

They do suggest we put a little sprinkle and mix into their canned food because it is great for everything.

Anyway, sorry I can't remember the details. It is great stuff but you should check it out carefully before using the powder anywhere.
 
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