Hey guys. Seeing as how there were so many interesting replies to the rash in the pants thread, I thought I'd ask about this itchy situation... I recently found a sweet kitten whose personality is just what I'm looking for in a pet. The only drawback is his flea problem. I've tried giving him a bath (which he hated), and bought flea collars and that drip thing... Still, I see fleas once in a while. I'm about to move out of my apartment and into a new duplex. Any chance I can terminate this problem completely? He's an indoor cat, so no worry there. By the way, the cat's name is AI. After the answer ofcourse. Thanks guys, and I apologize for taking up server space. I just get paranoid that there's fleas crawling on me. Really bothersome...
My dog got a real bad infestation recently... I defeated it with a triple punch of flea shampoo, flea spray(for use on the animal), and flea spray for the carpets. If you kill all the fleas on the animal, but dont kill the fleas and their eggs on the carpet..you are just wasting your time.
We've had great success with Advantage. You put a couple of drops on the back of their neck and the fleas are gone within 24 hours. You'll have to check the instructions though, because cats under a certain age aren't supposed to use it. You have to buy Advantage from your vet or from a clinic, so they can advise you on it. If your kitten is still too young for Advantage, your vet should be able to do a pretty effective flea dip for the little one.
I bought a flea killing device a few years ago and it was pretty effective. Sorry, I forgot the name of the product. It uses a green light to attract fleas and other insects, then uses a yellow sticky paper to poison those things to death. Maybe it can still be bought. An internet search wouldn't hurt if other means fail.
Thanks everyone for your ideas. I'm intrigued by Panda's idea (it seems like the least amount of work, with proven results). Just like in those sunkist commercials - zap those pesky parasites. Are those things easy to come by? I like stick-on-adhesive type products. When I lived in Japan, we had a roach trap which was shaped like a little roach house. The more roaches I see inside this house, the less I'll see in mine. Product name anyone?
Flea collars, flea dips/baths are all outdated. As Ms. JB suggested Advantage works great. Also products that work great are Frontline and Revolution for cats. They are all topically applied once a month between the cats shoulder blades directly on the skin. The one possible drawback is that you usually have to see a Veterinarian to give you the product and the Vet will want to give the kitten an examination. This isn't a bad thing but it could get pricey. I have heard of Frontline and Advantage being sold at Petco but don't know if you need a Rx to buy it. If you live in the Clear Lake area there is a very nice Vet at Space Center Pet Hospital at 2323 Clear Lake City Blvd. that I'm sure would take good care of your kitten. phone # is (281) 480-7387.
You can also buy Frontline and Advantage at places like http://www.petcarerx.com . They are reasonably priced and you dont have to make a visit to the vet which will cost more money. If you are up to date with shots I would just get the stuff online. If not, definitely go to the vet and get him checked out and all his shots.
There is only one explanation as to where those fleas came from: Elaine: How did you get fleas anyway? Jerry: I don't know. Who could've been in my apartment. Elaine: I 've looked everywhere , even under the couch but all I could find were the stupid Chunky wrappers. I couldn't.... Jerry: Wait a minute . Did you say chunky wrappers? Elaine: Yeah! Jerry: Let me see those. ( smells them) Oh! I know the chunky that left these Chunkies......NEWMAN!!!
my gf got a kitten a while back. the owner/breeder/cat lady.. whatever let all of her cats live outside.... the kitten was completely infested with fleas. we took it to the vet and he gave it an oral pill that killed all the fleas in about 24 hours. all we had to do was give him a bath to get all of the dead fleas off. it worked great. i was told later by a friend though that you should seek other treatment or prevention after that because cats have weak livers and the oral pill from the vet can be damaging. im not sure how true that is, but im sure any vet could tell you more. Brian im pretty sure it was oral.. there is a possibility it was the advantage drops. either way.. it worked great. you need to get most kittens de-wormed anyways so id give the vet a visit.
man, I hate the fleas, everytime, I got bite worse than my dog, for some reason, they like me better! one time, I even bought the thing u use to put on yourself to prevent insect bites. you can get it in saveon. anyway, flea is hard to get rid of esecially in place which is warm and hot, like CA. the best way is to hire some terminator to clean up the house first. then use front line stuff like that on your pet.
If he has fleas, he may have worms as well look for little white "grains of rice" in his litter box. Advantage works great, but if you don't use it for several months in a row, there may be flea eggs around your home that hatch and re-infect him. Also fleas can come in through open windows, even if they have screens. Be careful of that. Anyway use the advantage for 3 or 4 months in a row and you should be fine. It's only available by prescription from a vet, but a single dose lasts for one month.
I hate fleas. I hate intestinal worms. Hopefully my cat will have neither after I follow some of ya'lls advice. Greatly appreciated. AI eats alot. It seems like everytime he passes the food tray, he stops in for a bite. He's lazy, but can still be energetic if he tries. -Totally offtopic, but be sure to watch Kobe's Beyond the glory at 8 on FSN.
