Fleas.... Vet says you can never get rid of them??

[MyThreeChickens]

We just got two new kittens from separate litters. One was riddled with fleas so i kept her in our kitchen and took her to vet first thing next day when she was treated. (Both have been treated). I asked if i should keep her in the kitchen for awhile and she said 5 days to minimise eggs all round the house and prevent infestation.

Tomorrow is day 5. The last two days i have only just thought to actually comb her and i have been finding flea dirt on her. Just combed her the 5th time today and massive flea!!! So i rang the vet in a panic and asked why she still had them.
They told me they will always have fleas and she will have got it from outside, so i said she is been in my kitchen for the last 5 days and she said that we humans bring them in all the time. What?!?! I have bever heard of this before, she said as long as there are only 1 or 2 and you keep up with flea treatment it wont be a problem.

Ive had cats in the past and have never had a flea problem before. I feel bad as i havent let this kitten out of our kitchen and was planning to tomorrow but now im paranoid. Ive combed the other kitten to check and she doesnt have any flea dirt or fleas so i know shes ok. The vet treated her with a spray and rubbed it all over her fur, whereas the flea infested kitty was given spot on (i got her a week after the non flead cat).

Has anyone else heard of forever having fleas as normality? I cant stop itching thinking about it...

[Fluffycloudland77]

Yes, we can bring eggs in and they'll hatch when a passing cat picks them up.

But you can get rid of them. You need indorex off amazon or a pharmacy to spray in the house.

Post on the litter tray and you'll get lots of answers.

Rubbish vet if they think you can't break the life cycle of a flea.

[pnutter]

Indorex is the fleas knees
Do cats bedding areas , furnishings and especially round edges of carpets
Get the proper flea stuff ie advocate
Wtf is that vet on about

[celeste83]

Yeah thats very bizzare for vet to say. Fleas can be got ridden of.

[rabbit123]

We had a major flea infestation a few years back. We bathed both cats (with great difficulty) and used frontline on them. We then washed ALL possible soft furnishings - curtains, cushion covers, bedding, duvets, pillows etc. Anything that couldn't be washed got vacuumed. We also vacuumed absolutely everywhere as flea eggs can lay dormant in the carpet and the cracks in the floor for up to 6 months - even the crack between the skirting board and the carpet got vacuumed and around where the radiator pipe enters the wall. We soon got rid of them.

You can also put bicarb or salt on your carpet, leave it overnight and then vacuum it up.

[Pipistrella]

I think what they probably mean is that you have to keep on treating even if your cat is clear, because if they are allowed outside, they will pick up fleas from hedgehogs and other cats and dogs, so it can recur.

This is why a monthly spot on is recommended.

You do not need to treat your house unless you want to.

[cupcakesandwine]

I have two cats and the best decision I made was to move to a flea jab instead of using spot ons. The cats remain toxic to fleas for 6 months and to be honest I don't think it was any more expensive than spot ons. Not sure if you can use the jab on kittens though.

I also treated all the soft furnishings with Indorex including things like tipping the sofa on its back and spraying the underneath. I'm pleased to say we are flea free (touches wood). If desperate you can also buy flea bombs which you light and then go out leaving them to fumigate the house.

When I was using spot ons I found that the cats were getting reinfested after 2-3 weeks. I think there may be some local immunity to fleas in our area as I tried all the spot ons including Advocate and Stronghold with the same results. Jab for mine every six months from now on.

[MyThreeChickens]

Great thanks all.
I combed her again today and only found a few specs of flea dirt, vacuumed the kitchen again and their bed as well as boiled their bedding. My other kitten doesnt have anything so I know her flea treatment is effective, and I saw a dead flea in their bed. Have ordered some indorex so will do the downstairs when it arrives, the kitten with fleas has only been living in our kitchen so I am hoping the distribution of eggs will be mainly there (though im sure we probably had some on our clothes from touching her and carried them throughout the house.... god). Debating on changing to a different vet!! I will ask about the injection, i am taking them every month until they are 6 months old then they said I could administer dosage myself as they should be the correct weight.