Do cat fleas cling onto people

[ImissChametz]

A friend is coming to visit and wants to stay. I was really looking forward to it, but now she has told me that her flat is infested and she has to give up her cat because she cannot cope with the financial part of it.

Whilst I am very sorry, a part of me thinks, will her cat fleas be on her? Will they burrow into my carpets etc? I dont know anything about pets, so happy to be told Im being dramatic!

I don’t think they would be on her hair or skin but could very much be in her clothes

You could insist on everything going straight into the washing machine when she arrives to be on the safe side?

Cat fleas only jump onto the host (cat or any other passing animal/person) to bite them. They go onto rugs, skirting boards, animal bedding, etc., to lay their eggs. Your friend might well find out that she has fleas hatching in her soft furnishings soon.

By the way, I think when a person takes on any animal, they should factor in the financial part of food, vet bills, etc. Having an animal should be a commitment for the rest of that creature's life. Shame on your friend for not sticking to it, and I hope the poor thing managed to be rehomed with someone more responsible.

Cat fleas need a cat to live on.

They could feasibly move about with a person if they were on their clothes, unlikely though.

But even if one did make it into your house (unlikely) it wouldn't be able to establish a breeding population without a cat (or other furry animal).

Think about it, if fleas could infest houses that easily we'd all be infested with fleas as I'd bet everyone knows someone with a cat!

But no, the fleas live in the houses with cats.

Your friend sounds like she needs your support. If her house is infested she can ring the council and get them round to spray it. She will need to.stay out of the house for a while though. (Or at least you used to be able to do this).

She could have eggs in her clothes. It depends how thorough she has been with sorting the infestation out.

I would arrange to meet her out rather than having her over but I appreciate I am sensitive as I had an infestation once, many years ago and am super careful now!

tenbob 😂😂Have the friend round then ask her to take off all her clothes to be washed.

That's not quite true. Fleas only jump onto humans to bit them - which is why the it's are usually on your ankles, they'd not running about your body, they jump on, bite and jump off.

And yes, they lay their eggs in furnishings.

But they do live on cats. They breed on them.

Yes, please don't do this, it's nuts. And very unkind.

Stupid autocorrect! The bites are usually on your ankles.

She doesn't. Wed to give up her cat ffs . She needs to kill the fleas and sort out the fleas in her house with a flea bomb and start again with a flea routine which is about £15 a month ( prob cheaper if you shop around )
What is wrong with some people ??

This thread is making me itchy!!

Im looking after two adorable guinea pigs...they wont catch it will they?

Extra background info- My friend is very sensitive and her mental health isnt great right now. She is young and under social services.

Monthly flea treatment for a cat isn't prohibitively expensive. If it is out of your friend's reach, then she should have considered that before taking a pet on. She will be able the sort the flea infestation (including preventing any eggs hatching in the future) with a can of Indorex.

@wheredidIleavemystyle me too!

Fleas lay dormant in carpets anyway. You could already have fleas in your home, bought in my your own family on shoes, cracks in doors etc, and never know about it. They need a host to live on, an animal. They don't generally live on humans as don't find us a suitable host. Given the mental health of your friend I think it would be unkind to say something.

If you are really concerned you can flea treat your house once she's left. Wash all bedding, get a good flea spray like Indorex.

ImissChametz Your guinea pigs will not get cat fleas! As your friend is young, has MH issues, and is "under Social Services", please be a good friend by advising her not to have any more pets.

Washing machines don't kill fleas.
I speak from experience 🙁

They like to travel. My first infestation was from a bag of donated clothes from a friend who didn't deal with her flea problem. It was fun.
Personally I'd indorex the house before she arrives. Spray around the edges of each room.

I would treat your house with Indorex before she arrives. Then if she brings any hitchhikers with her they won't be able to take hold. Indorex protects against infestation for about 6 months I think. It's brilliant stuff.

I'm a vet and I have absolutely brought fleas home with me from work before, so they can travel on human clothes. It was before we had any animals of our own so I know they came home with me. As PP said, Indorex or RIP Flea spray would put your mind at rest that anything that might be bright in will be dealt with. The RIP smells a bit nicer than the Indorex but both do the job well.

My cat had fleas and it was a really stressful time. I had to wash everything in the house - using disinfectant too - bedding towels etc etc.

I hoovered all the rooms repeatedly. And flea bombed all the rooms.

Towards the end I seriously thought I was losing my mind.

Difficult call....she's vulnerable and probably needs some company so I'd be inclined to go ahead. Or can you switch to an outside meet?

Thank you everyone for your messages...

@UserError012345 but if I meet up with her outside I can still catch some of her fleas right?

@tb4122 said she caught them on her clothes....I dont know what to do...part of me feels cross that she wasnt on top of her pet duties and the other part of me knows that she has no one else partly due to her personality disorder.

The thought of fleas in my house is making me feel sick.

Anyone that has fleas in their house, dose your animals as appropriate. And get a couple of cans of acclaim. Walk through your house as the vibrations cause eggs to hatch. And then spray everything, paying particular care to the edges of the room and radiators. (Fleas are attracted to warmth.) Acclaim is serious stuff. Don't inhale. And read the instructions carefully. But it kills everything!

Years ago, we came back from a holiday to find our house jumping with fleas - they literally jumped on to us as we walked through. I remember going somewhere and seeing one jump on to the book I was looking at, so they will definitely travel with you.

But, as said, this is unusual - normally, they jump on to a person, bite and jump off again. What they really want is the cat to walk past, so even if your friend brought in half a dozen fleas, they're not going to be a problem if there's no host (cat) about.

You don't need to treat your house although thorough vacuuming after the visit would be a good call. Your friend could solve her infestation problem if she treated her home and cat - a vet would advise. It is, or maybe was, possible to buy products online with a prescription (this may have changed) which works out cheaper than buying from the vet themselves.

Monthly flea treatments are not prohibitively expensive, but they're not cheap either if you're on a tight budget. The PDSA subsidise some services for people who qualify through some veterinary practices - not sure if they cover flea treatments. If your friend keeps her cat and she is happy to groom her regularly, it might be worth getting hold of a 'zapper comb' that kills fleas in the coat (they're usually hard to see) and alerts you to the fact that they're about. The longer you leave it, the more it takes to get rid of them.

Is indorx safe for children?

ESp one with a cough?