Specific question about fucking fleas!!!!

[KeyboardMash]

Background: We diligently treated our cats with the monthly spot-on stuff. No fleas, but one very skittish cat, who flinched whenever we approached and disappeared for 24 hours after every application. We switched to flea collars: fucking fleas!!

I have: resumed spot-on stuff (Frontline Plus), smoke bombed all rooms, flea sprayed everything several times, hoovered everything every other day for just over three weeks. I have read a LOT online and now know more about the lifecycle of fleas than I ever wanted to have to know. Currently seeing far fewer fleas BUT one of the cats is still covered in eggs. I cannot understand this - everything I'm reading online says you can expect to see fleas still, because they all need to hatch out from their various stages and either come into contact with insecticide or bite the cat in order to die. But why am I seeing flea eggs still?

That's the specific question I can't find an answer to - if my cat is treated, and the house is treated, how are the fuckers still managing to lay new eggs?! Which part isn't working?!!!?!

I'm losing my mind over this. It's fucking horrible, my children have flea bites, I have tendon pain because my stupid hands don't work properly and hoovering eight times a minute is making them hurt, and I fully understand you came expect to see some fleas but why eggs? Why is this poor cat still shedding a snowstorm of eggs at this stage. I've cried twice today and I don't know what else I can do.

Wash the cat with washing up liquid in the water and rinse well. Dry the cat. I've not tried it but I am going to because the spot-on frontline didn't work.

There's absolutely no way I'd get a tablet into this cat. We switched to collars because of the difficulty we had with the spot stuff - but we're just going to have to suck it up.

Yeah - this isn't going to work. I don't know what kind of cat you have but mine isn't about to let anyone bath her.

@abeli

I don't think there's a spot on treatment but I wrap my cat tightly in a towel to protect myself from his nails and I push the tablet down his throat. Lots of yowling and drama but he gets over it!

The obvious answer is because you're not killing all the fleas.

They're a fucking nightmare to get rid of so I do feel for you.

But, anything you can buy in a shop isn't going to help. It's just not effect anymore.

Get prescription flea treatment and it'll work.

I think there is a sex board for that sort of question, although it is a bit extreme even for there!

Ours have Program flea injections 6 monthly and we've never had an infestation, they don't kill adult fleas but when a flea bites the cat it takes on some of the medication which renders it sterile and stops the breeding cycle so you only ever get the odd one. We changed to this because our two were a nightmare with the spot-on treatments. Might be worth considering when you have got on top of this infestation.

Can definitely recommend Easypill. It’s a paste that cats love. Cover the tablet and they eat it no problem

We struggle to get spot on on our skittish cat and the online articles about bathing them make me 😂

We were using Advocate on prescription but got sucked into the marketing (and lower cost) of Itch pet and had fleas last summer. We switched back to Advocate and all was well, but had a problem again this year when DCat bolted without it all being squeezed into her. We have been battling fleas all summer, indorex and hoovering, boil washing bedding every few days, applying Advocate a few days early each month (with vet permission). I am at my wits end! We have just been to collect a new spot on from the Vet that lasts 3 months but it was £40 (!) so I am loathe to try and get it on her in case she bolts and we waste it. If she doesn’t fall fast asleep on my lap this eve I am waiting for DH to get back from a work trip and we will try and hold her down.

Sorry to not be able to answer your question, but I do feel your pain!

Frontline is useless. Bravecto from the vets works for 3 months which is ideal when you have cats that absolutely hate being handled.

I didn’t know about the injection! We have to pay the vet to come out and do jabs as we can’t get her in a box so that might bankrupt us. But other option is currently burning our house down so bankruptcy might be preferable

I use Johnsons spot on flea stuff.
Hoovered everywhere, washed whatever the cat sat on, sprayed everywhere with Johnsons household flea spray. One month later next flea treatment on the cat, no nibbly, scratchy cat since then.
Fleas are resistant to fipronil. I don't understand how that works because my dog, who kept bringing in the fleas has been dead a while now and my cat is indoor. Makes my brain hurt.

We had a similar problem a few years ago with re-infestations apparently coming from nowhere

It turned out that the cat was picking up the new fleas outside

For some reason i moved the blocks of wood that made a step up to the cat-flap and disturbed a whole load of fleas - they were jumping everywhere

The cat would often sunbathe lying on the step and once we removed the fleas from there the re-infestations stopped

Forgot to add - it was during a very warm humid spell of weather not unlike recently - otherwise the fleas wouldn't have survived outdoors

Depends on your area as to what the fleas
Are resistant to. You need to speak to a local vet and get
Whatever will kill the fuckers where you are.

Our cattery has advised us to stop using Frontline too, saying that cats are becoming immune and we should get something from the vet.

Except that I'm old enough to remember when we were told to stop using whatever came before, and buy Frontline (at twice the price) from the vet. Has it become less potent when it became an OTC treatment?

I can't help thinking that some of this reaction is profiteering for the vets ...

If you are using the right flea treatment, those eggs should be infertile and won't hatch. Eventually all the live fleas die and are not replaced. That's how you break the cycle. That type of treatment is only available from the vet though.

Hmmm. See what I thought was, that with the (multiple) treatments I've used, the fleas should be infertile and not able to lay eggs. So I was expecting to see fleas, because there will necessarily be a handful of eggs missed that are hatching - but those fleas shouldn't be able to lay eggs because either the fog, spray or spot-on stuff will effectively neuter them. So I couldn't understand why, three weeks into mad insecticide dousing, I was still seeing eggs (not fleas, eggs).

Just combed both cats and one has nothing on her that I can see. The terrified skittish one had about three fleas from four swipes of the comb, so something is going wrong for her. 😭😭😭😭

Some vets will do an injection for fleas. It is quite hard to get all the treatment on cats neck if in the little pipette.
I assume from your original question it just takes one or 2 of the feckers like nits and you are back to square one.
I would only echo about the prescription meds being better.
Random thoughts
Hoover bag
Down sides of sofa
Kids bedrooms.
Hopefully you have broken the cycle and they are dead eggs.

The thing is, I didn't think it should be "back to square one" provided you treat both cat and house. I thought it would take time and you could still expect to see new fleas, but that those fleas should basically then just die off without being able to breed because of the insecticide. But we clearly have new eggs on the cat! So some part of that isn't right.....

We're plagued here and same as you OP, bloody white eggs everywhere over anything dark she is on, so I know they're everywhere. Flea dirt also observed on light and white fabrics. Nice all round.

Fleas seen around my ankles although they obviously dont like me as I dont get bitten

Cat wont tolerate being taken in the carrier. Cat wont tolerate any spot on treatment, goes mental. Cat wont eat the flea treatment you put in food

What am I to do?

If the treatment on the cat isn't working then it doesn't matter how much around the house you're doing - you'll keep the fleas. You need to sort the cat treatment first. We use Seresto collars exclusively - we have a big tick issue locally and this was the only thing that helped but they do for fleas as well and we've not had any problems since we moved to them. They aren't cheap but they do last for around 8 months so it doesn't work out much different price-wise.

Put the collars on the cats.
Spray your house with indorex, paying attention to 'edges' - carpet edges, skirting board corners, cushion creases etc.
Put a cheapy flea collar (or the cut off bits of the Seresto collars where you've cut them to size) in the vacuum bag.
Vacuum.
Repeat the spraying/vacuuming cycle every couple of days.

Ours are spot treated with felpreva from the vet. Combined treatment for fleas / ticks / worms / parasites. Its applied once every 3 months. Bit expensive. £40 per treatment per cat but very effective

Well I guess we were back to square one because we weren't successfully killing all of them with the Indorex. The eggs/fleas we hadn't managed to kill would hatch and so on and so forth. It sent us mad. I think if we'd been prepared to wait months, the cycle could possibly have broken as the cat was treated and they would ultimately aim for the cat. But we called in the big guns in the end. Back in 2009 pest control cost £45 and given what we were spending on Indorex every 3 weeks, it was a bargain.

Washing cats does not stop fleas and us highly traumatic for the cat. Please don't do this
When I worked for Cats Protection the worst flea infestation I have ever seen was treated by our vet with a tablet called capstar. Greenies feline pill pockets will get most cats to happily eat a tablet of any sort but your vet could give the pill for you as it was a one off not daily. Then indorex everywhere in the house and keep the cat out for two hours and thoroughly ventilate every room before letting the cat back in. Make sure you have enough spray cans. I found one can was only enough for one small two bed bungalow.
Then whatever vet recommends as prescription strength ongoing flea treatment.
Do not give or combine any treatments at all though without a vets advice as some interact and can be toxic