Wits end with fleas, please advise!

[FleaHell]

I'm aware this sounds dramatic but I'm sobbing.
I have a cat (13yo). Never really had an issue as such with fleas but always treat preventatively anyway- prescribed stuff not OTC. She had the injection once but it didn't agree with her so I stick with spot on.

A couple of months ago DS was complaining of being itchy. He had some lumps and bumps and the Dr advised it was viral and it'd be fine. Anyway it turns out its flea bites. The cat doesn't scratch but a month ago, most definitely had fleas. I treated the cat, treated the house with indorex and thought that'd be the end of it.

It was just the start! DS got covered in bites, I checked the cat (3w post treatment) and yep, more fleas/flea dirt. Treated again, sprayed the house again and used some of the fogger sprays to be sure. No new bites for a week and I was just sitting on the settee feeling relaxed for the first time in ages. Felt a tickle. Fucking flea. Live, adult flea. I'm back to itching like crazy (they don't seem to bite me but the thought makes me scratch) and feeling like a terrible parent with poor kid being covered in bites. Also (unreasonably) resentful of the cat.

What the hell do I do now? I'm going to try and get the cat in at the vet for an alternative flea treatment, thinking about local pest control to do the house?

We had similar last year the vet said fleas have been a nightmare…

I indorex sprayed the entire house, from top to bottom, I washed all the bedding on a boil wash, threw the duvet and pillows away, washed the curtains all the nooks and cranny’s moved furniture and got some super duper flea stuff from the vets. I also did the sofa, washed the cover and sprayed it to within an inch of its life, i used to Dyson twice and day each time emptying it into the outside bin. I also steamed cleaned the carpets and got flea traps (not sure they did much but made me feel better)

It took a good six to eight weeks!

You have my sympathy it’s a nightmare

I was going to say Stronghold Plus on prescription.

UPDATE
I have just had the cat on my knee for a stroke and yes, another flea landed on my knee. So cat still has active fleas. For fucks sake.
I'll ring the vets first thing and see if I can be seen tomorrow 💸

My cat is on prinocate at the moment which seems to actually work. With the indorex you really need to get into all the nooks and crannies.

What I found useful was an electric flea trap(doubled as a night light) as I could tell the size of the infestation and have a bit of pre warning. Fleas are the fucking worst and it can take ages to get rid of them.

The adult fleas only account for something ridiculous like 5% of any infestation so you need to check the flea lifecycle and bomb the house again like 6-ish days later if I remember rightly. Aim to do all the rooms within 24 hrs then do the same again the following week. It takes a few goes to get all the lavae and eggs once you’ve got an infestation. Non-prescription stuff is useless these days, fleas are immune to it so best get something from the vet to treat the cat and stay on top of it once you’ve got rid of them.

Mine were definitely immune to frontline. I honestly may as well have been putting a droplet of water on their necks.

My eldest was getting bitten. My youngest and me and dp weren't.

Is there any flea dirt about? It would normally be where they'd been lying. We had quite a bit of that about too. That is a tell tale sign the fleas are still active

I’d always used spot on until 2 years ago when it just seemed to stop working. We got an infestation that we just couldn’t shift. The cats were absolutely jumping with fleas. We now get flea tablets prescribed from the vets, and a combination of that plus indorex has got rid of them all.

@WhatACluster I just did all that on Tuesday 😥 I can't replace everything again but I'll have to get back to boil washing, spraying and all the vaccing. I suppose it's cheaper than burning the house down which is really the only other option..

I APOLOGISE FOR PUTTING THIS IN CAPITALS, but I want it to stand out

I'm with a rescue/vet clinic. We have found fleas have become resistant to all our normal treatments - so Advantage, Frontline, Advocate, Stronghold and Endectrid have stopped working for many clients.

WHAT YOU NEED IS NEXGARD.

It's a new one and has so far proved 100 per cent effective. Many vets don't stock it, but you can ask for a prescription and buy it online.

Oh OP. It got me like that. I was obsessed. I used to lock myself in the utility with the cats, a flea comb and sticky tape to trap the bastards, every night

@SanskritPixie and sorry pp that also mentioned tablet- I cannot get a tablet down my cat. Think I've managed it once in all the time I've had her so it's a vet job- costly and 1hr+ trip- every time. I even have to use a spot on wormer.

I can't believe I'm back to square one!!!

I had a bad flea infestation years ago. I had an old house with parquet with gaps in between it. I didn't want to use chemicals as i had a baby crawling around the carpets and my husband had just been in hospital, having been in a coma. The fleas nearly pushed me to the edge. I used dicotymus earth. It's a natural power made of ground up shells/rocks i think, that dehydrates and kills fleas. It was very messy dusty stuff, but i was able to work it into all the cracks and crevices, left it for a day or two and then vacuumed it all up. I also vacuumed all the furniture inside and out with the suction hose. I found reading up on the flea cycle helpful. I'm afraid that you're not going to get rid of them easily and in one go. It will take multiple treatments over the course of a few weeks. I also got a battery flea comb that zapped the buggers, so did the pets all daily. It was a lot of work, but i think that after 6-8 weeks of persistence, i got there.

Sorry to hijack but also dealing with fleas just now.

What is flea dirt and where would it usually be?

Please take note of my earlier post.

Nexgard will kill the buggers stone dead.

Oh yes, i also had plug in flea traps too which helped a bit.

I forgot to mention, we use Credelio. We buy them from the vet, and they don’t charge for administering them if your cat isn’t a keen tablet swallower. You could check if yours has the same approach.

Thank you for CAPS it did the trick 😅 is it tablet/jab or spot on? I will enquire when I ring the bloody vets in the morning!

@K0OLA1D my poor cat doesn't know what the hell is going on. One minute it's cuddles and strokes, the next I'm freaking out and scratching/squashing like a maniac. I'm completely obsessed. And I'm supposed to be at work tomorrow but I'll have to take yet another day off to deal with fucking fleas!

Steaming helps too. It can kill off the eggs.

It's spot on

It's like little black, gritty bits that come off your cat. They will 'bleed' if you wet them as it's basically the blood, I assume, the fleas have taken from your pet.

I found it where they lay for a while or where they ate their food, by their bowls. Also in windowledges where they liked to sit.

The eggs will be everywhere and keep hatching out you need to keep repeating treatment. Good Luck!

I used to steam the carpets as well.

Sorry @K0OLA1D I missed this first time round.

I've just noticed two bites on my wrist so I'm not immune but DC covered- back, chest, arms everywhere.

Yes to the flea dirt, it's what tipped me off that the first dose hadn't worked.

@Cosycover pop your pet in a bath or on a sheet of white paper, depending how amenable they are. Give them a good scritchy scrubby stroke and see if any bits fall off. If they do, add a drop of water if it goes red/brown,its flea shite- digested blood basically!

It's awful. It made me not want to go home sometimes as if I thought I was getting somewhere, but then I'd see a flea or some dirt somewhere I knew it was all for nothing.

I really hope you get sorted. It's the worst thing I've experienced in all the years of pet ownership.

I have to say, you and others saying advantage isn't working for you is worrying me slightly!! As I thought it was my miracle and I don't want it to stop for me!!

Perfect! Thank you- will ask vet/to order it if not yet available!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Multi-Mite%C2%AE-DIATOMACEOUS-Powder-SHAKER-REFILL/dp/B00VZ7A1FG/ref=mp_s_a_1_5_sspa?adgrpid=53531860296&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9._d8qVxXJbHw55BumFSKv0-dvzOULKdE63zcF9GQOfqz_s1JDRYI3Q-rDM07rL3bHa7vZZVWU8b5Z9iq0cdHD-7PUGRjQmlqnABTzbO9l54-m6EcdsE2oCob4JhaQwHv86PM12FlZ9nwhfom-yRyUjUncFSOlPiikT6POIBIiuBDmuKTJzOGUwzgQt5fbQhS0MFot2eRBe7dOnDcmksmIkg.X7j0508MzKQtTxjFFm_CO10Qbbr8-PivhhY1JAqSvIU&dib_tag=se&hvadid=259147668239&hvdev=m&hvlocphy=9180614&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=5870902946815182053&hvtargid=kwd-10135541&hydadcr=16905_1717158&keywords=diatomaceous+earth&qid=1712864293&sr=8-5-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfbXRm&psc=1