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?

It worked for me. It was my last ditch attempt and it worked and has continued working.

@thecatneuterer I got stronghold plus to use after 7 days have passed since the last dose of Advantage.

I daresay some of this is regional and fleas are resistant to different things in different areas. There were no live fleas on the cat and she spent a long time looking.

It wasn't a case of not being assertive- I felt satisfied with the explanation given and it made logical sense as to why I see fleas in the house and not on the cat, and why they're eating DC alive.

Look up diamascus earth food grade.. works wonders for fleas

I'm sure you're right about it being region specific. Stronghold isn't working here either.

Even our vets said the same thing when fleas started showing resistance - that it was in the environment and it was the house that was the problem. That was until a new vet came who had already come across this and who knew about Nexgard. That sorted the problem out instantly and the house/environment strangely was no longer a problem.

I hope you get it sorted but, if you don't, you know what to ask for.

We had a particularly bad year where I could see the fleas coming out of the cracks of the laminate floor. I bought heat lamps with sticky pads and had them in each room, that helped a lot alongside all of the other stuff you’re doing.

^^

If this doesn't work I'll certainly be asking for Nexgard thank you @thecatneuterer the more I think about it the more of a "chicken and the egg" situation it seems in my head. I know from watching the vet examine the cat that there weren't any fleas found and the dirt could well be old- very thick/long/dense fur plus a pure hatred of being brushed means there's bound to be some stuck.

I'm hoping to get on top of it over the coming days/weeks with hoovering, spraying and steaming but if not it'll be plan b of Nexgard and professional pest control!

The thing about flea dirt is it disappears at almost exactly the same time as the fleas, even though it seems counter intuitive. If there is flea dirt there are fleas, even if not many, and they can be hard to see.

I wish you would just get some Nexgard. I know I keep going on about it, but I and countless others have been in your position, all with vets saying what yours said. All trying everything and becoming desperate - and then Nexgard was an instant cure - even without any pest control, or house spraying, or chucking that earth stuff around or anything. That alone solved the problem in a couple of days.

I recommend a flea trap. Solved my flea problem. Something like this one,from Amazon.

@thecatneuterer I can feel that you're frustrated with me for not just getting Nexgard but I truly don't think there is a magic bullet when it comes to fleas and due to the nature of their life cycle, nothing will make them disappear overnight as much as I'd like that!
The dirt thing I understand if the animal has a standard coat or is groomed or even brushed but my cat is long haired- all sorts gets stuck in there!- won't be brushed and the dirt was right down at the skin. I'm talking 3" long fur that's almost velvety at the base it's so thick. The vet was satisfied that the cat isn't even scratching or over grooming and was confident the fleas are not on the cat so they must be in the house. They can survive without a host so this is not beyond possibility. It also explains why the DC gets bitten even though the cat is nowhere near them and hasn't been in the area.
Even if I treated with Nexgard I'd still have to wait for the fleas in the house to get on the cat and die that way.
Honestly, if this fails, I will take your advice re Nexgard and I promise to come back and tell you that you were right!!

They're not strong enough to deal with an actual infestation, but they are handy to have . And extra dead fleas are a bonus plus it can give you an idea of how bad it is/if it's starting again.

Seresto flea collar is the only thing that worked for my cat. They're expensive but work for 8 months. Be careful where you buy it from.though. If it's cheap it may be a fake and toxic to your cat. I got minr from petdrugs onlind.

It's awful you feel really manky .
Brush the cat daily with a good flea comb dipped into water either washing up liquid, liquid soap .
You can see them squirming on the comb
Dip each comb length and dry on kitchen roll
Watch out the flies do jump at you
Hoover everywhere daily.
Keep treating the cat treat wherever they spend time .
Good luck you will get there but its horrible when your in the middle of it .

Get your son to take garlic capsules and eat plenty of food loaded with garlic!
They won’t come near him

Interesting about the garlic, I eat a lot of it and they don't tend to bite me..
@user1471556818 definitely felt absolutely grim these last few days. I'm going to attempt some brushing tomorrow to try and get rid of the residual dirt but I don't honestly think I'd get a comb through the fur to brush anything substantial out. I think the focus needs to be on the house as much as the cat so the vac is at the ready for the morning!
@AnaVanda I wondered if there were any "good" collars although cat has a knack for getting them off, I found three last time I cut the hedge back!
I'm so intrigued by the traps, I think I'd get obsessed like the slug traps

I'm a vet - fleas are a very efficient parasite and a nightmare if they get into your home, which is why vets go on about them.
Various things to say in no particular order;
The vast majority of the flea life cycle is off your pet - in its bedding, in your bedding, carpets, soft furnishings. Fleas parasitise animals that have a nest - an adult flea lives for about a week on your pet, making eggs which fall into your pet's resting areas where they hatch into larvae, feed on adult flea faeces, pupate and then in time hatch.

You need a product on your pet that will kill adult fleas efficiently. Feasibly there may be resistance issues developing with products that have been around for some years - this is unclear.
The newest class of drug has several options - Credelio, Nexguard, Bravecto, Felpreva - the anti-flea components in these products are similar. They differ a bit in knockdown rate - the choice is on tablet versus spot on and length of activity. This class is a good idea.

You need to treat all cats and dogs in the house including any visitors.

Next is the home: you need to treat the whole house - fleas travel. If your pet is 'wearing' an up to date product and you are still seeing fleas, then the problem is your house. My go to product is Indorex. 1 tin treats a 3 bedroom house - if you've contents left then you've under-treated. You also need to treat any secret places your pet has - shed, neighbour's house - for dogs, your car. Hoover first, spray all flooring, corners, crevices, under the furniture, carpets, mattresses. Air very well and follow instructions on the tin.

My current recommendation is Bravecto (as it lasts 3 months), Indorex the house and a flea comb.
Once you've Bravecto'd everyone and done the house, get combing.
If you are catching fleas then you have missed somewhere in the house. This is the nub of it - if fleas cannot complete their lifecycle on your pet (as you've used a good product) but you're still seeing fleas, then they are still in your home.

For your son, Pestects bracelets might help. I react very badly to flea and other insect bites but wearing one of these on my wrist and another on my ankle really helped keep pests at bay. They also don't like vicks vaporub or tea tree.

I had exactly the same, advantage has stopped working unfortunately. I got bravecto from the vets and it sorted it out within days.

A couple of pps have mentioned combing. Way back when we only had powder, which was a pita to use, we relied on combing. Every day for a few weeks. Just like with nits, if you keep at it you will break the life cycle. Many happy hours as a kid combing the cats, running your nail along the comb and popping all the fleas 😁. Picking them out by hand and cracking them between your nails also works. Happy days.

Are you absolutely sure it's the cat. We had a dreadful problem once, the cat was treated to within an inch of his life, my whole house was sprayed, bombed, scrubbed top to bottom, nothing helped. The one morning after a night shift, as I got undressed, I could see live fleas falling out of my clothes. I was bringing them home from work. Not sure the cat ever forgave me

Haven’t RTFT so not sure if it’s been suggested already… on top of all the obsessive hoovering, I put white sheets down on the chairs in the room worst affected so I could see the little barstools easily (and then, with insight that this sounds a bit unhinged, I caught the buggers with sellotape!). I also used far more indorex than they suggest and much more frequently. Absolutely nearly lost the plot with them (mainly because I have no pets).

Have ongoing flea problems, mainly linked with dog but situation improved after using a carpet cleaner (like a hoover but with soap and water!) then spraying everywhere thoroughly. Also advised to empty hoover bags after every use!!

We have found that having no carpets is the best way to keep flea free.

I share your pain - been through this more than once. Second all the advice above, but no need to buy a flea trap. Put a shallow dish/plate with water in somewhere you think there’s an infestation (anywhere in the house, from what you say!) and stand an electric candle or nightlight behind it. The fleas will be attracted to the light and drown in the water. This isn’t an effective way of getting rid of them, although it’s always good to see a few of them dead, but it will help you to judge how bad the infestation is. I kept doing this night after night until there were no more fleas in the water.

I also vacuumed every single day (my house has never been this clean) focusing on corners, edges etc and rinsed the vacuum cleaner dust container EVERY TIME. If you use bags, you’ll need to invest in some extras. Keep going, this is achievable. I’m not convinced burning the house down would kill the bastards, I imagine them merrily hopping onto the firefighters as they approach ….

Thanks everyone for the comments/sympathy/tips. I haven't seen anything for the last few days- have been hoovering and sprayed Indorex again. I need to get hold of the cat to check through fur too and have the stronghold plus if there's anything there.

DC has a couple of new 'bites' today but I can't actually be sure they are bites and they've spent a lot of time outdoors both at school and through woodland walks at the weekend so I'm trying not to panic and will just keep up. I think I'll steam again tomorrow too. I'm itching again at the thought!

I'm going to try the nightlight/water trick tonight too just to see. I'm not really sure where to put it yet so might try different locations.

@FeelingVeryDisturbed you've echoed everything my vet said too! I'm really not sure where they could be in the house so I've just had to assume everywhere but cat doesn't actually spend that much time indoors.