Shameless AIBU abuse: have I poisoned the cat? :( :( :(

[NotAroundTheEyes]

Apols to the AIBU police - shamelessly posting here for traffic!

We have a cat who is my baby and the light of my life and she's got fleas.

We did some flea bombs (with her out of the house) and a spot-on treatment (generic from Pets At Home, same sort of stuff as Frontline).

Neither seemed to work.

Thought about doing another spot on treatment (the first one was 3 days ago) and hate flea collars (or any collars on cats) but was reluctant to use the same stuff twice, so have bought some flea spray specifically designed for cats.

You are supposed to comb their fur backwards as it were and spray it on the skin but tbh most landed on the fur as she's a wriggly beggar.

We have also used flea powder today but she was locked out until it was all hoovered/swept up.

I just went out into the garden and she is drooling and licking her lips etc, looking a bit agitated. It's highly unlike her - her chin is covered in dribble. She's alert enough but a bit miffed.

Have I poisoned her ? Surely anything formulated specifically for cats won't be toxic to her?? Is she just grossed out by the taste?

I'm really worried

[NotAroundTheEyes]

Yes, special to Sparkle - that's great advice. We'll be moving the bed and spraying underneath. Slightly shudder to think what we'll find ... and actually beginning to doubt I'll ever sleep easy again.

I work from home and although I've seen no evidence of fleas in my study I just know they're here too, and I can't concentrate - every time I have an itch I jump.

DIE DIE DIE DIE DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[meala]

I eventually used food grade diatomaceous earth to get rid of fleas on a long haired cat. You just have to make sure they don't breathe in the dust. You can use it around the house too.

[coughingbean]

also glad your cat is ok now

[coughingbean]

Agree with everything sparkle101 said.
Remember to get a spray that will stop the eggs from hatching, it wont stop them forever just 12 months or so which is where your vacuum cleaner plays its part!
Indorex is a good one mentioned up thread

[NotAroundTheEyes]

Thanks so much for all the advice. I'm going to look online at animeds...

We were all set to call the Council pest control people (my Dsis had a rotten infestation recently and they cleared it for free) but they chare £130!!!!!! Genuinely, genuinely cannot afford that.

Will have to keep fighting and accept that it might take a while.

Bah.

[SoupDragon]

I sprayed with Indorex. I think I bought it from somewhere online called animeds

[SoupDragon]

It took me 3 weeks to get rid of every trace of a flea infestation that hatched whilst the animals were out of my house for a fortnight. I used advocate on the animals (which only kills live fleas) and hoovered then sprayed the house every few days.

The 3 days you mentioned wouldn't be enough - there would still be eggs/larvae for her to pick up. It takes a while to get on top of it and eventually they all die out.

It was horrendous.

[goldenlula]

I would advise not using of the shelf flea stuff. We always used frontline but last year used a cheaper make from a shop. We got infested, even frontline failed to work so went to advocate, it took a whole but we rid the house and the cats of them and we are flea free, but treat every 4 week's, although one Cat needs doing as he popped off on a jolly for the weekend and missed his treatment!

[wigglybeezer]

Don't they put bittering agents in treatments to discourage licking, they taste so vile that that causes the dribbling etc.

[brilliantwhite]

sounds like you used a lot of different things in a short space of time , something just irritated her,maybe got down her throat , give her plenty to drink , im all itchy after reading this now .

[SigmundFraude]

Frontline

Probably better than drowning the cat in powder. My old next-door neighbour covered her cat in household flea powder (not for use on animals). The cat was ok AFAIR.

Hope your cat is doing well, she sounds like she is.

[sparkle101]

Can I recommend treating the house with something other than a fogger. The foggers when set off will only treat where the eye can see. If you were a flea chances are you won't want to be where everyone can see you as it's high danger, actually it'll be better to hide in cracks and crevices: where the skirting board meets the carpet, grooves of stairs, behind sofa cushions, under computer towers and ultimate favourite- the bed.

These are places that are warm, dark and safe and perhaps have a little bit of dust to nibble off. Getting a decent spray with an igr (insect growth regulator) and really concentrate on those areas. The igr gets inside the eggs and sterilises them so they never hatch.

By hoovering twice daily (sorry!) the fleas think there's an animal nearby and they hatch to feed so when you Hoover again you can Hoover them up.spray the canister or bag of your Hoover with the spray too.

Make sure you take the cushions off sofa and spray the carcas as well as underneath. You can pop your bedding through a wash and when the mattress is exposed mist the spray up into the air so it lands on your mattress, but underneath the bed is more where they're going to be.

Pop a couple of bowls of boiling hot water down at set times throughout the day the fleas will be attracted to the humidity and jump in and drown.

It sounds like the cat had hyper salivation from ingesting the product, good that all is well! In future stick to a decent spot on: frontline, advantage or advocate. As long as these are put on as per instructions and in the correct timeframe you won't need anything else.

[MonstrousPippin]

I find Frontline doesn't work on our mutant fleas. You could try Advocate. Prescription only from the vet.

[SuburbanRhonda]

I've used Advocate for my two cats for ten years, but a couple of times, I've missed a dose and the fleas have come back with a vengeance.

My vet said that if the the cat isn't protected, their environment will get infested (favourite chair, carpet, etc.) and that you then have to treat the einvironment with a spray such as Acclaim in tandem with the Advocate. Expensive but works.

[NotAroundTheEyes]

Crabby I have quite fond memories of getting up early one winter with my sister while our Mum lathered us in nit shampoo - I think we might've got a cooked breakfast as a reward or something. Shame I can't do that to NotCat...

She's bright-eyed and bushy-tailed this morning, so no long term damage thankfully. I meanwhile have had a shit night because the bedroom was full of fleas and we retreated into my study and keep trying to kill my own freckles

Off to get the huge canisters things you set off - will lock the wretched fleabag out of the house for the duration. I want to SCREAM!

Talkative I kept seeing Advocaat too ... and now I want a snowball for breakfast.

[TalkativeJim]

Crikey, I just speed-read and thought that you were giving her Advocaat - was going to post yes you will indeed poison her

[kali110]

I use a tea tree spray for any little scratches but it does say it can be used to prevent fleas

[CrabbyBigBottom]

Your insurance won't cover flea treatment - it's seen as a routine maintenance thing like vaccinations.

I don't like putting the chemicals on either, but for a dog it isn't just about the fleas but also ticks (lyme disease) and lungworm. Not sure if those affect cats though. I briefly considered applying it to DD when she had a nit infestation years agomthat it took us months to get rid of. I was at my wit's end.

[NotAroundTheEyes]

Aye Minni it rather goes against the grain with me using chemicals. First thing I did was look at alternative treatments (mostly using lavender essential oil which was recommended all over the internet) but she reacted like she'd been napalmed.

I am beginning to envy my pal, whose cat is unbelievably docile and just lies across her lap while she picks all the fleas off and drowns them

Anyway: thanks for the advice folks. Much appreciated.

[LongGoneBeforeDaylight]

On the back of Advantage flea treatment (which I use for my big Tom cat) it says that they may drool a bit if they happen to lick it but its fine and normal and should pass...

[minnisota]

My old vet hated flea treatments because of all the chemicals in them. We can't use anything now as old cat has neuro problems and we can't risk him licking it As it can make them worse. Def sounds like too much to me Would get her checked out

[grumpalumpgrumped]

I was beside myself with our flea problem, was horrible.

Hope she is ok. Doubt insurance will pay for treatment, ours is pricey (but not too far off frontline) and so worth it

[NotAroundTheEyes]

Grump she's quite a wee thing, so I'm going to get the vet to weigh her and give the correct dose of this Advocat stuff (just been looking it up and it def. seems to be The Thing). Just checking the insurance policy to see if it covers routine stuff like flea treatments (IIRC there's an excess)

Quite aside from wanting her to be OK I'd quite like to wake in the morning and not be greeted by at least one flea heading gleefully for my foot . I love the heatwave and everything but blee

[grumpalumpgrumped]

We had a real issue with fleas with our cat, despite frontlining the little sod every 4 weeks. We switched to advocat, problem solved. Also has vet weighed the cat, very muscly tom cat, the ones we used we only for cats up to a certain weight.

[CrabbyBigBottom]

Why would it be 'over-invested' and 'a mad cat lady' to want to keep your pet free of parasites and worry if it looks as though you've made it seriously ill? If anything, I think you've been a bit lax with your pet care if you haven't been putting preventative advocate or whatever on monthly. I have just gone 2 weeks over putting advocate on our dog as we'd run out, so I'm not throwing stones from a glass house, btw.

I'd have spoken to the vet at the least, and WTF don't you know whether your insurance is in date?