I've lost my mind. Fleas!

[missladybird]

I'm obsessed. I think about nothing else.

We've had kitten 4 days and she's crawling with fleas. Took her to the vets on Sunday and the vet sprayed her all over with frontline - many people have said frontline is useless now but I have to wait another 3 weeks before going back to the vet to try something else.

I can see then crawling in her fur. I've been combing then out as well as I can end drowning them. I've steam cleaned and hoovered all downstairs (kittens never set foot upstairs).

As a last resort I've bought indorex but I'm reluctant to use it with toddler in the house. I've posted about this already but my anxiety is loving this problem and I'm not thinking rationally any more.

Help!

Why do you have to wait three weeks?

Can you wash her in the mean time to try and relieve her of some of the fleas?

Im going to ask - how did you manage to obtain a flea ridden kitten? Didnt you check her over before taking her?

The vet said it could overdose her if she has any more treatment.

I didn't check her for fleas because I'd been told she had been flead and wormed. She came from a woman who fosters kittens for a rescue.

Our vet gave us advocaat drops and so far we've not had an infestation. Worth asking your vet about it, it comes in a predosed pipette which you snap and administer on the top of the head & behind the ears.

If you can wash her, do it with washing up liquid - this makes the water "thicker" so they can't get out.
Also, make sure you have a decent flea comb. Mine is a long tooth metal one like a nitty gritty but longer. You could also try with conditioner like you do with nits.
If you do wash her though, be aware that it can make the frontline ineffective.
See if you can use the Johnsons tablets (I had some luck with them a few years ago but they are literally for getting rid of fleas that are already there).

TBH, it really isn't the end of the world.
They can't live where there are no animals (but can stay dormant for a long time). Make sure you treat her with a preventative religiously.
And don't panic. Seriously. Every pet owner will get them at some point and you just deal with it.

Im afraid I would be right onto the rescue telling them that their procedures are faulty and you have now been landed with a vets bill.

Take a deep breath. I know the thought of the little buggers is alarming but just remember: you WILL get rid of them.

Indorex is brilliant stuff and while I understand your reluctance with your toddler can you do something like keep him/her upstairs while you spray down. Keep windows open for a hour to air downstairs and then do upstairs while he stays down? I know you said kitten hasn't been upstairs but flea eggs could have easily been transferred by you (e.g. on socks) so you will need to spray ALL carpets.

Wash all your bedding in a nice, hot wash.

Washing her will help dislodge some fleas so worth doing. Obviously, be careful and take it easy as she is young.

Apple cider vinegar diluted with water in a spray, we've used it with our dog, kills them but not all at once. You have to keep doing it and combing them out. Frontline doesn't work for our dog, neither does another vet recommended one that was very expensive.

It's not just the animal that gets affected. Once fleas get on, they can make up home in the carpets/furniture. The vet can get rid of the fleas but once the cat gets home, any fleas in the carpets will just jump straight back on when the anti flea treatment has gone. Can your toddler maybe stay with grandparents or other family for a day or two while you anti flea both the cat and house?

So hoovering and steaming alone won't get rid of the little bastards?

Nope it’s gotta be indorex now. I’ve had an awful flea problem with my old cat and to be honest it’s still ongoing. 6 weeks after cerestas collar and two spot ins as well (on vets instruction) and I’ve sprayed my house twice, after hoovering so as to wake fleas up first. I spoke to the vet as there were still fleas despite all this and she said it can take months to get rid of them...

It’s part of being a pet owner I’m afraid, if you can, try not to freak out... x

Not something I've tried but...
An added thing you can do (not sure if it works) is put a flea collar in your hoover. Apparently this helps as it supposedly kills any fleas you Hoover up.

I'm really upset about this and I feel like taking her back to the rescue. Its making me feel ill. I have terrible anxiety and this has been a huge trigger

Flea collar in hoover and hoover everyday - apparently increasing the temperature and humidity along with the vibrations from vacuuming encourages the pupae to become adult fleas, which is good because as far as I know it's only the larvae and the adult fleas that the various sprays work on. So wash some towels/bedding and get them on the radiators.

Best to spray the house as well.

Keep combing the kitten.

We had an infestation once, three cats, all treated, but I'd accidentally bought the flea repellent rather than the stuff that kills the little buggers. Had to spray the house three times - that was a full blown infestation though, if I looked closely I could see the larvae wriggling in the carpet

Frontline/fipronil doesn't work for us. At the cheaper end Advantage does, at the more expensive end Stronghold is good, don't know if either is ok for kittens though, you need to follow the vets advice on that.

Oh I totally feel your pain OP we foster cats and got a horrendous flea infestation this summer, I was driven completely demented by them.

Go to the the vets, don’t bother with the over the counter stuff go straight to the vets and buy the drops and the house spray.
Spray your house to an inch of its life then hoover every day for a week. Four weeks later spray your house again.

It’ll feel like they’ll never ever go and then suddenly they’ll be gone.

I took the carpet up in my spare room in the middle of the night because I was so deranged with intrusive thoughts about them it’s awful but buy what the vet gives you and they’ll go.

Just seen you're hoovering and steaming. Keep it up.

Hopefully you've caught it early and will have prevented the worst from happening. You just have to keep at it.

It's horrible, but you will come out the other side.

Even if you take her back to the rescue you’ll still need to deflea your house.
If you want to get rid of fleas the best thing you can do is treat your cats because then they become like little flea killing machines as the fleas bite them then die.

Unfortunately there is one stage of a fleas lifecycle that can't be killed.
I have used comfortis tablets with my dogs. I believe you can get it for cats too. It's the top treatment apparently

I have anxiety too, it's shit innit.
Try not to obsess about taking her back, you will only beat yourself up about it when you mind is clearer.
I would treat the house, try and treat the kittens again if you can, I know you can't use frontline again but can you use other treatment?
We have just beat the super fleas. Bastard little fuckers.

The problem is you have fleas in hour house now regardless of if you take her back or not. I understand you are anxious but the longer you hold off on the Indorex the longer the fleas have to multiply. Your toddler will be fine. Do one room at a time and air it out thoroughly. A toddler having flea bites is more worrying than the indorex.

Fleas spend the majority of their lifecycle in the home so unfortunately unless you treat the house you won't neccessarily get rid of the problem I'm afraid :(
Indorex is brilliant but if you are concerned with the toddler there is a pesticide free spray called Wipe Out that is very good too.
I know its stressful but if you treat the kitty, then your house (having a good hoover before spraying actually helps and hot wash any bedding) the problem will soon be under control. Make sure you treat every room the cat has been in and usually treat the house again 6 weeks later.
The way the flea treatments usually work does take a little while to kill them so you don't usually find flea treatment put on = fleas instantly disappear. You will see them for a while.
Fleas are pretty horrible and annoying when they bite but they are relatively harmless so try not to stress too much (I know its easy for me to say!). I would definitely contact the foster and make them aware but it would be a shame to return her when so many cats are looking for homes for something that's very common.
As a side note if you do keep her make sure you check she's up to date with worming too.
I

I don't want to return her. This flea situation is driving me mad but I've already fallen in love with her and would regret not keeping her.

I've just gone through her fur with a flea comb and removed lots of dirt and a few dead fleas. There was only one live flea.

That's good!

My dog reacts badly to flea bites so ends up scratching for ages after being bitten (so much so that he's now on Piriton...) so some of the scratching you see now may be from that rather than any new fleas.

Is she okay in herself?

Do not spray your kitten with raid. That is incredibly dangerous.

Go to Pets at Home and buy

• cat shampoo
• “fogger” sprays for every room of the house
• flea spray

Then gently wash the cat and keep her with you in one room while you fog the rest of the house. After 2 hours you can move to another room and fog the first one.

Spray and vacuum every day. It could take a while though. Fleas are dreadful.