Fleas!!

[PoppySeedBun18]

Ugh, so DH has two cats (they were here when I moved in, they don’t like me much and the feeling is mutual). They spend a lot of time outdoors and they are constantly getting fleas! We try and de-flea them all the time but they don’t like being handled so just run out the cat flap (we tried locking the flap and the cat just ran through breaking it).

We have a small flat and the cats just roam around getting fur and fleas on everything; sofa, bed, DD’s cot, carpets. I’ve spent all week vacuuming and flea spraying but I’m still finding them. My legs are bitten to hell and I can barely sleep from the itching. This morning I found a flea in DD’s hair (she’s 5 months) and that was the last straw.

I’m fed up with the bloody things and the flat is too small for us to live together. Our kitchen and living room are open plan so I can’t keep them out, and although I shut the bedroom doors DH never does, so they end up climbing on everything. Every summer I have to deal with all the mice and birds they bring in, both alive and dead, and their food stinks and ends up all over the floor. DD will be starting to crawl soon and it’s already giving me headaches! I’m normally an animal lover but I really wished the cats would go out one day and never come back!

WIBU to tell DH he has to do something more permanent to help the situation?

Thanks for all the recommendations, I will get DH to pick up some treatment from the vet. I suppose I’m more annoyed about it as I’m the only one who seems to get bitten and I have a teething DD who isn’t sleeping! I generally resent the cats anyway, they are such a PITA and don’t endear themselves to me at all. I think cat1 has behaviour issues as she’s very anxious and won’t let me within 3 feet of her, but she’s always been like that and catching her is a huge effort requiring at least two people.

That isn’t normal behaviour for a cat. It takes 2 people to catch it!!!
You do know that means the cat is terrified?
I mean absolutely terrified

Personally I would re home them. You do not seem up to the job of looking after them properly.
No cat should have to suffer with fleas like that in this day and age or be frightened of it’s owner.

You can't catch your cats?

I want on for months ordering different flea treatments, sprays, bombs etc. Finally I took the day off work and carried them to the vet (who they said by law must see and check the cats). Not one flea since 😀

We use Bravecto. It's expensive but only needs doing every 3 months.

The only time we had fleas we hadn't been using spot-ons as we thought indoor cats didn't need them wrong! You can pick up a flea from anywhere and bring it inside. Spot-on for the cat and a flea bomb for the flat (you have to vacate for a good few hours, leave doors and window closed for a couple of hours then air through for a couple of hours, then wash all be4dding, soft toys etc) sorted it. I was still getting the odd bite for the next couple of months but much less often than before (they only ever bit me, left everyone else alone). Spot-ons applied religiously - we used to alternate Frontline and Advantage until vet recommended we move to Bravecto - ever since and no more flea trouble.

if you can sort the cats out a bit, it's lovely for children to grow up with pets, but these two don't sound particularly domesticated, and you have to be able to handle them in order to look after them properly.

There used to be a vet on here who sang the praises of Indorex.

Can I ask a flea-related question because you all seem so knowledgeable?

I found a flea on my son's bed a few weeks ago. Hoovered and sprayed the whole house, boil washed absolutely everything in sight, for stuff from the vet for the cat.

Followed up a week later with another spray/hoover/clean.

Then yesterday he was sitting on my knee, and there was a tiny wriggling larva (I think) on him. So treated him again, hoovered, etc.

But I don't know if it's all totally necessary. I've only seen one flea. No evidence of more. He's not scratching, we've not been bitten. I don't know if we actually 'have' fleas or not really.

If there was a proper infestation, would I know about it? I'm working on the assumption there is but I'm not sure if I'm going overboard.

It sounds like you get bitten and your DH doesn't. That's how it is with DH and me; I literally have to be one day late and I start getting bitten again, but DH doesn't at all. The bites are horrible, they wake me up at night.

But if I'm careful to stay up to date with treatment I'm okay and don't suffer.

Your DH needs to be the one who does the treatment, it's not fair that you end up having to chase the cats around. I don't think my DH has ever had to do it; they're my cats therefore my responsibility.

Your DH needs to be handling the cats more; it's no wonder they're running away if they only associate handling with unpleasant things.

We moved into a flat with fleas. Every night when I got in from work I walked slowly around the edge of every room, picking the fleas that leapt on to my legs and dropping them into the bowl of soapy water I was carrying. That's all I did. Took about a fortnight before I was catching no fleas. We didn't have cats to re-infest the flat.

So you could try doing that in addition to spot-on flea treatment and Indorex. You should see a quick reduction, but it'll be longer before you're completely flea free. Don't worry if you're a few days late giving the spot-on, it doesn't stop being effective on the 29th day.

If the bites are sending you crazy, Savlon cream seems to have a slight anaesthetic effect, and Afterbite stings slightly but stops them dead.

It's not kind to the cats to let them carry a heavy infestation.

Anthisan is good for insect bites as well, it works well for me.

If the cats come indoors, they can be caught. It might not be fun or easy, but it's definitely possible. How does he get them to the vets otherwise? You both need to make this happen, for yours and your daughter's sake, but also for theirs. Having fleas is just as miserable for them as it is for you.

Hoovering is NOT the worst thing you can do for fleas, you should hoover every day, as many times a day as you can bear! You really need to take them to the vets for proper treatment (it's expensive) but once gone you just keep on top with prevention, it has to be ongoing. If I remember rightly there is a tablet the vet gives and then the drops as well, or it might even be an injection, it's a long time since we had a cat and we had this problem. The stuff you buy from the cheap shops just doesn't help.

Also second Indorex

Fleas head for light so at night leave a lamp with a bowl of water underneath and they will drown. Also if you are concerned about using flea bombs you can use food grade diatomaceous earth sprinkled in carpets and rugs.

We had a flea infestation the other year and at the time I thought I would never get rid of them. Took a couple of weeks but all good in the end.

You can’t be treating them this frequently with stuff from the vet. No vet would dispense proper flea treatment more frequently than recommended. (Often a dose a month.) are you sure DH isn’t picking up supermarket or pet shop treatment.
STOP dosing your cats at home and consult a vet. Flea treatment is toxic if you do it incorrectly or too frequently.

I went through this recently!

1. Treat cats. Buy from vets treatment that is a liquid that is put on their skin behind their head. If they are difficult, wrap them in a towel and one of you hold while the other treats.
2. Everybody leave the house and set off multiple flea bombs (you can buy from most supermarket s). With kids it’s important to wipe over surfaces afterwards.
3. Hoover every day! This will pick up any extra eggs, live fleas or larvae. Empty Hoover into bin and spray inside bin.

It took me a few weeks to be totally rid of my fleas.
Good luck 🍀

Indorex flea spray the house, pay special attention to skirting boards & under bed & sofa, wash everything washable at 60 degrees. If £ for vet strength treatment is an issue, then Johnson do a tablet you put in their food. To make sure it's eaten, grind to a powder & mash into a tiny amount of own brand cheap pate as a 'treat'. You have to be religious about doing it monthly. Front line doesn't work on my girl. (who is addicted to liver pate luckily).