Help! Either the fleas go or the cat gets it...

[aloha]

We are absolutely plagued with fleas. had them in our old house and now we've moved we are infested again. Poor ds has horribly bitten legs (so do I) and I've picked them out of dd's hair (ugh!). Dh absolutely hates it. Says it makes him feel unclean. He now is very, very keen to get rid of the cat. The cat, admittedly, is remarkably stupid and unfriendly, but the children like having a pet (even a very unsatisfactory one) around. I know if we get rid of this cat dh will not countenance having another pet, and I would like the children to have a pet. We have sprayed the carpets repeatedly with horrible toxic chemicals, hoover (admittedly only once a week but I can't do more, I just can't) and the cat has a flea collar. We did the drops thing on her before but it made no difference. Are some cats just particularly flea-ey or something?

I would like a rabbit. But if we get rid of the cat dh won't countenance another pet.

pmsl Blu!

cats !!!!!

we missed using the drops once and had to use sprays all over the house. Make sure you are getting into all the corners and spray the beds too. Cost us a fortune but they went after one good go. We now use drops that we buy in the supermarket. They are cheaper than frontline and work for us. We always make sure we part the fur so we can see bare flesh and put it on in two separate places. We treat May to October, roughly depending on the weather, as winter temperatures kill the fleas.

You can also get electric flea combs for cats that will kill the fleas on them. Try a Pets at Home supermarket.

Rabbits can get fleas too, haven't treated ours yet.

Pets are important for children, keep fighting dh!

any update aloha? we've got the same problem.
poor dd is covered in bites, was dreading taking her to nursery today!!
bought some bob martin carpet powder but seems they are on the setee? any advice?

Frontline is the biz. My dog has it and we have never had a flea

is that from the vets? do you have to take your pet or can you just go in and buy it?

You have to know how much they weigh but you can just go in and buy it if you do

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agree only stuff fomr vets is good on the cats
The only thing we've found that worked on carpets etc. was a spray called 'Zodiac'. yes is nasty chemicals but it seemed to do the trick

dd seems to be icthing her head,as well as everywhere else,bless her...what can i use on her head?

think a trip to the vet is definitely required. They sell sprays to treat the house don't know if they have anything for heads but the fleas are likely to jump/ fall off anyway. They prefer the body temperature of animals so would usually prefer to go on an animal anyway. Of course if the cat dies they invade the house.

Aloha tell your husband you NEED the cat to collect any stray fleas you haven't cleared with the sprays

Um, we haven't done anything...but there seem to be no fleas. This just means they are dormant for autumn, doesn't it...and I still need to go to the vet?

The one we use is Frontline I think - you put a few drops on the back of the cat's neck. I haven't seen a flea now in over 5 years (touch wood). We did have a horrendous problem at a previous house with former owner's fleas left behind in carpets. Eventually rang council and they recommended a pest removal firm who did the house for about £45. Yes, chemicals but it worked, and if it hadn't they would have kept on treating until it did work.

could mean they have all jumped on the cat and been killed by the flea collar? Unless you start getting bitten again I'd probably wait until the weather warms up again and then treat the cat.

Aloha: Thought I'd post this information - you may find it helpful;
Fleas - The Egg Stage; A female flea lays as many as 50 eggs per day, they quickly fall off your cat and hatch in two to five days. A female flea lays around 2,000 eggs in his lifetime. The Laval Stage; After hatching, the larvae head toward dark places around your home and feed on "flea dirt" - Excrement of the partially digested blood of your cat - Mmmm nice! The larvae grow; moult twice, the spin cocoons, where they grow into pupae. The Pupa Stage; The length of this stage averages 8 to 9 days.
The Adult Stage; The adults emerge from their cocoons when they detect heat, vibrations and exhaled carbon dioxide indicating that there is a host nearby. Once they hop onto a host, the adults mate and begin the life cycle all over again. Your cat could suffer from flea allergy Dermatitis or at worse anaemia. I would go to the vet sooner rather than later - there is an abundance of useful info on the web about fleas and what to do if your cat has them.

when my cat had fleas- brought in from a new carpet bought from a catelogue btw!!- i tried almost everything including the stuff prescribed by the vet to get rid of them the stuff worked on the cat but not the carpet!! so i was the blood for their dinner for about a week or so before i discovered this 'industrial' flea killer in costco!! it was about £25 for four bottles and worked first time round havent had a problem since. marvelous stuff!! cant remember the name but its in the pet care section and says industrial strength flea spray on it!!(obv.!) its a bit on the expensive side but who cares if it gets ri of the problem eh?? its also safe to use around children but not pets so dont show your dh if hes lookin to kill the cat!! hope that helps!

i had the problem for two months btw!! then no more after using this wonder- spray!!

Sprinkle salt around (heavily) & vaccuum up every 3-4 days. Repeat as frequently as you can stand it; the salt kills the larva & is otherwise pretty harmless. Frequently vaccuuming & other floor cleaning is good, anyway.

I am allergic to flea bites, just reading this thread is making me itch.

Not read the whole thread but Frontline is a drop from the vet that you put on the top of the neck, kills all fleas on the cat & all those in the house too. Was a miracle the other day, borrowed some off my mum, treated the cat and not seen any fleas since. Good thing too, as DH was furious to find a flea, especially when we'd only just brought our DH home from hospital. She's only two weeks so neither of us wanted her being bitten!