Neighbour's cat was in my house, might have fleas?!

[evtheria]

Hi all,
I searched MN for 'fleas' but they focused a lot on people who had pets with fleas. Slightly losing my head atm, so apologies if the solution is really simple or this is not actually an issue!

Neighbour has a cat (I like the cat a lot, she hangs out in our garden) who happened to wander in our home earlier through the open back door... I think she may have been in about 30min, likely all the rooms except front room, before she suddenly appeared in our kitchen panicking as the door was now shut. I didn't expect her to be in as she's always very wary of even entering the kitchen, and waits in garden for us.

I think she has fleas, as she scratches and grooms herself a lot... what should I do to the house?! There's just SO MUCH stuff she could have been on, or so many places she could have gone, I'm really overwhelmed by the thought of it.
We don't have a steam cleaner, just a regular vacuum cleaner. We also happen to be going away very early Monday morning, for 2.5weeks, so (clean!) stuff to pack is lying around in many organised piles... This has come at just the worst time.

Thank you for any advice and (gentle) shakes you can give me!

All cats groom a lot tbh and scratch fairly regularly.
Could you just ask the neighbours if the cat is regularly flea & worm treated?

Your anxiety seems extremely high over a cat coming in your house.
Are you sure there's nothing more serious troubling you?
Most cats will scratch and groom and get flea ointment every three months as a regular treatment.

I hate the fake ‘you seem terribly anxious….is there something serious going on in your life….have you spoken to your GP?’ crap that people spout on here.
Its perfectly reasonable for someone who doesn’t have a pet to have concerns, after finding someone else’s pet has been in their home, and ask actual pet owners if it’s like to be an issue or not. OP even asked “or this is not actually an issue!”

Thanks for your responses, @RollinRollinRollinRawhide and @Circumferences

We always had cats in my own family, so to me it just seems like 'a lot more than normal' scratching/gnawing at leg, etc.

Never experienced fleas so I'm probably over-imagining what would happen, but still really don't want any kind of infestation tbh. I am a little stressed due to us having to go away in a day if I have to rewash all the clothes that were out organized, find something to treat carpets etc. Thank you for checking on me.

Neighbour not very social, but they've mentioned the cat is a "slightly feral" outdoors one who stays out most nights, coming home for meals and in the colder months... I tried to subtly ask how often they have to get flea treatments for her, and they basically said they haven't given her one "this year yet". Ok, cool cool cool... 😬

In desperate measures you could order some spot ons and treat her.

Indorex spray. Spray in all crevices such as skirting boards, door frames, sides of stair steps and under furniture like sofas.

There's not much else you can do in your time frame but that should help for now.

If she's feral but starting to come into your house...congratulations new cat owner 😂

Unless you have a pet it isn't really a big deal. Fleas can't live on humans and will die quite quickly without a cat/dog to live on.

This happened to us. I think my ds let the cat in while we were away. We ended up having to get Pest Control in to spray the whole house. I tried sprays but they didn't work and I was covered in bites. Ds went back to university when we got home from holiday. I was not very happy with him!

Wtf. Do not treat someone else’s cat big they’ve treated her recently you could make her very ill.

Nothing you’ve said suggests she definitely had fleas. Even if she does it’s unlikely she left any substantial number in your house in the 30 minutes she was there. You’re going away and no pets in the house. Any fleas will die with nothing to feed on.

This is a non problem. Enjoy your holiday.

It’s unlikely they’d leave the host animal unless there was another one. They wouldn’t live long without a host animal anyway

Honestly, it is vanishing unlikely you will be infested with fleas after half an hour of a cat that may or may not even have fleas being in the house. And with nothing to eat, you will be breaking the life cycle very quickly of any that may have happened to hitch a ride in. If it makes you feel better, give the place a good hoover, but I think you are worrying unnecessarily.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071217111010.htm#:~:text=New%20adults%20typically%20emerge%20within,woven%20kitchen%2Dtype%20of%20carpet.

You do all know fleas can lie dormant, right?

Please don't OP.

This is one of the stupidest posts ever.

Wow if this is currently your main concern in life then lucky you!
if you don’t have another dog or cat they won’t live long. Chill out

Try reading up on the flea cycle. You might be surprised.

Fleas don't live on people.

I noticed some little bugs crawling on my dog's stomach and assumed they got stuck on her fur on our walk, took me well over a month to finally realise she had fleas 😅She slept next to me in bed every night. I never got fleas.

Don’t allow the cat to come in again.
Yes fleas can lie dormant but without a suitable host to feed from then they can't survive or breed further.
If you don’t have pets, or have sufficiently treated any, you'll be fine. Even in the heat we've been having that makes the bastards multiply like wildfire (4 cats, horrendous infestation in a heatwave in 2020 that had to be dealt with by getting the whole house sprayed by the council twice, still live in fear).
You're fine OP.

I really wouldn't do anything or even worry about this.

You don't even know she has fleas!

To put your mind at rest you could spray your home with Indorex spray, which kills fleas and larvae in the environment for up to a year. If the cat is unowned then treating for fleas wouldn't be a bad thing.

Treat your house with indorex or a similar product.

Thanks all for your suggestions and opinions.

I will not be putting anything on someone else's pet.

I vacuumed all carpet and stairs last night, mopped today, and due to lots of last minute stuff today for the trip (not a holiday, unfortunately!) decided we will just leave the rest as is. May give the house a spray over when we return for any dormant eggs that may have dropped during her exploration.
The cat is currently sat in garden looking at me through the back door... You shall not pass, my little lovely!

^^

The cat is currently sat in garden looking at me through the back door... You shall not pass, my little lovely!

Definitely sizing you up as a prospective slave. Apparently the house has been approved if they have come back.