Cats - (I'm new to this) is there anything you can do to prevent them getting fleas?

[TsarChasm]

It's been years since we had a cat in the house but are considering getting one now dc are older and they really want one.

I seem to recall some drops you could use on cats to stop them ever getting fleas. Is that the case? Does it work??

We could never use that sort of thing on our moggy cos he was quite old and allergic to everything. I remember the flea problem as being quite a battle though and it's putting me off getting another one now. Any thoughts?

You can get collars that stop them getting fleas.

The drops you're thinking of are Frontline.

In reality, our cats often seem to have the odd flea, but they rarely bother us. If there is an infestation you can also buy a spray to use on the furniture/carpets.

get some frountline ,if you are on benifits and you reg we the pdsa ,its cheeper to get it from there ,also they do jabs and worming too !!

Frontline does work ime. I don't like the collars, so frontline is all I use.

We only had an infestation once (we probably got a bit lazy about frontlining every month, though)

We use Frontline on our cat and it works really well - have never seen a flea on her. She's only small so although you're supposed to re-apply every month I only do it once evry 6-8 weeks and still no problems. I think it cost me £35 for a 6 month course from the vet, but I have been told you can get it cheaper online. You just part the fur on the neck (between the shoulder blades, where they can't wash it off) and drop the stuff on the skin. Cat then wanders round looking uncomfortable for a while as it dries.

Yes Frontline that was it.

I used to brush our cat and use a collar if he'd deign to wear one. I'd also spray the house too. Not infested but I'd see one flea and get paranoid

Is Frontline expensive? You use it every month?

Frontline is the only thing that works well ime. We tried all the supermarket stuff and none of it worked. I think fleas are more hardcore than they used to be. Is expensive but well worth it.

[[http://www.vetuk.co.uk/?gclid=CJ-tzryG3ZwCFUQA4wodRlKuIw Vet UK] are cheaper than buying from your vet. I don't remember Frontline being a monthly thing - maybe quarterly ??

I have 2 cats that go outside. they have light coats and once or twice in the last 5 years, I've spotted a flea on them and got the Frontline out. I don't use flea protection / prevention routinely though as I don't like using the chemicals on them.

I don't like flea collars either - any collars are dangerous, even the quick release. I know of two cats that died slow, horrible deaths when trapped outside by their collars

Sorry, should have previewed. Link is Vet UK

Thank you all so much this is very helpful (and that link joolsiam).

Looks like Frontline would be the most effective thing then.

I'm worried about all these hardcore fleas now - they sound quite menacing. Do they carry baseball bats?

Anything your vet sells you will be fine. Do not waste money on pet shop, super market own brands unless as stated above its Frontline.
Remember to treat all year round. Prevent rather than wait for a problem and don't forget to worm regularily, same applies get it from your vet because it will be safe and work! Always a bonus!

Our vet now sells something called Advocate which they claim is better than Frontline.
Works quite well, but one of our cats went missing for a couple of weeks and came back infested and now we have them in the house. I sprayed the whole house last week but we are still getting bitten. Cats are now flea free though.

We find Advocate very good (monthly drops on the back of the neck - from vet)

I would recommend getting council to come in to spray if you have them in the house, it is much easier and effective than using tons of spray that might not work.

We've just changed to Advocat. I understand it worms them too, so we don't have to worm as often. We were told to give worm with a tablet every 6 months with this.