The frontline isn't working.....please help just found 2 more friggin fleas!!!!

[girliefriend]

Okay so my cat is about 8months old and Im having some real problems trying to deflea him! So far have frontlined (with the spot on stuff) him mid oct - it made no difference, so 3 weeks later frontlined him again, still no difference - you could see them running through his fur. Spoke to my friend who suggested the frontline spray so coated him in that and literally fumagated the flat, that was on monday - just found two more fleas on him!!! They are indestructable!!! Am going into the vets tomos to ask advice, but has anyone else had experience of this?!!!

i found front line rubbish i use stronghold for my cat and have used indorex for the house (where the cat usually sleeps) it works well

I know that frontline combo, is stronger than frontline spot on. you can only get the combo from your vet.

They do take a while to go, to break the cycle. you just have to do it regularly, becuase it only takes one flea to hop back on and lay eggs for it to start over.

I think the mild weather isn't helping, i have a one yr old and been having the same problems. Wash cat bedding and anywhere he sleeps, wash it or vaccuum.

there may be something better your vet can offer.

Also, even thought it's expensive the house spray you can get from the vet is good. hoover the house and spray everything.

the frontline will work but only in conjunction with deflea ing the the house too.

I give mine a bath (wear gardening gloves in case they scratch) and then comb through with flea comb. then i use the spot on.

i hoover twice a day when there has been an outbreak. I have a Dyson so i emtpy it straight away and put the bag outside immediately.

i also use a flea spray around the edges of the room.

it is intensive workload but its the only way to get rid.

I bloody hate fleas.

Have indorexed the house, am hoovering pretty much daily (grrr!) am a bit concerned that when I went through him with the nit comb and the fleas jumped out I immediaely sprayed them with a deflea product and they still didn't die!!! They are mutents!!!!

When you bath your cat do you use a special deflea/ cat shampoo? Have wondered if that might help.... or if such a product exists!!!

Another vote for Stronghold here... My cats are never flea free with Frontline but Stronghold kills the little buggers!

I hate fleas! Once they get a hold you really have to get a system to brake the cycle and kill them off.

I swapped to stronghold after a few failed front lines, then back to front line again a few years later. I generally have had both dogs and cats. I think the thing is to change every so often so nothing becomes resistant.

I would suggest retreating cat as advised by vet, hot wash (60 +) all pet bedding, sofa covers, your bedding etc anything that cat has access to. Flea powder all carpets and rugs thoroughly leaving it down for the 30mins or whatever is recommended.

Repeat (ideally all) washing and treating of carpets weekly for four weeks. As a minimum high traffic stuff like the bedding and areas the cat most frequents.

Good luck.

i have a flea repellant shampoo. it doesn't kill the fleas at all but they can't breath under water so kind of knocks them unconcious for half an hour or so which makes the combing easier as they don't jump off.

queen, can i ask, how the hell does one manage to bath a cat!

there would be a blood bath if my cat was near water.!!

Def stronghold - one of our old cats was a complete fleabag for some reason, and frontline never worked. After we changed to stronghold we've never had fleas in 5 years even though our cats are out with wildlife all the time

Do you have to buy stronghold via a vet or can you just get it in the pet shop? The vets wouldn't give me any more flea products today as they said I would be overdosing him!! Their advice is to keep going through him with the nit comb and kill the buggers one by one!!! They will give me some more stuff in a couple of weeks. I was talking to a friend who reckons fleas are def attracted to some cats more than others, my mums cat has never had fleas and is rarely defleaed with anything - grrrrr!!!

i went to buy frontline from a random vet the other day and he said he doesn´t recommend it anymore as its effectiveness is rather patchy. He gave me stronghold.

piratecat - thats why i wear gardening gloves.

they don't like it at all but they will tolerate it now. they know they get a big bowl of tuna when they are done.

see bribary even works on pets

There was a recalled batch of Frontline a while ago that was ineffective, maybe you have inadvertently been sold one of these. I use Program which goes in the food for one of
my cats and Advocate spot-on (which does worms as well) on the other.

Frontline has always worked on my cats with no problem, I bless the day it came out commercially.

I advise the same as the posters above, vacuum, vacuum and vacuum and comb through every free moment you get. Another good tip is to put a flea collar in the vacuum cleaner bag.

Also - do you get hedgehogs in your garden? They are loaded with fleas

Vet told me Frontline didn't work effectively anymore and recommended Advocat

when combing through have a cup of pure bleach next to you.if you manage to catch a flea, drop the flea into it, it does actually kill them, I sit here with comb and bleach when my cats get fleas.

Thanks guys, Im still having problems I was mortified today as my dd age 4 and a half woke up so with about 13 bites on her even though id gone over her room with the flea spray, washed bedding and hoovered daily for about a week - arghhhhh. Am now in the process of washing all her soft toys - my home now looks like a laundry!!! Ive been back to the vets and they wouldn't sell me anymore stuff as they said he has too much frontline in his system at the mo so ive got to wait til next week. Its a nightmare

Quite often the fleas will establish themselves in carpets and bedding. Vaccuming carpets & furnishings, especially where your cat likes to sleep & rest will help. If you can take any rugs & the cats bedding outside and shake/beat it first, then wash bedding above 50 degrees at least to kill the fleas. Try and wash pet bedding weekly if you can. If you can put the cats bed on an area without carpet (wood floor or tiled floor) that would make cleaning easier, as fleas can't hide in the carpet. Also try insectrol spray for treating carpets & furnishings, but not on the cat! Hope his helps.

Hi thanks for the link, am hoping im getting somewhere, have done nothing but wash, hoover and spray for 3 days!!! Hate hate hate fleas!!! If this hasn't worked I might actually get rentokil in!!!