Fleas - how to treat and can we prevent them?

[Molehillmountain]

Our 12 year old cat has fleas. What's the best treatment and how can we prevent them? Have seen a couple on dc too.

We've had good results with flea collars. About a year ago, we found that Frontline wasn't working as well as it used to, and the vet told us that fleas become resistant to it, and recommended Advantage. It's dearer, but so far, seems to be working.

Thanks tb-we'll try those. If the cat is treated, do the fleas go from the house by themselves or do we need to "treat" the furniture? Did feel quite queasy when I saw a flea leap off my baby

Vacuuming - every inch of every carpet and sofa and do it daily for 2 weeks to get shut of the wretched beasties. We had to get a man in to spray in the end. It was a horrible experience. Wash anything the cat has slept on - pref 60 degrees but at least 40. Advantage is very good but only available from your vet and pretty expensive, sadly.

You will probably need to spray your house as well as hoovering after treating your cat. Don't bother with household flea sprays from supermarkets as they are rubbish. I can't remember the one we used when we had flea issues, but you can get it from vets and it is really good. Saves on the cost of getting professionals out too, but you need to do it according to the directions on the can and be really thorough otherwise the little blighters will be back!

Get a quote from the council too. They did my whole house for about £35 and promised as many extra visits as it took to sort the problem.

Really helpful, thanks. I think I might need a pro in. Will ring the council tomorrow. I was kind of hoping it was like headline-that they died if they didn't have cats to live on.