Flees

[LadyCybilCrawley]

Help - cats went into cattery over weekend as we needed to go to wedding. Came home in Monday and retrieved cats. Left for 3 week vacation on Tuesday with good friend staying in house to take care of cats. Come home to massive flea manifestation in house and on cats. They must have picked up the fleas at the cattery.

Have washed bedding, flea bombed house, vacuumed, washed cats and combed them ... WhAt else do I do?

Actually treat the cats with something that will work like seresto, Activyl, advocate or Broadline at the same time as spraying the house with Acclaim or Indorex.
Washing and combing the cats has very limited effect.

Thanks - will do

They seem bad this year but also more destructable. We had a huge, sudden infestation and squirted Advocate, and it worked. Last year we tried a few equally good things, on fewer fleas, and they remained. A bit worrying, really.

It is the lack if frosts Sarah that has increased the burden of fleas in the environment. So you need to blitz everything at once and then be totally rigid with your treatment of quality POM product every 4 weeks then you will be successful.

So they breed more when warm?

Sorry for spelling mistake in title

I found a couple on my cat a fortnight ago though not seen any sign in the house at all.
Took him to vet, treated with broadline and not a fleck or flea on him and I've been through his fluff so much he hates me. The vet couldn't find any on him at all weirdly so am guessing the frontline worked a bit. I'm never using it again however.

Indorex used on the house. Get it from Amazon as it's less than half the price you'd pay at the vets. It's bloody brilliant.

And don't panic.

The frosts kill larvae outside no frost larvae survive the winter, same for ticks.

Ok we have:

1. Bombed the house with flea bomb stuff (where you set off and leave house for four hours)

1. Sprayed everything in site (not living things) with flea spray in can

1. Vacuumed everything possible

1. Put flea powder in the carpets and then vacuumed out

1. Washed all bedding including human bedding in hot hot hot water

1. Given cats pill from vet to kill adult fleas

1. Washed cats in special bath stuff

1. Frontlined cats after bath

1. Combed cats with flea comb to

Remove anything left

Phew

It's WAR

That's a lot of treatments. are they all safe to use together?

Vet gave me list so followed his advice to the letter

We are in California so many of the treatments suggested I couldn't get here so I ended up going to vetand they gave me a box of stuff together with checklist and institutions - I got the feeling they'd done this before and it was a bit of an epidemic

Instructions not institutions

It looks like all the treatments are actually the same just different delivery methods - powder spray bath etc

Can you get program injections over there? It stops fleas breeding and infesting the house.

Fair enough. I would be concerned that that many poisons in a short time would affect my cats.

I have to trust the vet I think - and to be honest 24 hours later they seem alert happy hungry affectionate and are not scratching

I'll ask about the Injections thanks - we are due for their check ups in 2 weeks

I hate to break it you, but frontline is ineffective if used within 48 hours of a bath the datasheets very clearly states this.

Thanks Lonecat - just looked that up - I guess we will need to redo them in a few days

I thought you could use if after a bath but not before?

No fruity not in the 48 hours either side of a bath.

Also I didn't think you were supposed to vacuum for ages after a flea bomb (our product instructions say not to). The chemicals need to remain in your carpet/ flooring to break the life cycle.

Haveyouseen - my list wasn't in chronological order