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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Original poster

Flea collars/ fleas/ olden days

28 replies

Dusty01 · 22/12/2019 23:18

My cat has fleas. She's had them for more than a year now.

I don't want to use the drops because I've read that it's a strong pesticide that is bad for cats and humans ...

Flea collars don't work apparently - but we had a cat years ago that only wore a flea collar. The drops weren't around then were they?

Did cats have fleas so much then? I don't remember our cat from 20 years ago having them. He was out and about all the time. The one we have now stays inside.

I comb her and get the fleas out that way, but it's never ending. Are they a big deal? In the olden days all cats must have had fleas ...

OP posts:
Bunnybigears · 22/12/2019 23:23

Fleas have become more resistant that's why the flea collars dont work anymore. Unless you use something in your house to get rid of the flea eggs such as Indorex spray and constant hoovering she will constantly get reinfected. Flea eggs can live up to 2 years on your floor, sofa, etc.

Lanaa · 22/12/2019 23:26

I think it's pretty irresponsible to let you cat have fleas for a whole year. Just go get some frontline. It won't kill her.

Original poster
Dusty01 · 22/12/2019 23:41

We'd have to spray beds and sofas and everything - carpets etc. Flea eggs must be everywhere. I can't imagine getting rid of them all - so they're likely to reinfect the cat again. And as you say the fleas are resistant.

We've tried Frontline three times now and it didn't work. Did initially but the fleas came back.

I comb her nearly every day - and there aren't loads of fleas - just they never disappear. But they didn't with the frontline either.

We're really worried about pesticides and chemicals in the house and on the cat - getting on to the kids etc.

OP posts:
Savingforarainyday · 22/12/2019 23:44

The stuff from the vet is stronger than the over the counter stuff. That stuff just doesn't work

TheoriginalLEM · 22/12/2019 23:46

Fleas carry tapeworm among other things. That is zoonotic, which means you can get it as can your children!

Frontline doesn't work anymore but there are products that do. Products that are clinically proven to be safe.

Totally irresponsible and neglectful - you should consider rehoming

mymadworld · 22/12/2019 23:48

I'm more than slightlyConfused Shockthat you've had fleas in the house for so long, have children yet refuse to treat appropriately. Your poor kids Sad

ozymandiusking · 22/12/2019 23:49

I do not know why Frontline is still being sold. IT DOES NOT WORK!
Use Stronghold which does.
It's totally wrong to not treat your cat for fleas. I the "old days" they used DDT which is poisonous.

ChrismArseDarkly · 22/12/2019 23:49

I use Advocate on dog and cat but it's not working anymore. I'm not aware of any harm it's done them - dog is 11 and cat is 15 and both very healthy apart from the fleas.

I'll have to give in and get some indorex I think, hate the idea of it though.

mymadworld · 22/12/2019 23:51

And forgot about your poor cat. So cruel. So misguided. Please deal with this properly and that will almost certainly mean fumigation or at least treating every item of soft furnishings, clothing, carpet, floorboard etc and repeating over a period of time to break the lava/ egg / flea cycle

ClientListQueen · 22/12/2019 23:54

I use Bravecto from the vet. I'm also immunocompromised and have no problems with the chemicals used

Original poster
Dusty01 · 23/12/2019 00:04

Thank you,

Sorry - I'll be driving some of you mad. I'm anti human medicine too - unless in a life/death situation.

Watching Wildlife programmes - it's normal for ticks and fleas to live on animals. They pick them out of each other and have a symbiotic relationship. In the wild animals seem to get on with it and birds etc will pick the fleas off them.

Why is that any different from me combing them out?

Fleas don't seem to be life threatening in the wild.

OP posts:
TheoriginalLEM · 23/12/2019 07:19

Hmm you're probably an anti-vaxxer as well.

Educate yourself

FamilyOfAliens · 23/12/2019 07:22

Do you not worry about your children getting bitten by the fleas, then scratching and possibly infecting their skin? You really need to take this seriously.

There is no symbiotic relationship between cat fleas and humans.

Fluffycloudland77 · 23/12/2019 07:54

Your poor cats must be so uncomfortable, if you want to deny yourself medication then crack on but you can’t neglect your animals who are 100% reliant on you stepping up.

Frontlines been shit for ages you need to use advocate monthly & deworm them because some worms are really nasty too.

Your house must be riddled if your having to spray all the time.

DobbyTheHouseElk · 23/12/2019 08:02

My MIL had a similar problem. The fleas ate the cat alive in the end. Poor cat died horribly.

If you can’t de flea your cat, re home it.

gamerchick · 23/12/2019 08:04

OP you probably shouldn't have animals if you're willing to let them suffer. Your cat isnt in the wild Hmm actually allowing hour kids to knowingly live in a flea infested house is mind boggling and that's not with the rest of the stuff you probably do.

We'd have to spray beds and sofas and everything - carpets etc. Flea eggs must be everywhere. I can't imagine getting rid of them all - so they're likely to reinfect the cat again. And as you say the fleas are resistant

All this says is you're either goading or incredibly lazy. If you got a tin of indorex and actually read the instructions, instead of assuming..... Unless your house is an utter tip as well.

DrunkSanta · 23/12/2019 08:35

Fleas are life threatening. I've seen animals come in with life threatening anaemia due the flea infestation. Flea bites are uncomfortable and irritating for your pet and can lead to allergic dermatitis. It isn't that the frontline isn't working, it's that you aren't addressing the environmental flea burden. For every ONE flea on your cat there will be ONE HUNDRED in the local environment. It will take 6-12months of treating ALL pets and the environment to get a bad infestation under control. I'm at a loss as to why you think pesticide impregnated collars are more acceptable to spot on or tablet treatments. If you are serious about a collar option then please go to your vets and ask for a seresto collar. It is proven to work and lasts 6-8months. Please treat your cat. Flea infestations are a welfare issue.

Soubriquet · 23/12/2019 08:43

I hate fleas with a passion

After a major outbreak that cost us a fortune to treat, I am very hot on treating the animals as soon as I spot any sign of fleas.

I only de-flea when they need it. Could this not be a compromise?

Don’t use frontline. It doesn’t work anymore.

I use advantage that treats the house the same time as the animals

Lonecatwithkitten · 23/12/2019 08:56

Fleas and ticks bite and suck the cats blood, this can lead to anaemia and diseases such as Lyme disease to be transmitted. In the wild cats have much shorter lives than our pet cats have partly due to fleas and tick bourne disease.
The fleas carry tapeworm which can transmit to humans and Lyme disease carried by one third of the ticks in the UK is a horrible disease that can have lifelong effects for humans.
There is a flea collar that works really well and is now available over the counter -seresto. It lasts 8 months and is quite economic, but if your cat wears a seresto they should not sleep on your bed.
Advantage just kills adult fleas, advocate kills live fleas and treats the environment, but neither treat ticks.
Currently personally I use bravecto plus kills fleas, ticks and roundworms. I tablet for tapeworm every so often.

QuestionableMouse · 23/12/2019 15:25

This has got to be a wind up...

Go to the fucking vet and treat your cat. You don't deserve animals if you're not going to look after them properly.

The vast majority of animals in the wild live short lives and die of disease or predation. You cannot equate their lives to your house pet.

I use Stronghold which works brilliantly.

InsertFunnyUsername · 23/12/2019 15:39

Well your cat isnt in the wild, do you not feed her and just allow her to catch her own food. Same with her toilet training, I'm guessing the cat goes where it likes? Some things need human intervention, fleas being one of them - especially having DC in the house, it's unfair for them to be bitten constantly and probably embarrassing if their friends spot them.

dementedpixie · 23/12/2019 15:45

Get a vet treatment and give your poor cat a break from the constant itch they must be putting up with. Ours get stronghold plus.

Vinorosso74 · 23/12/2019 16:16

Is this for real? I comb through my DD's hair with conditioner and a nitty gritty comb once a week in case of head lice but there's no way my cat would tolerate that! He gets a drop of Stronghold once a month-6 weeks.
What about anything else for your cat? Worming? Vaccines? Spaying? What if they become diabetic or hyperthyroid when older?

Allergictoironing · 23/12/2019 16:40

Watching Wildlife programmes - it's normal for ticks and fleas to live on animals. They pick them out of each other and have a symbiotic relationship. In the wild animals seem to get on with it and birds etc will pick the fleas off them.

"Normal" in the wild doesn't particularly mean better - typical life span of a feral cat is around 2 years, typical life span of a pet cat is 15 years and increasing all the time.

Cats (all pets in fact) can have accidents and illnesses which would prove fatal without medical intervention, and this is a requirement of pet ownership as stated in the Animal welfare Act 2006, section 4.

Presumably if you are anti-medicine in all but life or death situations, you wouldn't allow your children to have painkillers for a broken leg, or antibiotics for an infection?

And the very suggestion that BIRDS will pick fleas off cats is frankly ludicrous - cats catch & EAT birds!