Kitten fleas (kitten photo attached for cuteness)

[Sueaxlbrick]

I have had my kitten for about 8 weeks, when we brought her home we quickly found that she had fleas and was underweight. She was too young/small for any flea products so we just bathed her every few days and picked them off but couldn't keep on top of them. Finally she was old and big enough so I put Frontline Spot-On on her. The fleas seemed to go mad and disappear but around 2 weeks later we noticed more. Obviously we couldn't put any more product on her so have been bathing again. It's now been 4 weeks and I put it on again yesterday but we're still seeing fleas running around on her.

I am hoovering 3 times a day, we have treated the carpet with Indorex, I have washed all her bedding on a hot wash and treated all animals in the house (I have owned cats for 14 years and the other 2 are up to date on their treatments and appear to have none).

It seems like the Frontline kills the adults but by the time the babies hatch it isn't working any more and I can't put anything else on her. Does anyone have any tips because it's driving me mad!! Is there anything I can use in between the 4 week doses or anything I can put directly on the fleas when they are spotted?

Thank you

Bathing the cat is the worst thing you can do because it destroys the oil in the coat that spot ons are designed to adhere to.

90% of the lifecycle of the flea happens off the host. They jump on for a blood feed, to mate and lay eggs only. The eggs roll off into the pets environment and that is where they go through the larval and pupal stages to hatching. Then the cycle starts again.

The only way to break the back of flea infestations is to treat the environment with something like Acclaim or another veterinary strength preparation as well as spot ons.

Vacuum first, spray according to the instructions and then leave it down as many days as you can bear not vacuuming for. This way it gets properly wafted around and trodden in where the various life stages are.

Fleas can live in the egg for over a decade so they are a proper bugger to deal with. Once you see a lot of adults, the background infestation is pretty big.

Frontline is shite, we had the same problem with it not actually getting rid of the fleas. Ask your vet for a better one on prescription, we do regular doses of Bravecto or Stronghold now and haven't seen a flea since.

Thank you. I have Indorex spray from the vet but maybe I'm hoovering too much so I'll leave it to work for as long as possible. I had to bath her at first because she was so small they were a health hazard to her but now I'm just frustrated so maybe shouldn't bath her anymore.
I will get some Stronghold as this is the one my vet prescribes and see if that helps next time.

The Breeder went quiet as soon as I got her home and hasn't responded to any question so I guess she knew.

We use Advantage and you can buy it online so you don't need to see a vet. It works on my 5 cats.

I found frontline stopped working so I tried Advantage and that seems to work ok. She really is absolutely beautiful!

Frontline just started working for us one day, overnight. Advocat has been good.

If you vacuum a lot right after spraying Indorex then you remove the Indorex... need to leave it for a few days at minimum, initially, to do it's job.

Vacuuming (with strong Vacc-cleaner) removes the adult flea poo which is what the larvae live on (nice) so generally good. However, vacuuming 3x/day is definitely OTT. max. 3x/week, unless you want to reapply the Indorex constantly.

There may be a reservoir outside that reinfects her, would explain chronic sightings, too.

We have 3 outdoor cats, carpets throughout, I only apply Indorex about once every 5 years, and I'm lax about vacuuming. I truly believe you could solve this with something much better than Frontline.

We had the same with out kitten several years back - vet prescribed Advocate and that did the trick plus the Indorex or Staykill or similar. Frontline is useless for a big infestation. The good news is your kitten is extremely cute.

argh, meant to say Frontline STOPPED working overnight...

Oh my goodness that's an adorable kitten.
I was going to mention Indorex but you've used that.
I would definitely suggest call to the vets and get a prescription one. They are all that seem to work on fleas and ticks for me, over the counters don't do anything

She's beautiful!

If you can, get a prescription flea treatment from the vet. Stronghold is good.

You can also try steam cleaning the carpets and such. I had a flea infestation because of my neighbour's cat sneaking in, and I really found it helpful.

I agree fleas have become resistant to frontline. I would also agree with suggestion to stop washing your kitten.

We had this when one of our cats had a fatal genetic condition and she got such a high infestation of fleas, bless her, & we hadn’t realised frontline was stoping being effective. The eggs hatched for weeks. I would find fleas all over the kids let alone the cats. It will stop! We used a household spray from vets that’s lasts for year and vaccumed every other day to get the eggs hatching and giving the spray a chance to work. You’ve treated the house so I would pop back to the vet for a better treatment that’s kitten appropriate.

Also I would be careful getting products from another source other than your vets unless you’re very sure it is reputable. I know it’s a little more from vets as they can’t buy in bulk like this online wholesalers but my relative is a vet and there are some unreputable vendors.

We've been fighting them this year! Itch Pet stopped working. We have carpets (hate them so much) and do Idorex but not in the main room because the toddler plays there so it's cat-free.

A colleague suggested flea lamps and they have helped once we combine them with flea treatments, flea baths, daily combing and the Idorex and constant vacuuming.

The one cat is fine but the dirty fat hobo street cat we took in is really challenging me. I admit he looks gorgeous here but every bath would make you gag at how dirty the water is.

He's a chonk and I think the initial dose Itch did wasn't enough for him and we've been in a cycle ever since. 😿😿

Aahh she's gorgeous! Try an flea comb too

Just wondered if you've checked if she can hear? White cats with blue or green eyes are often deaf (genetically) approx 3/4 of them

Thank you so much everyone. I will get some treatment from the vet and do the indorex without hoovering for a few days. Hopefully this will get on top of things.
She is very cute and has a lovely temperament, this is the only issue we have with her.

Frontline and Broadline are rubbish. Advocate was okay but seems to have become less effective lately, I've recently changed to Bravecto which seems to be working much better. And you only have to apply it every three months instead of every month. You do need a separate wormer though.

I use the kids old kitty gritty comb on my two. Got them used to it at a young age just combing them, so now the stupid buggers will just lay there and let me do it.

*nitty gritty

custardbear
She can definitely hear. I wondered about this at first so we made some noises and she always reacts well. I was unsure whether she may have been deaf in the blue eye side but I have clicked something just on that side and her ear twitches and she turns to look so I think she can hear through both ears. She definitely doesn't like the noise of the hoover and wakes up if someone runs up or down the stairs so she can hear. 😊

I used a plastic flea comb and couldnt seem to get any out, even when I could see one I couldn't catch it with the comb. It was just a cheap and cheerful though so maybe I need a better one

These were an absolute godsend when I had my kittens. One dose and the fleas never reappeared

Johnsons 4Fleas Tablets for Cats and Kittens, 6 Treatment Pack amzn.eu/ammFmIO

Metal comb; damp paper towel to wipe hair into (look for flea poo too); and a little bowl of dish soapy water for fast drowning.

I like crushing them with the handle of the comb but drowning is quick and means you can keep count.

It's really grim. You have my sympathies.