No flea treatment is working

[Overinvolvedmum]

I know there is another recent flea thread but thought I’d start my own as it’s a slightly different situation.

I have 14 week old kittens who have never been outside but yet were infested with fleas. When I first took them to the vet at 8 weeks they were too light for advocate so I waited until 11 weeks and then treated.

Since about that time the house has been infested with fleas. I’ve sprayed can after can of indorex, taken the cats back to the vet and they’ve also been treated with Bravecto.

I’m also flea combing them constantly and haven’t found any on them today.

I thought we were getting somewhere but I was bitten about 6 times yesterday and have just had a live flea jump on me.

I need some help, I can’t cope with this and am seriously starting to think of rehoming them if I can’t get rid of the fleas.

I need some suggestions as to what to do next please

Food grade diatomaceous earth is safe, you can put it on the cats and your floors/furnishings. Obviously do a test patch if you are worried about staining. I don't think ut stains though, google it. It's a powder, it's some kind of ground stone I think. I used it when my dogs had fleas and it worked amazingly.

I bought it from ebay and it came in a bottle with a shaker lid like talcum powder. I sprinkled it everywhere and rubbed it into the sofa with a dustpan brush and hoovered it off after a while.

We used flea traps too which helped to speed up the process and stopped us getting bitten.
They are a warm light over a sticky pad. The fleas are attracted to the heat and then get stuck on the pad. We caught so many this way.
I had one in the bedroom on the floor and one on the landing area.
They are quite cheap from amazon.

I use itch.com for flea treatment as it kills egg/fleas etc & indirect for the house.

You’re doing the right things. I had an awful flea infestation a few years ago and I thought I’d lose my mind. Tuck your jeans into socks and spray any exposed skin with mossie repellent like jungle formula and then spray it over your clothes.

Tjere may be eggs under your sofa. I found them in the grooves of the floor and under the sofa was the worst place. They look like grains of rice.

I’d spray the eggs with Indorex then wipe them up with a baby wipe and put the wipe into a jam jar with a lid. I had the nozzle of the hoover on standby to try and hoover up any that hatched before I could get them in the jar. The other place I found eggs was just under the edge of the table leg.

I’d ask your vet for a different spot on treatment as well if possible.

Cat vet here. Don't lose hope.

There are a few common misunderstandings out there about fleas and their treatment IME, even amongst veterinary staff. Here's my take, which I hope might be helpful.

First major point of flea control: flea treatments don't repel fleas.

This means you will still see fleas on the cats even after they've been treated - they've jumped on from the environment. This doesn't mean the flea treatment isn't working. The key thing is, the fleas that jump on won't survive to reproduce - they die. You are still addressing the flea problem.

Start thinking of your cats as walking flea killers.

By all means try a different flea product, but I guarantee you'll still find fleas on them for as long as the infestation in the house is at its peak. Personally I'd stick with Bravecto, it's a good one. Just apply it religiously every three months.

Second major point of flea control: flea pupae are resistant buggers.

Adult fleas are killed by jumping on your walking flea killers, the cats. They are also killed by Indorex.
Eggs are prevented from hatching by Indorex.
Larvae are prevented from developing by Indorex.

Pupae? Sadly resistant to pretty much everything. These are the strongest link in the flea life cycle, and the reason flea infestations seem to go on and on. They stick in the carpet and furnishings, you can't kill them with anything, and they can remain viable for months and months.

The fleas you are seeing on the cats (or yourself) are emerging from these ironclad pupae and jumping on board. They'll die of course, once the Bravecto gets hold of them. But we can't stop them emerging in the first place.

On the contrary - we want them to emerge from their cocoons. As pupae, they are invincible. As emerged fleas, they are vulnerable. We gotta get them out.

How to make them emerge? Mimic the movement of a host nearby - vibration. That's why vacuuming is so important. Do as much as you can. Also make sure your walking flea killers, the cats, have access to everywhere in the house.

Because the fleas can remain in their pupae for so long, it can take a long time to clear a flea infestation - but that's normal (unfortunately). Don't give up!

Here's my summary for flea control:

1. Treat all pets religiously with a good flea product (Bravecto is fine). Don't be disheartened if you still see fleas on them. Those suckers won't last long once they're on the cats.

1. Treat the entire house with Indorex (or RIP Fleas) using the Five Step Guide on the RIP Fleas website. You should only have to do this once or twice a year, so do it well (it is a faff, but it's worth doing properly). Their FAQ page has useful tips for use as well. www.ripfleas.co.uk/r-i-p-fleas-extra/

1. Let the cats march everywhere through the house, killing fleas as they go.

1. Vacuum daily. Pay special attention to areas where the cats sleep or groom, as there will be more eggs here. Remember vibrations are the only thing that can effectively reduce the number of pupae, which are the hardest life cycle stage to eliminate.

1. Rinse and repeat. This is a war of attrition. You'll get there.

Good luck!

Thank you all.

I’m going to get some flea traps just to check the areas of the Jodie where the cats rarely go as well.

@RunYouJuiceBitch thats really helpful thank you.