If you had a flea infestation in your home...

[Nathalie1975]

...did you see fleas? My cat has been very itchy for the last few weeks. Gave her her Bravecto spot on mid August but that didn't improve. I took her to the vet this week end who said it's a flea allergy and she is recatching fleas in our house. The thing is, I have never seen fleas on her or anywhere in the house and none of us has had flea bites even though the cat frequently sleeps in our beds or on the sofa. So I don't completely believe we have a flea infestation in the house. Shouldn't we be seeing fleas or getting bitten?

Was there any flea dirt on the cat?
Have you ever seen any fleas?
Could be an allergy to something else e.g. food, environmental, etc

I did see fleas but only about 3 and was told there would be a lot more if I saw 3 of them.

If you can see black specks where your cat slept you have fleas. Get a flea comb and comb through, particularly near the ears and head, and you should find out if you have a problem. If you catch any on the comb, drown them.

When our then kitten came to us with fleas, yes, we saw the fleas. If you haven’t seen any then maybe it’s an allergy to something else? Have you tried combing your cat with something like a nit comb to see if you come across any live fleas? We did this frequently and had a dish of soapy water to put them in!

Fleas are 95% immature stages in the environment, so you wouldn't necessarily see lots of fleas. The ones on your cat could have been killed by the Bravecto, but new ones in the house could then jump on and later die after they bite the cat. It would take a bit of time for them to all hatch and die.

I never saw fleas on my cats any of the times they had them. The first sign was always the girl having allergies and finding flea dust on one of the boys. I got into the habit of brushing him every 3-4 days and treating every time I saw flecks (once or twice a year - usually soon after a vet visit).

Yes. And flea eggs where he slept.

if you suspect fleas - treat the whole house immediately. Then do it again two weeks later. Hoover like it’s the only way to avoid hell. Then treat it all again.

oh, and treat the cat too.

We have had a couple of flea infestations in our house and yes we have seen those little fuckers jumping on us - also lots of bites. Indorex is the best thing I would recommend for the house it seems to work well and quickly.

No I never saw any fleas on the cat. I used a flea comb. The vet couldn't find any either. I am just surprised we have a flea infestation without any signs of fleas. But I will treat the house.

I had an infestation that got out of hand this summer, it was AWFUL! I hadn’t noticed any bites on myself at all, but it turns out I just didn’t react. Some people don’t. By the time I could see them it was too late. It was horrific, they were everywhere. I spent 3 days straight off from work deep cleaning because they live in crevices. Think under the wardrobe, in that pile of clothes waiting to be sold. All of my clothes and soft toys/ cushions etc had to be washed on 90 degrees and many didn’t make it. I spent more than £100 on flea treatment that actually worked because you need the stuff that targets fleas at every life stage. It took weeks of respraying and vacuuming to be sure.

act now, you won’t regret it! Like I said, by the time I could see them it was too late.

Yes we had one recently, we all had flea bites and saw a couple of fleas! I took mine to the vet to have the spot on treatment. It's taken 2 weeks for them all to die! Finally!!!

@ThreenagerCentral What products did you use?

If you cat has scabby skin the standard vet response is 'flea allergy' even when it isn't.
When our cars have had fleas they are visible when you comb your cat, as is flea dirt, plus you may well get biten yourself. On a couple of occasions I've seen a full stop in a book I'm reading move. 😲
If you have no evidence of fleas at all it really isn't that likely to be the problem.
In your house Indorex works wonders for getting rid of them.

I don't see them but my son gets bitten by them so I always know if we have them. Then I flea bomb the entire house (and put drops on the pets).

Indorex spray is fantastic for treating the house
spray around the entire edge of every room
obviously when cat isn’t indoors

I didn’t see any fleas.

one if my cats was badly allergic and lost a lot of fur.

Yes I have seen 3 and see them on my cat, she’s a white cat so they are very obvious don’t even have to look thanks the frontline not working got stronger one coming tomorrow and have some indorex for the house

So she is scratching around her head to the point that she had some sores near her ears. And she's been biting her tail, paws and nibs. The vet said if it was a food allergy she would be scratching all over her body. So most likely to be flea allergy. I have bought some little lamps with sticky tapes that are supposed to attract and kill fleas and I haven't caught anything but not sure these things work anyway. So I guess I will Indorex the house. Thank you for all the replies.

Yes, a flea once jumped on my homework when I was a kid, and used to be attracted to my slippers. 🥿 We called them the flea-catching slippers. Good times.

Flea powder for the carpets is also good (in addition to Indirex). I used stuff from Wilkos. No idea where you buy it now.

We had this; Indorex did the trick and I ended up getting a flea collar for the cats - can't remember the name but it was strong and some cats have a bad reaction although ours were fine for years.

We found that it was worse in the area we lived in at the time (rural Dorset) as we'd get ticks and fleas constantly, likely from the deer in our garden.

Put a flea collar in your vacuum cleaner , especially vacuum under radiators where they like the heat; the vibration helps the eggs hatch to suck them up repeat often it takes a couple of weeks to hatch so be consistent

Our cat came back from a cattery with fleas (this was years ago, before the current treatments for flea prevention). We think they'd taken his flea collar off. We noticed when we saw a couple jumping off us and one day I was itching and there were some on my tights. My aunt had a friend to stay whose dog had fleas and her carpet was infested and they jumped onto her feet.

You don’t often see them, I’ve had two flea infestations in the past 10 years, the first time I saw them visibly, but they went quite quickly after a good round of indorex or two, and lots of hoovering. The second time more recently I barely saw any, and were finally confirmed by pest control. Because I couldn’t see them though I wasn’t sure what I was fighting and they got a strong hold of the house. It’s been a nightmare, even with Bravecto, Indorex, pest control etc. And I still rarely see them but I keep having reoccurring signs that they’re still about, and I wonder if they’ve become v resistant to treatments. So I echo others, even if you’re not 100% sure, act as if you definitely have them and treat fast. They’re the worst!

We had an infestation last year when my sister’s flea ridden dog came to stay. Only ever saw one but my daughter and I were getting bitten at night and my dog then started scratching. My husband didn’t get a single bite. Spent the whole weekend washing, hoovering and sprayed indorex on carpets, mattresses and underneath sofa cushions. Hard work but did the trick.