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  #1  
Old February 10th 09, 07:04 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Mark_Galeck
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Posts: 12
Default fleas...

A 10-month old spayed female, medium-long hair, 9 pounds, I got her a
few months ago, and I can't get rid of the fleas. Indoors only. I've
tried everything, repeatedly, Advantage, other flea ointments,
Capstar, spraying the whole apartment with flea-killer, sponge-ons
such as Zodiac, flea shampoo, combing out. Nothing works completely.
She does not have flea dirt on her anymore, but she bites fur often
and I can see fleas running around every now and then. Today I got
another flea shampoo from Petco that the store recommended, I bathed
her, she was very unhappy about that and scratched me badly, no
problem, I dried her and the first thing I see after that, is a flea
coming out on a hair giving me a middle finger, I swear

Mark
  #2  
Old February 10th 09, 11:08 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Petzl
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Posts: 165
Default fleas...

On Mon, 9 Feb 2009 22:04:51 -0800 (PST), Mark_Galeck
wrote:

A 10-month old spayed female, medium-long hair, 9 pounds, I got her a
few months ago, and I can't get rid of the fleas. Indoors only. I've
tried everything, repeatedly, Advantage, other flea ointments,
Capstar, spraying the whole apartment with flea-killer, sponge-ons
such as Zodiac, flea shampoo, combing out. Nothing works completely.
She does not have flea dirt on her anymore, but she bites fur often
and I can see fleas running around every now and then. Today I got
another flea shampoo from Petco that the store recommended, I bathed
her, she was very unhappy about that and scratched me badly, no
problem, I dried her and the first thing I see after that, is a flea
coming out on a hair giving me a middle finger, I swear

Mark


Genuine Advantage not only kills fleas on the cat it also kills fleas
wherever cat goes (the fake ones do not do much at all)

Although the directions say monthly application you only need reapply
when fleas appear (often this can be months or even years later)

Caution must be used when applying to cat or kitten Cats lick
themselves and Advantage is very poisonous

look at url below for where to apply on cat
http://advantage.petparents.com/howToApplyCats.cfm
You will find a cat cannot lick itself there

using chemicals to bath cats with is not recommended as cats will lick
ingesting the chemical residue perhaps killing cat

As you have found out most cats hate baths so do not do this

Ebay sells "Advantage ©" as well as most vets or pet stores
unfortunatly some out there are selling fake products

Petzl
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If you look at Australia it is largely a Christian country with
Christian norms. The things we do, the way our political parties
behave, have, if not an activist Christianity about it, Christian
ideals.
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  #3  
Old February 10th 09, 01:02 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
MaryL
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Posts: 2,779
Default fleas...


"Mark_Galeck" wrote in message
...
A 10-month old spayed female, medium-long hair, 9 pounds, I got her a
few months ago, and I can't get rid of the fleas. Indoors only. I've
tried everything, repeatedly, Advantage, other flea ointments,
Capstar, spraying the whole apartment with flea-killer, sponge-ons
such as Zodiac, flea shampoo, combing out. Nothing works completely.
She does not have flea dirt on her anymore, but she bites fur often
and I can see fleas running around every now and then. Today I got
another flea shampoo from Petco that the store recommended, I bathed
her, she was very unhappy about that and scratched me badly, no
problem, I dried her and the first thing I see after that, is a flea
coming out on a hair giving me a middle finger, I swear

Mark


This sounds like you have a major infestation in your house or apartment.
Since you have already sprayed, it would probably be a good idea to have a
professional exterminator (but make sure that anything used is safe for
cats). Likewise, you might want to take your cat to a vet to have her
bathed in a flea preparation. *Do not* use flea shampoos bought
over-the-counter. Many are ineffective, and some are dangerous. (Look up
information on lawsuits against Hartz to see what I mean.) Advantage is
very effective when administered as recommended, but this sounds like your
cat is then picking up fleas from the carpets or furnishings. If you do
decide to get an exterminator and also have the vet bathe your cat, this
should be done at approximately the same time to avoid reinfestation. Your
vet can supply shampoo so you can do it at home, but it might be a good idea
to have one "professional" application and comb-out, given the problem you
described.

Buy some flea collars, but DO NOT use them on your cat. Instead, cut them
into small pieces (again, do not leave them in an area that your cat can
reach). After vacuuming, empty the bag or cannister and take the contents
*outdoors* for disposal. After the bag is emptied, vacuum up part of one of
flea collars--that's the reason for cutting it into pieces. Leave that in
the vacuum, where it will help kill any fleas that may hatch inside the
vacuum. Do this every time you clean. My vet once told me that fleas have
"time-release eggs," and some may hatch as long as *two years* later.
Incidentally, upholstered furniture is a favorite hiding place for fleas, so
that should be given special attention when cleaning.

Finally: You could be bringing fleas into your home on your shoes or other
clothing. If so, you should also treat the perimeter *outside* your house.

MaryL

  #4  
Old February 10th 09, 03:54 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Rene S.
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Posts: 741
Default fleas...

MaryL's advice is excellent, but I wanted to add that you should
vacuum often (every day if possible, using the flea collar advice she
mentioned) wash all bedding/covering regularly in HOT water.
  #5  
Old February 10th 09, 04:02 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Mark_Galeck
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Posts: 12
Default fleas...

Thank you all for replying, you have very good general advice but...

I do use genuine Advantage, I did use it on this cat 3 times, as far
as I can tell it does not do anything to reduce the number of fleas on
her.

I don't have carpet, and I don't think I have a flea infestation,
because I sprayed everywhere, especially on the places where they hang
around most, and I can see, just by looking carefully, there are no
fleas hopping anywhere, just on that cat.

I have two other cats, one has none, the other has very few, only
bites his fur occasionally. This female bites her fur often and I
can see fleas on her sometimes.

So I think, I will take her to a vet for the professional bath.

  #6  
Old February 10th 09, 05:16 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
MaryL
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Posts: 2,779
Default fleas...


"Mark_Galeck" wrote in message
...
Thank you all for replying, you have very good general advice but...

I do use genuine Advantage, I did use it on this cat 3 times, as far
as I can tell it does not do anything to reduce the number of fleas on
her.

I don't have carpet, and I don't think I have a flea infestation,
because I sprayed everywhere, especially on the places where they hang
around most, and I can see, just by looking carefully, there are no
fleas hopping anywhere, just on that cat.

I have two other cats, one has none, the other has very few, only
bites his fur occasionally. This female bites her fur often and I
can see fleas on her sometimes.

So I think, I will take her to a vet for the professional bath.


That's a good step. Incidentally, when I used the word "infestation," that
was not intended as an insult. It's just that fleas can easily get to the
point where it is difficult to eradicate them. I did not mean that you
would have so many that you would find them hopping all over your floors.
The can hide in tiny crevices, eggs could be buried deep within the seams of
furniture, etc. So, the fleas you see could be the hatchlings of eggs in
your home, even if the current batch were killed. However, Advantage does
normally kill both fleas and eggs that are on the cat, so it is puzzling to
read some of your comments. If you use an exterminator (or even do it
yourself), you might try using a gel or dusting powder that you can
carefully inject down into cracks along floorboards or around plumbing.
That would be more effective at getting fleas as they hatch from eggs than
spraying the apartment, and it would be safer for your cats (and for you).

You said you used Advantage three times. How far apart was that? In your
case, I would use it once a month for several months--but no more often than
that. Also, what about your neighbors? You said you live in an apartment,
and it becomes a problem if your neighbors have fleas or other insects but
are not controlling it. It is often effective in an apartment to make
arrangements with your neighbors to treat your apartments on the same
schedule.

MaryL

  #7  
Old February 10th 09, 06:56 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
---MIKE---
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Posts: 869
Default fleas...

If Advantage doesn't work you could try Frontline or Revolution.


---MIKE---
In the White Mountains of New Hampshire
(44° 15' N - Elevation 1580')


  #8  
Old February 10th 09, 07:13 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Poe
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Posts: 50
Default fleas...

MaryL wrote:

"Mark_Galeck" wrote in message
...
Thank you all for replying, you have very good general advice but...

I do use genuine Advantage, I did use it on this cat 3 times, as far
as I can tell it does not do anything to reduce the number of fleas on
her.

I don't have carpet, and I don't think I have a flea infestation,
because I sprayed everywhere, especially on the places where they hang
around most, and I can see, just by looking carefully, there are no
fleas hopping anywhere, just on that cat.

I have two other cats, one has none, the other has very few, only
bites his fur occasionally. This female bites her fur often and I
can see fleas on her sometimes.

So I think, I will take her to a vet for the professional bath.


That's a good step. Incidentally, when I used the word "infestation,"
that was not intended as an insult. It's just that fleas can easily get
to the point where it is difficult to eradicate them. I did not mean
that you would have so many that you would find them hopping all over
your floors. The can hide in tiny crevices, eggs could be buried deep
within the seams of furniture, etc. So, the fleas you see could be the
hatchlings of eggs in your home, even if the current batch were killed.
However, Advantage does normally kill both fleas and eggs that are on
the cat, so it is puzzling to read some of your comments. If you use an
exterminator (or even do it yourself), you might try using a gel or
dusting powder that you can carefully inject down into cracks along
floorboards or around plumbing. That would be more effective at getting
fleas as they hatch from eggs than spraying the apartment, and it would
be safer for your cats (and for you).

You said you used Advantage three times. How far apart was that? In
your case, I would use it once a month for several months--but no more
often than that. Also, what about your neighbors? You said you live in
an apartment, and it becomes a problem if your neighbors have fleas or
other insects but are not controlling it. It is often effective in an
apartment to make arrangements with your neighbors to treat your
apartments on the same schedule.

MaryL



I will say, I had trouble this year with Advantage not working as well
as it used to. I use Advantage Plus to get the eggs, and it generally
takes several months to stop the cycle completely. I spray/vaccum/empty
bag and take it to the street(!!) daily during an outbreak, and during
"flea season" I use Capstar before any major flea jihad - but I had
similar trouble this year until we had a hard frost. It's like there
were super fleas or something going around! Plus my cats go outdoors
with a large range, so 100% elimination isn't possible all the time.

Anyway, I picked up a few good tips from this thread for my next jihad
in spring!


  #9  
Old February 10th 09, 09:13 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Spot[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 98
Default fleas...

You need to use a product that has a growth inhibitor like Frontline Plus.
This kills the fleas and makes the eggs infertile so they don't hatch. If
you don't use something like this you are only killing the fleas on your cat
and the eggs that drop off will continue to hatch so you never really break
the cycle. If you use Frontline Plus, spray the house AND the yard you
should be able to get rid of them. Don't forget the yard even though the
cats don't go out you can be carrying fleas in on your clothing.

Celeste

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"Mark_Galeck" wrote in message
...
Thank you all for replying, you have very good general advice but...

I do use genuine Advantage, I did use it on this cat 3 times, as far
as I can tell it does not do anything to reduce the number of fleas on
her.

I don't have carpet, and I don't think I have a flea infestation,
because I sprayed everywhere, especially on the places where they hang
around most, and I can see, just by looking carefully, there are no
fleas hopping anywhere, just on that cat.

I have two other cats, one has none, the other has very few, only
bites his fur occasionally. This female bites her fur often and I
can see fleas on her sometimes.

So I think, I will take her to a vet for the professional bath.



 




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