Cat Fleas-The Best Methods for Killing
the Fleas on Your Cat

If you have ever had a cat with fleas, you know how uncomfortable the cat can become. There are several ways that you can go about treating your cat to relieve his discomfort. Be sure to consult your animal’s veterinarian about the best ways to treat for cat fleas. The following information should help you decide what questions to ask your vet.

First, determine whether you are dealing with fleas or another parasite that may be causing the itching. Examine the cat’s hindquarters and groin area. Do you see a “salt and pepper” residue? That is a sure sign that fleas are living on your cat. 

Once you have determined you have a flea problem, you must treat the cat as well as the home and the yard. Let’s look first at how to treat the cat. 
There are several flea control products on the market to help you eliminate your flea problem. 

If your cat has a serious problem there is a very fast acting oral flea medicine called Capstar that kills all adult fleas in a matter of hours. Capstar comes in packages of 6 and runs around $24 for the package. Capstar uses Nitenpyram to kill the fleas and is very good to eliminate an immediate problem. You will still need to deal with any larve or eggs that will hatch but you can give a pill every other day to catch all the flea cycles.

gets wet. This quick-acting product prevents the laying of new eggs by the fleas that are already on the animal. Humans do not absorb Advantage, and it is safe on animals 8 weeks and older. Again, be sure to treat all of your animals. * Advantage is a good product but it some areas have fleas that now appear to be much more resistant to this brand. 

Advantage plus has all the benefits of Advantage, and it adds treatment for heartworm, ear mites, and some intestinal parasites. 

Frontline and Frontline spray kill the fleas without the need for the flea to bite. Like Advantage, Frontline products come in liquid form and are applied to the skin between the shoulder blades. Frontline can be helpful in controlling chewing lice and sarcoptic mange. Frontline is safe for use on cats eight weeks and older, though it may cause skin irritation at the application site. Like Advantage, Frontline does not lose its effectiveness because the coat gets wet.

Frontline Plus provides added protection to kill adult fleas, eggs, and larvae, and it is safe for pregnant or lactating cats.

Revolution is a heartworm preventative that also controls adult fleas and prevents eggs from hatching. It can also help control ear mites, roundworms, hookworms, and some ticks. Its application method is the same as the Advantage and Frontline.

If you choose to use flea shampoos, powders, dips or foams, please be careful to avoid ingredients that cause harm to cats. Permethrins and some organophosphates are toxic to cats, as well as amitraz. All these ingredients can be found in various flea treatments, so be sure to check your ingredients. Do not use products designed for dogs on your cats!

One of the cheapest and easiest flea shampoo we've found is Dawn Dishwashing Soap. I always use an oatmeal shampoo directly after to soften the coat and help the skin from becoming dry but Dawn works great to kill the fleas if you lather and let set for about 3-4 minutes. My current cat, Cleo, does not do shampoo's or baths so I use a flea comb and a spray bottle with Dawn and water to squirt on the fleas to kill them!

Flea shampoos only work when they are on the coat. Once they are rinsed off, no flea killing residue is left on the animal. And try and let the shampoo stay on the cat for at least 2-3 minutes to have time to work. Also start at the head since many fleas will run and hide in this area. Flea shampoos are best used when you have already treated the environment. Otherwise, fleas growing in your carpet and yard will quickly find a home again on your cat. Shampoos are should used before bringing a new cat into the home. Killing any fleas that cat may be carrying will help prevent your existing pets from being infested.

Powders and dusts must be used several times a week and they leave the coat feeling dry and gritty. The powder must be worked through the coat to contact the animal’s skin. Again, be sure the product you choose is safe for cats.

Sprays and foams are best used in between shampoos. They will kill fleas that have hatched after a shampoo. The effects of sprays and foams can last up to 14 days and use the same insecticides as shampoos. Be careful to follow the instructions on the product to be sure to gain the most effectiveness.

Dips are extremely effective on cats. They are products that are applied wet and allowed to dry. They penetrate the coat and they kill the most effectively with the longest-lasting results. There are dangers to dips. Be sure to follow the instructions on your product before you begin, and don’t use a dip on a cat younger than four months.

Two of the most important factors in a flea management program are your home and your yard. Flea eggs drop off your pet and nestle in the yard and the carpet. Once the flea hatches, it can live up to two weeks before it must find a food source-your pet. Be sure to use pesticides that are safe for your home. Consider other pets you have in the home, particularly birds or small mammals. Treat your yard with products that will not have adverse affects on the animals or children. Neglecting to treat your yard and your home will allow these pests to re-infest your cats!

We've found the vacuuming every other day for about two weeks, and if necessary, even shampooing the carpets with soapy water will kill all the fleas. For hard surface floors you can use hot soapy water. For furniture and other areas you can use the Flea Spray recommended below. Be sure to do a small out of site test area first if you are concerned about staining.

Fleas in South Texas Now Resist All Commercial
Repellents That We Used to Rely On!

The product below, Natural Flea Spry for Cats, is made by a company called Natural Chemistry out of Connecticut. No China syndrome here, it's American made (China has had quite a few bad food products for cats and dogs lately). This is what I use for both my cats and dogs. Both Advantage II, Frontline, and Revolution do not work around my area of Texas. They did forever and then stopped working about 2 years ago. Can't tell you why but both the dogs and the cats started picking up fleas that were not repelled or even bothered by any of our prior go to products.

We went nuts and could not keep the fleas off of our pets until we found this product. It is carried by PetCo at most locations but if you don't have one close you can get it below from Amazon. They also make a shampoo but our cats don't do shampoo =8~). This is an instant killer of fleas and so is the shampoo product.

**It's not a great repellent. We use a lemon and water solution for that and it seems to work better than any commercial product. We throw a couple of sliced lemons in big sauce pan of boiling water, turn off the heat and let them simmer for 60 minutes. Then we dilute with water and use this in a spray bottle and wet down our cat brushing against the fir to let it adsorb. You can also do this with a one to one mixture of white vinegar and water too but the lemons smell better and our cats don't mind it at all. We do this at least every 3-5 days. But don't over do it. We have never had an issue with lemon water but I have read of some people who went overboard and caused some allergic reactions in their cat or dog. Too much citric acid is not a good thing for people or animals.

The best non poison yard and house flea treatment we've found is DE powder (Diatomaceous Earth). But be careful since there are two general types, the one you would use for a swimming pool filter and the Food Grade version. You want to use the Food Grade version of course. It will clearly state on the label which is which and you can usually find the right version DE where they sell pest control stuff. 

Be careful to get the right DE, use the natural found in Garden departments - not the version made for swimming pool filters! And no matter which you choose to use, do not breath the power nor let your cat breath it since it's not a good thing for your lungs and use gloves when handling to be on the safe side! Just sprinkle the area of yard or house and keep animals out of the are for an hour or two to let it settle in out of the air. these both work well to kill many insects and are one of the safest method of pest control. Some people even sprinkle on their pets, being careful not to let them inhale it.

If you can't find it, it is available at Amazon too.

Our pets are valuable members of our families, and we hate to see them struggle with fleas. A cat fleas problem is relatively easy to solve with the right combinations of ingredients and products. For the safest, most effective treatment of your animal, be sure to consult your vet.

Cat Fleas And Humans

I get asked a lot about cat fleas on humans. Yes, a cat flea will definitely bite any human. Fleas are attracted by rapid movement, carbon dioxide and heat. Cat fleas on humans are very common if your cat has a flea problem.

These fleas are quite greedy too and will bite multiple times. And just like cats, some humans are allergic to the flea bites and these flea bites can get infected by scratching too much. Here's the best flea bite treatments we've found:

• Wash with cool water and any antiseptic type soap or rubbing alcohol.
• If you are feeling a allergic reaction (you will know if you are) you can also apply a mild steroid to reduce pain and selling, like 1% hydrocortisone cream. You can also take an oral anti-histamine to help with the itching.
• To reduce the itching try calamine lotion or other lotions that contain baking soda or colloidal oatmeal.

Best Flea Repellents For Humans

You best way to keep fleas off of you to begin with is the lemon water mentioned above or any insect repellent that contains 15% of Deet. These two are the most effective we've personally used.

The easiest and most effective way to keep the fleas out of your house is to make sure you vacuum carpets and mop any hard surface floors with hot soapy water as mentioned often. Some people swear by regular old table salt and baking soda spread generously on carpets and other surfaces. Avoid the areas for about 4-5 hours and then come back and vacuum and wash any hard surfaces. The salt dehydrates the fleas (and most other bugs too).

If you have any questions, just shoot us an email and we'll find out if we don't already know the answer. Send emails too fleas @ freecathelathtips.com (notice that we put an extra space on each side of the @ symbol - you will need to take that out when you send us email - that keeps the spammers at bay).

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• Nutrition for An Aging Cat

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