Fleas... sigh.
Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2014 8:17 am
Hey guys, so I'm an experienced cat owner but I've hit a bit of a wall with fleas this time around; it seems they're evolving!
Normally I keep on top of flea protection with my boys but they stayed with their grandparents for about 5 months when I was relocating to Scotland and they have 4 cats of their own plus a dog. Unfortunately, during their time there they've picked up fleas. I had them back with me for about 5 weeks before I noticed as they weren't showing any signs but I kept finding flecks of blood in the bath (Harvey goes in there to drink after I shower). I suspected it was flea dirt as Harv had no injuries and sure enough on inspection it was. I usually use Frontline Combo spot on as the standard Frontline sometimes doesn't do the trick. I was holding out for an alternative for Harv as he reacts badly (squinty eyes and runs around freaking out a bit for a while after) to Frontline sometimes but by that point he was showing signs of the fleas starting to bother him so I went for it and was relieved he barely reacted this time. However, neither did the fleas! 10 days later and the little sods are still there.
Does Frontline have a use-by date? I didn't check as I'm sure the stuff I have is only about a year old but now wondering if maybe it's out of date and not as good as it should be - either that or the fleas have evolved hehe.
It's too soon to treat them again with anything so strong - any ideas what I should do next? I cleaned the house from top to bottom when I treated them but I guess I'm going to have to do it again.. ! It doesn't seem like a bad infestation; I've yet to find any fleas in the house when inspecting and they're hard to find on the cats so I don't think they're covered but it does seem like the ones that are there don't want to shift and the cats aren't overly amused - Harv seems to be suffering more, constantly licking his legs and chewing his back.
Normally I keep on top of flea protection with my boys but they stayed with their grandparents for about 5 months when I was relocating to Scotland and they have 4 cats of their own plus a dog. Unfortunately, during their time there they've picked up fleas. I had them back with me for about 5 weeks before I noticed as they weren't showing any signs but I kept finding flecks of blood in the bath (Harvey goes in there to drink after I shower). I suspected it was flea dirt as Harv had no injuries and sure enough on inspection it was. I usually use Frontline Combo spot on as the standard Frontline sometimes doesn't do the trick. I was holding out for an alternative for Harv as he reacts badly (squinty eyes and runs around freaking out a bit for a while after) to Frontline sometimes but by that point he was showing signs of the fleas starting to bother him so I went for it and was relieved he barely reacted this time. However, neither did the fleas! 10 days later and the little sods are still there.
Does Frontline have a use-by date? I didn't check as I'm sure the stuff I have is only about a year old but now wondering if maybe it's out of date and not as good as it should be - either that or the fleas have evolved hehe.
It's too soon to treat them again with anything so strong - any ideas what I should do next? I cleaned the house from top to bottom when I treated them but I guess I'm going to have to do it again.. ! It doesn't seem like a bad infestation; I've yet to find any fleas in the house when inspecting and they're hard to find on the cats so I don't think they're covered but it does seem like the ones that are there don't want to shift and the cats aren't overly amused - Harv seems to be suffering more, constantly licking his legs and chewing his back.