No flea treatment works

[Barbara B]

Can anyone tell me if there is a condition in some cats where TRANSLOCATION does not work, possibly due to some genetic problem with sebaceous glands. All spot on products work like this which is how a chemical applied at the back of the neck spreads across the whole body. But one of my two cats is wretchedly miserable. I can't get rid of her flea burden. The whole house is saturated in Indorex and I've spent hundreds of pounds buying different flea products to help her. Started with Frontline. Then Advantage, then Capstar tablets, then Frontline Combo I had to get from Australia, then Comfortis tablets from the vets. Sensible gap between treatments. Nothing works. Poor cat is also allergic to flea bites and suffers from the associated extreme anxiety. Taking her back to the vets next week but I like to be an informed client. Anyone ever experienced this?

[bobbys girl]

I can't say I have any experience of a treatment not working at all, but I have found that the tick treatments I use are not 100% - very annoying.

I have had some success with lavender oil (very best quality essential oils). It works well on cats and is also good for keeping the midges away from humans!

[Barbara B]

Thanks BG. How do you apply lavender oil? Funny coz apparently all uk supplies of Avon Skin So Soft spray have been bought up by us horse owners as a truly effective fly deterrent!

[Crewella]

I've not come across anything like this, but if you're treating the house then the individual cat shouldn't matter? If all else fails, you might have to call in the professionals - one advantage that pest control companies have is that they have access to chemicals that are stronger than anything available to the general public.

[Barbara B]

Think house is clear and other cat (sister to one in trouble) is clear. Can't do savage chemicals, got tropical fish. But thanks. Only thing left is that spot-on type products don't get carried round her skin via the sebaceous glands (translocation) because she has some normally unimportant issue with her sebaceous glands. Vet job I think, though the tablets should have worked.

[bobbys girl]

Thanks BG. How do you apply lavender oil? Funny coz apparently all uk supplies of Avon Skin So Soft spray have been bought up by us horse owners as a truly effective fly deterrent!

I put a couple of spots on the neck, just above shoulder blades - same as spot on. Lavender (best quality) is one of the (quite few) essential oils you can apply direct to the skin with no irritation. I use it on pulse points to keep midges away when I am gardening. It is absorbed into the skin and is antiseptic, antimicrobial and antioxident.

My GP suggested Skin So Softly as a midge repellant. He is a keen gardener, but made me promise not to tell anyone he was recommending a 'girly' moisturiser.

[Ruth B]

I can't say I have come across anything like this, we use Stronghold, expensive but it does seem to work for ours, but I would guess it works the same as the ones you have already tried so unless the active ingredient is different it probably isn't worth trying.

My thought is actually a step back in technology. I remember having to help hold the cats down while they were powdered when I was very young, and then sprayed, both aerosol and then pump action. It was always a battle but our vet had taught me how to hold them, one hand on the front paws the other on the back paws, in each had you have one paw between the finger and thumb the other between the middle and the first finger, so you ended up with thumb, paw, first finger, paw, middle finger. you actually do it on the lower leg just above the actual paw, and it is very hard for the cat to get out of the grip, you can also manipulate the cat so that both sides, back and stomach are treated. I don't know if powders or sprays are still available but it might be worth a try.

Going even simpler, flea combs are still available, if she will let you comb her than doing it manually might be the kindest option.

[LittlePenBigHeart]

I feel some of your pain, actually, We've done Frontline, Stronghold and Advocate. We've sprayed the house with the most animal-safe but still noxious flea spray money can buy. The eldest is fine, but both the kittens are permanently riddled. We actually have very few fleas around the house in general, but the last time I flea-combed Pepsi, a month after applying the last spot-on treatment, I got 23 fleas off her, and she's only 7 months old so she's really not that big!

Anyway, unfortunately I have no recommendations of a product that works, since, as you've probably gathered, I haven't found one, but every day or two, I sit down with a glass of soapy water and I comb them very carefully, for as long as they'll tolerate it. They like the fussing and I do it in front of the TV so it's not much of a chore really. You just need to make sure you get a good one.

[Stephanieshisler]

Yes!! this is so true!! A flea bite can cause anxiety and itchiness in the body that can also make you feel weak and feverish. The Murine type of flea that carries Murine typhus and those cats who come into contact with infected fleas can bring these disease vectors home. I remember last year in the winter season my cat got infected with flea bite even after spraying ceratin sprays at home using DIY methods the flea was not in control. So one of my uncles suggested contacting to pest control new york city who will come and will take care of exterminating flea or other pest.

[fjm]

I would be very, very wary of using any essential oils anywhere near a cat - they can be highly toxic to cats, even ones that are perfectly safe for humans and other animals. I think the problem with flea allergies is that for the spot ons and other systemic treatments to work the flea has to bite, and even one bite (or even none, in some extreme cases) can be enough to trigger a reaction. Sprays, that kill the fleas on contact, may be a better option.

[Janey]

Have you tried Advocate?

[Mollycat]

There is one product that is not available in the UK and it's seriously nasty but it does work, it's a flea and tick collar called Vetkem Breakaway. My old vet who was American and had connections used to get hold of it for our cat. I've checked and you can still get them. Every other product just seemed to encourage the little blighters to breed faster and the poor girl was so miserable, but within days of wearing the collar they were gone. Also put old collars in the vacuum cleaner bag just in case.