Fleas!!

[lilly_mesa]

Hello everyone again,

I have adopted 2 kittens recently and upon taking one (charlie) to the vet, we discovered that he has fleas!
This was discovered within 24 hours of adopting him, and we had used revolution straight the way upon finding out.
I have also used a flea comb to comb out any fleas or flea dirt today, and after continuous brushing, I didn't seem to be able to brush out any more.

A couple of questions:
1. The other kitten I had adopted has previously been flea treated, should I assume that he will be okay?
2. A day after treating Charlie for fleas, he jumped up on my bed. Would the flea treatment be effective by then, or should I be worried for fleas infesting my bed?
3. Would it be necessary to use a flea bomb in my bedroom/house? I have done intensive vacuuming twice since the discovery - just a tad paranoid!

Any input would be very much appreciated!!
Thank you

[LittlePenBigHeart]

The first thing you need to know about fleas is that they don't live on the pet - they live in carpet and soft furnishings. They only jump on animals to feed. I'm not familiar with Revolution so I'm afraid I can't say whether the treatment would have been effective by the time your cat jumped on your bed, but here's the general advice for getting rid of fleas:

Most spot-on flea treatments can be used once a month so if it's been over a month since your other cat was treated then it's fine to do it again. However, please check labels carefully and ensure the timescale allows for this.

If the cat had a lot of fleas then they could well have already infested your home. The reproduction cycle for a flea is rapid and vast so infestations can get out of hand very quickly, especially when the weather warms up. If you're concerned and want to do something about it now then the best bet is a flea spray for the home, not a bomb, as the flea bombs are often less effective and highly toxic.

Hoping you're in the UK, but if not you might have access to these products anyway - one of the best flea sprays out there is called Wipe Out. It's not cheap (about £15.99 in the shops) but it's the ONLY non-toxic flea spray that prevents flea larvae from hatching. It coats the eggs with a film that seals them inside. Most sprays/bombs only kill adult fleas so it's a great option if you want to prevent further infestations. In ALL cases with any flea spray, check the instructions carefully. Many are not safe to use around anyone with breathing problems or anyone who is pregnant and an awful lot aren't safe to use around animals, so you and your cats may have to vacate for a few hours. Also in all cases - leave the treatment on the carpets/soft furnishings for at least a week before you hoover again. Yes, at least a week. If you spray it, leave it for a day or two, then hoover, you'll suck up the treatment before it has a chance to work fully so this is incredibly important.

If you have any future flea outbreaks, there is a system we rely on that works every time. We give the cats a 4Fleas tablet each - it kills all the fleas on the cat within 24 hours of them taking it, but it starts working almost immediately and is extremely effective. It can be used in conjunction with Frontline and other spot-on treatments, so we use one of those as well, so that they keep killing fleas for the next few weeks. Then we use Wipe Out around everywhere and everything in the house they've been in, on, under, etc. It's not cheap, so getting a regular flea treatment like Frontline is key in avoiding the extra expense but if you have a bad outbreak, it works very well.

[lilly_mesa]

The first thing you need to know about fleas is that they don't live on the pet - they live in carpet and soft furnishings. They only jump on animals to feed. I'm not familiar with Revolution so I'm afraid I can't say whether the treatment would have been effective by the time your cat jumped on your bed, but here's the general advice for getting rid of fleas:

Most spot-on flea treatments can be used once a month so if it's been over a month since your other cat was treated then it's fine to do it again. However, please check labels carefully and ensure the timescale allows for this.

If the cat had a lot of fleas then they could well have already infested your home. The reproduction cycle for a flea is rapid and vast so infestations can get out of hand very quickly, especially when the weather warms up. If you're concerned and want to do something about it now then the best bet is a flea spray for the home, not a bomb, as the flea bombs are often less effective and highly toxic.

Hoping you're in the UK, but if not you might have access to these products anyway - one of the best flea sprays out there is called Wipe Out. It's not cheap (about £15.99 in the shops) but it's the ONLY non-toxic flea spray that prevents flea larvae from hatching. It coats the eggs with a film that seals them inside. Most sprays/bombs only kill adult fleas so it's a great option if you want to prevent further infestations. In ALL cases with any flea spray, check the instructions carefully. Many are not safe to use around anyone with breathing problems or anyone who is pregnant and an awful lot aren't safe to use around animals, so you and your cats may have to vacate for a few hours. Also in all cases - leave the treatment on the carpets/soft furnishings for at least a week before you hoover again. Yes, at least a week. If you spray it, leave it for a day or two, then hoover, you'll suck up the treatment before it has a chance to work fully so this is incredibly important.

If you have any future flea outbreaks, there is a system we rely on that works every time. We give the cats a 4Fleas tablet each - it kills all the fleas on the cat within 24 hours of them taking it, but it starts working almost immediately and is extremely effective. It can be used in conjunction with Frontline and other spot-on treatments, so we use one of those as well, so that they keep killing fleas for the next few weeks. Then we use Wipe Out around everywhere and everything in the house they've been in, on, under, etc. It's not cheap, so getting a regular flea treatment like Frontline is key in avoiding the extra expense but if you have a bad outbreak, it works very well.

Thank you so much for your reply! I live in Australia but I will have a look at whether the stores stock the product you recommended
Fleas are so pesky, the thought of them makes me itch!!

Thank you so much again

[LittlePenBigHeart]

No worries at all! I hope you can find the equivalents without too much difficulty.
Happy Easter! (Do you have Easter down under?!)