Fleas

[Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967]

Fleas.  I hate the li'l boogers.

 

I used to have two cats.  As cool as cats can be - Allie would've been proud!  Anyhow, thanks to a really sweet stray (feral?) cat who decided to "visit" last year I now have six.  (I'm sure Allie would've been proud).

 

Well, they're not much trouble, really - or weren't until one of 'em figured out how to escape and return, unfortunately with fleas.  Which she generously shared with the others.  

 

I hate fleas. 

 

In this area we have perhaps a bit over three months of "flea season" remaining.

 

In the past I've used a number of flea products; two I thought were effective - Seresto flea collars (good for up to 8  months) and Frontline "rub-it-in" drops (30 days).  Of the two, the Seresto collars seemed to be the most effective. 

 

Unfortunately the collars have gotten REAL expensive - well over $50 apiece.  The Frontline is a little more reasonable - a package of three applicators for about $40.  (Wasn't much of a concern when I had only two furry ones)

 

So might anyone have any experiences or recommendations on other products?  Mebbe something not quite so pricey?  (I wish Allie was here )

 

Uh... did I mention how much I hate fleas??  

 

 

 

 

[Crazy Gun Barney, SASS #2428]

Get yourself a good electric shaver….

 

 

I use the Frontline on the cat and Advantix on the dogs. Seems to work. But they all hate me for a day after I put it on them. 

 

 

[LawMan Mark, SASS #57095L]

Frontline for both cats and dogs.  Appropriate formulas for each.  

[Eyesa Horg]

We used to use Frontline on the dog. He really didn't like it. Seems it must of burned they way he would roll around on his back on carpet. Cats get nothing as they stay indoors.

We now use "Simparica trio" a chewable that covers heartworm, fleas, and ticks. No complaints except a bit pricey. Nice not getting flea collar on me and the furniture. 

 

[Buckshot Bear]

Capstar Flea Control Tablets

[PowderRiverCowboy]

Shouldn't  this question be directed to Alpo ?

[Dusty Devil Dale]

We are having flea issues too this summer, 50 miles east of you. 

 

You might want to consider going online and buying a quart or gallon of Fipronil.  It is the active ingredient in many flea products.  Don't put it on the animals directly, but spray the ground around your outside walls and doors, and any places where cats or dogs rest or dust bath outdoors.  Follow the directions, but cut the recommended concentrations to a quarter or less of what is listed.  Fleas have very low Fipronil tolerance.  If you spray it on bedding, do so very lightly, and  be sure to dry the bedding thoroughly before letting the cats have return access. ( I spray it on bedding that I substitute for just a day or two each summer month.)

 

Fipronil is pricey, but a gallon will stretch for years or decades.   

Do NOT substitute pyrethrin sprays.  Pyrethrin and Permethrin are strongly toxic to cats.  The Fipronil won't completely eliminate the fleas, but it will cut their numbers down about like the collars.

 

Do use care with mixing and disposing of  Fipronil.  In higher concentrations it is toxic to mammals (including humans), birds, fish, etc. 

I applybit from a hand weed sprayer or spray/mist bottle. 

 

ADDED:  I forgot to mention the frequency.  Fipronil has a half life of about 11 days, so it is pretty attenuated after three weeks or so.  I try to remember to reapply it about once a month, just like Frontline. 

[Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933]

My mom use to have a "joke" that had her rolling in the aisles.  The world's shortest poem is titled Fleas.  Adam hadum.

[Alpo]

Take them for a swim in the ocean. Fleas do not seem to like salt water.

 

Although your cats probably will not like the swim as much as Worthless does.

[Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967]

 

 

Reuben, Reuben, I been thinkin',

That my dog has got a flea -

How he got it I don't know,

'Cuz he doesn't sleep with me!

 

[Pat Riot]

We used “Advantage” topical on our cats. Also, spray your yard or wherever they cats hang out with Simple Green. It sucks the moisture out of those little flea bodies. 

[Crooked River Pete, SASS 43485]

Be careful of topical drops, cats tend to clean each other and can lick it off. Girl I knew put some on her three cats, woke up to three dead cats. I don't know what brand she used, but make sure it's safe for multiple cats.

[Rip Snorter]

Don't have cats, but the dog pill equivalent is wonderful.  They have them for cats as well https://www.petsmart.com/cat/flea-and-tick/flea-and-tick-pills/

[largo casey #19191]

Might try Diatomaceous Earth Its not a poision.The buggers eat it & it cuts up their innards.Not harmfull to pets.

                                                                                                                                                           Largo

[Trailrider #896]

We have never had a problem with fleas...UNTIL NOW!  Took our cockapoo in to be bathed and groomed on Monday.  Went to pick her up and was informed by the groomer that the dog has...FLEAS!   Gave us some stuff in a tube to apply between her shoulders (where she couldn't lick it.  Also applied it on our chi-terrier...after calling the vet to be sure it wouldn't interact with the little dog's chemo meds. Took all the bedding out and sprayed it with some stuff the groomer recommended. Sprayed the couch, and about everything else we could think of.  Put most of the stuff out in the strong sunlight, too.  Never heard of fleas around the Front Range of Colorado, but the vet says it's because of the climate changes...more heat, dry, etc.  Now we are getting the monsoon flow.  Will that help or make it worse?  Talked out our own docs. Both say we humans don't have much to worry about.  (Wait a minute, I have this itch...!)

[John Kloehr]

Food grade DE (diatomaceous earth) is not toxic or harmful to pets or people. Do not use swimming pool DE! It can cause issues long after initial exposure.

 

Food grade DE is fine to use indoors too, particularly on bedding (pets and your's too if you want)., carpeting, anywhere fleas are most likely to be. Another option is boric acid, but the toxicity level is somewhat higher. I do dust this under kitchen and bath cabinets, always have everywhere I have moved.

 

In my case it was dogs, not cats, but Advanage worked fine in Cali. Tennessee seems to have tougher fleas, the vet recommended Bravecto in combination with professional extermination inside the house.

 

The exterminator set up two appointments, it takes two carefully timed treatments to break the flea life cycle.

[Warden Callaway]

No cats allowed on our farm. Feral cats are same classed as armadillos and groundhogs.  Nevertheless,  our home got an infestation of fleas. Granddaughters staying weekends in house full of cat were the likely source. 

 

Fleas are horrible creachers.  One female can lay thousands of eggs over its short life. Eggs can lay dormant for years before conditions are right to hatch. I hear oved 80 degrees and 80% humidity.  So just when you think you're free of them, another outbreak occurs.  They can jump onto a host.

 

Keeping house under 80 and humidity low helps. Vacuuming every day, including upholstered furniture, bedding, etc, helps. 

 

One interesting technique I used was a big cake pan with vinegar in it and a desk lamp hanging over it.  I'd place it in a dark corner. The next morning the vinegar would be covered with black speck.  Flies, attracted by the light, would jump in the vinegar and die.  

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

17 hours ago, Crazy Gun Barney, SASS #2428 said:

Get yourself a good electric shaver….

 

 

I use the Frontline on the cat and Advantix on the dogs. Seems to work. But they all hate me for a day after I put it on them. 

 

 

My dog gets a Frontline and a Heart Guard (prescription) once a month.  She loves the taste of the Heart Guard and knows that after she gets it she is expected to sit still while I put the Frontline on her back.  The she sits still for  10 or so  minutes for a scratch and massage session.

 

Good combo: no heart worms and no fleas....just lots and lots of hair and loving.

[Canton Chris]

Bathe them with Dawn or flea shampoo, probably the most cost effective but with some degree of difficulty!

[Phantom Falcon, SASS # 46139]

Cats have a lead deficiency problem.

 

PF

[Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967]

8 minutes ago, Phantom Falcon, SASS # 46139 said:

Cats have a lead deficiency problem.

 

PF

 

Hey now... only other people's cats.  

 

Mine are cool!  

[Dusty Devil Dale]

I unfortunately have a neighbor who took to routinely shooting peoples' pet cats with a pellet rifle or going out of his way to  run them down on our rural-residential roadway.  He said he hated cats and killed them whenever he saw them, on or off his 2 ac. property.   

 

He is just finishing up a 30 month jail term -- rightly deserved, IMO.

He was reported by a little 11 y.o. girl who called the Sheriff's office when she watched the guy shoot her pet off the fence between their yards.  It went to a jury.  She testified and cried on the witness stand.  He had no chance.   But the kid still lost her pet.  Some people are just natural-born "___________s" (you can fill in the blank). 

 

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

Shoot him.  Tell the cops you thought he was shooting at you and you defended yourself.  I could sell that to a jury here if it even came to that.

[Rip Snorter]

Can't have 'em wife is allergic, but I always had and loved cats before.  They sure do a great job on the rodents, but coyotes and Owls get them out here, otherwise I'd have Barn Cats in the garage or machine building.  There are always going to be miserable Ba***rds.  Taking them to law is the right answer.

[J-BAR #18287]

I have been on a leave of absence for many moons.  But for Hardpan I will enter the swinging doors once again.

 

Fleas:  Treat the pet, treat the house, treat the yard, wash your clothes, wash the bedding, all at the same time.  A professional exterminator and professional groomers may be your best (most economical) bet for the long run.  Keep the pets inside or they will re-infest and bring more home to you.  Getting rid of fleas is not easy.  You gotta nuke them from orbit to be sure.

[Dusty Devil Dale]

2 hours ago, Rip Snorter said:

Can't have 'em wife is allergic, but I always had and loved cats before.  They sure do a great job on the rodents, but coyotes and Owls get them out here, otherwise I'd have Barn Cats in the garage or machine building.  There are always going to be miserable Ba***rds.  Taking them to law is the right answer.

A few years ago I had a tiny 4-pound flashy calico long hair who adopted our back yard.  We had seen her around the neighborhood for a few years before she hung out at our place.  She stayed with us 28 more years, before she finally succumbed last year.

 

She was a tiny alpha-female who was territorial beyond normal limits.  On one occasion, I watched her puff out her long fur, looking like a 25 pounder, and run a bewildered, 3/4-grown coyote out of the back yard.  The poor canine climbed over the 6' chain link into our male llama pen behind the yard.  One of the llamas then charged him, ran him into a fence, stomped him, fatally breaking his back and neck.  450-pound male llamas (and apparently tiny calico cats) can be tough on coyotes.  

 

I don't know what the longevity record is for a female housecat.  This one lived about 32 years, that we know of.  She was a fully outdoor, uncatchable, unvaccinated, unmedicated  animal, amid abundant coyotes, foxes, racoons, skunks, hawks, owls, opossums, occasional stray dogs and one very mean spirited neighbor.  She was a serious survivor. 

 

But last year, "Princess Atilla" quit taking care of herself.  In the summer heat she developed a skin sore, which became deeply infested with wool maggots that enlarged the wound to desert plate size.   She shredded my arm when I picked her up out of necessity, to take her to our vet.  The vet felt she would not take care of her wound or heal properly at her age, and she obviously was suffering in pain. You know the rest. 

 

 She is appropriately buried in HER back yard garden.  I engraved a river cobble with her fitting name as a marker.

 

 

 

[Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967]

3 hours ago, Dusty Devil Dale said:

A few years ago I had a tiny 4-pound flashy calico long hair who adopted our back yard.  We had seen her around the neighborhood for a few years before she hung out at our place.  She stayed with us 28 more years, before she finally succumbed last year.

 

She was a tiny alpha-female who was territorial beyond normal limits.  On one occasion, I watched her puff out her long fur, looking like a 25 pounder, and run a bewildered, 3/4-grown coyote out of the back yard.  The poor canine climbed over the 6' chain link into our male llama pen behind the yard.  One of the llamas then charged him, ran him into a fence, stomped him, fatally breaking his back and neck.  450-pound male llamas (and apparently tiny calico cats) can be tough on coyotes.  

 

I don't know what the longevity record is for a female housecat.  This one lived about 32 years, that we know of.  She was a fully outdoor, uncatchable, unvaccinated, unmedicated  animal, amid abundant coyotes, foxes, racoons, skunks, hawks, owls, opossums, occasional stray dogs and one very mean spirited neighbor.  She was a serious survivor. 

 

But last year, "Princess Atilla" quit taking care of herself.  In the summer heat she developed a skin sore, which became deeply infested with wool maggots that enlarged the wound to desert plate size.   She shredded my arm when I picked her up out of necessity, to take her to our vet.  The vet felt she would not take care of her wound or heal properly at her age, and she obviously was suffering in pain. You know the rest. 

 

 She is appropriately buried in HER back yard garden.  I engraved a river cobble with her fitting name as a marker.

 

 

 

 

Dale, that's a terrific story.

 

About six or seven years ago I "adopted" three starving young cats, about eight weeks old when we found 'em.  Nursed 'em all back to health, had 'em fixed; two of 'em (Rowdy and Sherwin) became the sweetest house cats I've ever had. 

 

The third, a black female I called Elvira, stayed outside.  Just too wild; she was really friendly, and would follow me like a puppy whenever I was outside.  But if you tried to pet 'er you'd likely pull back a bloody stump.  We got along well, and whenever I'd feed her, she'd thank me by purring and rubbing against my ankles.  Every few days she'd bring me a mouse or gopher.

 

Well, just last night I found poor Elvira dead under the car.  She looked as if she'd just laid down and went to sleep.

 

I'm gonna miss her.  

[Dusty Devil Dale]

My feelings go out to you Hardpan.  I know that road all too well, between cats, llamas and my other critters.  

Here's something to hopefully cheer this thread up a bit.  I was playing my guitar for a while this morning.  When I went to put it away---------