Hello there,

I have rather an embarrassing problem. Fleas!

Our kittens are just over 6 months old now. We had them at 8 weeks old. It was only when they were about 4 months old that we noticed signs of fleas and decided that they must have already had them when we first adopted them. Now not only have our kittens STILL got fleas but our house, and we, are riddled with the little buggers as well.

We have tried spray and Frontline Spot On as well as flea collars. We have seen the vet who advised us to buy a Front Line Spray for Cats and Kittens but we couldn't get it anywhere. Last week the kittens were spayed, microchipped and given a flea injection. We have sprayed and vaccumed the house from top to bottom, I have memories of scrubbing tables and window sills at 11pm one night whilst my Mum frantically vacummed! Myself and my Mum are still being bitten more than ever. My Mum's legs are absolutely covered with raging red flea bites and I have them all over my body.

As I type this I am at work with bites appearing all over my arms and that horrible itching sensation on my legs... I think they must have got into my clothes as yesterday I had four new bites whilst at work and today I have two new bites. I have been trying not to itch and putting the recommended creams on and taking the antihisthamines but I am at my wits end!

They are going to the vets tomorrow for a check up after their operation and I am hoping someone can offer some advice as well as the vet seems to recommend buying sprays ourselves which obviously don't work.

Please help Thank you.

I've actually just come off the phone from the vets to enquire about my kitten who's 8 weeks old and got fleas!!

Getting back to your problem, seems as if you need to contact the council to get them to fumigate your home.

Environmental Health section.

Bob martin does something called a Flea bob, google it

Gosh - have you now transported the fleas to your office ? You'll be popular

I had a similar problem to you. I bought 2 kittens, and on the day i got them home we were snuggling on the sofa. I happened to look down, and saw their fur moving. On closer inspection, they were RIDDLED with fleas.

It was late on sunday evening, so there was nothing we could do. We didnt call out the environmental health, but instead bought some really strong home flea killer from the vets.

Its lethal stuff, so myself and the kitties went outside whilst hubby donned a mask and sprayed EVERYWHERE. The bed, under the radiators, the sofa, under the sofa, in the knicker drawer. You name it, he sprayed it. Went through about 15 cans of spray .... but it worked.

We did get one of the electronic flea catcher things too. You plug them in, and a pad inside it gets warm and gives off an adour that attracts fleas. We caught the last few left in the house.

Since we got rid of them we have been fanatical about fleas. We buy the proper stuff (frontline) from the vets (not the pet shop rubbish) and do the cats and dogs regularly.

We have had a problem with our kittens and cat! I think that we have pretty much contained it by getting flea collars for the kittens, getting rid of the old bedding, putting temporary bedding down for now and regularly combing them with a flea comb.

Good luck!

I was just going to suggest a Flea Bomb!!

Never used one myself, but have heard others recommend them.

I used 'Siege' last time I had a flea infestation - but this was some years ago and it may not be available/legal anymore. It was a pretty powerful spray for carpets and furnishings.

Another trick, put a flea collar in the hoover bag so any fleas hoovered up get killed.

Neam oil is supposed to be insect repellent and soothing for yourself and your mum, otherwise any insect repellant from the chemist.

If you go to www.vetuk.co.uk you can buy the proper vet's frontline flea treatment for almost half the price you would down the vets (i checked - 6 pack from vets £28, from website £16). And it's free shipping! Also don't forget the worming treatment as one tends to go with the other.....

OP I would recommend that you eat as much garlic as you can because this will also kills the fleas off that like to have a nibble on you !! been there done that and still have the scars to prove it !! good luck

Don't give it to the cats though - it can cause anemia in cats and dogs (though not as bad as onion)

If you catch any fleas (it can be done quite easily - grab them with a tissue), you can kill them by putting them in the loo - they swim quite well, but if you put bleach in the water they will sink, and you can then flick the V's as you flush them away.......
Mwa ha ha ha ha.....

The problem is the sprays dont kill the pupae, so even though you spray, and put frontline on the kittens, as soon as the pupae hatch they jump on the cats again.

You might have carried the fleas to your office, and not been bitten at home now if you understand me.

My daughter moved into a new house recently and her dog was eaten alive, apparently the old guy had cats.

She frontlined the dog, and flea bombed the house. However, when she came to see me, she bought one of the little buggers with her, as it attached itself straight away to my young dog who she was holding, so i had to sort her out too (the dog not her lol), so you can carry them around with you, if the infestation is bad enough.

I would hoover every day, if you have frontlined the cats the fleas will be dying but you will still have the pupae to contend with.

My daughters nearly on top of her problem now, and only gets the baby fleas which die very quickly when they hit her frontlined dog.

Its been bad for fleas this year according to the vet.

Good luck.

Oh by the way, use camphor, or vick(TIGER BALM IS GOOD) on your legs and arms fleas hate the stuff and will keep off you.

Get Frontline combo. Is a lot stronger than the standard one and kills the eggs as well. Can not be bought over the counter, and the Vet will want to examine/weight the cat first.

+1 Frontline FTW

I don't like hearing about flea collars on kittens, as they contain some pretty harsh chemicals that can cause hideous skin reactions - I saw some pics of a lil kitty who'd lost all the fur on her neck and was covered in ulcers; I'll never buy a flea collar again. Frontline is just about the best!!

You do, as already stated, need to kill the eggs as well as the biters, and it can be a real nuisance. I do wish you luck, and hope you get it sorted soon!

OMG, you have my sympathy, fleas are horrid little buggers.

I moved house a couple of months ago and realsied quickly after moving in, that the house was infested with fleas. Me and me son were both bitten terribly, funnily enough they didn't appear to like my daughter much, she only got the odd few bites

Sometimes I'd feel tickling on the bottom of my legs and when I looked there'd be 1 or 2 sitting on me. When that happened I quickly got a wet bar of soap and removed them. This way they couldn't jump away and I could wash their bodies down the drain.

I tried several things to kill them. Bob martins flea fogger/bomb which didn't work, then tried one of those flea bombs you light which again didn't work and just stunk the house out. Eventually cracked it with a spary called Indorex. I haven't got animals though so didn't have to deal with that side of it fortunately.


Thanks, that tip will definitely come in handy if I come under flea attack again

I have the same problem with our 4 cats!

Im not saying take my advice but this is how it works for me...

Every year around Aug/Sept/Oct the house becomes a fleapit(ok maybe not that but they live in the carpets etc), this is because this is their time of year. I have had cats that have had fleas but that is it, they just stay on the cats.

Eventually (in about a month) the fleas in your home will die because they hate cold weather. So they will go! but as for your cats, keep treating them etc. good luck!

having just had a similar problem this year, I can recommend Acclaim flea spray that your vet should be able to supply you with. We also had been using frontline, but the fleas didnt seem to care. Our vet suggested switching to Stronghold, again available from your vet.

The supermarket stuff, IMO is rubbish and again the vet told us that it is because they are not licenced to sell anything strong, unlike vets and so it rarely worked as claimed.

With the spray, 1 can should cover a whole 4 bed house, however, I used 2 or 3 cans. Make sure, as a previous posted has said, that you spray EVERYWHERE. Under the sofa and chairs, under the cusions on the chairs, down the back of it, along all the skirtingboards, under radiators etc etc etc.. Things returned to flealess normallity after a couple of days...

Sounds like the OP could do with informing their office manager too!

The fleas won't die if you have the heating on, which most of us do! If it gets really cold they can go into a kind of 'suspended animation' till it gets warm again, so I wouldn't count on winter getting rid of them!

We had a flea infestation last year and it took a pack of 3 fleabombs, Frontline for the pets and a flea powder for the carpets. Hoover every day and even strip the beds and hoover the mattress.

Do not buy Bob Martin flea stuff its rubbish and won't really help. At least in our experience it didn't!

Good luck!

Eurgh.. I just picked a flea off my jumper which wandered off the cat when she was on my knee being stroked... it was easily squished though which means last months Frontline is still working a little bit... need to order more though..!

If you ever think your cat has fleas but can't see the buggers try this:

Make a cup of nice, hot tea and put the cup down on the floor. If you have cat fleas in your house, they'll be attracted to the warmth of the tea and you'll soon have half a dozen floating in there!

I discovered this when living with my ex and his mum. I was covered in little bites on my legs and they wouldn't have it that their cats had fleas - until my cuppa proved it for me!

fF
Last edited by FearFactor : 02-10-2008 at 12:20

The sprays and collars are useless once your home is infested because the eggs are laid in the bedding and then they hatch. One flea can lay 1,000 eggs (yes one thousand) so imagine the numbers.

Call environmental health to get the house sprayed everywhere it's the only way. If the flea bombs work I don't know but cat fleas are really hard to get rid of.

Comb your cats fur on a regular basis (those basic nit combs are good for this!) cos it will catch any odd fleas. But basically if your cat or dog is scratching alot it will be fleas they are very common but nobody wants to admit to their pet having them! But if your pets go outside and are in contact with other animals then they will get them sooner or later you just have to be vigilant.

Don't wait for them to infest your house as you can see what a never ending nightmare it can turn into. They'll get into your bed, your sofa, everywhere.

When it's got that far you need a big solution not a couple of spray cans. It will be worth the embarassment of the environmental health being at your house! Get rid of them once and for all.

It would be worse taking them to work or whatever, cos sooner or later you will and then how are you going to feel when they're all scratching too?!

No they won't. Flea eggs can live in your carpets for up to 2 years unhatched. Once the conditions are right they will hatch and your home will be infested.

Fleas spend the LEAST amount of time on your cat. The rest of the time they live in your carpets and the cats bedding. They jump onto the cat to feed then they go back to the bedding. Once they're at the fully grown flea stage then they lay thousands more eggs in the bedding.

If you constantly have fleas on your cats then you have never been rid of them. You need to get your home treated or they will soon infest it.

(My knowledge from my daughter who is a Vets Assistant).

Yes thats quite correct. Thats why when my daughter moved into her new home the poor dog became like a MEALS ON PAWS, and was eaten alive by the buggers who were all waiting for lunch.

Your local council will offer anextermination serice. They can also help with fleas. They will flea bomb your house for you... obviously at cost. Check out their website.