Conference misery::feline_v1

    
    
    	Last time I bought 'flea collars' my vet cut them off and threw
    	them away, saying they aren't worth buying.    Try using a good
    	spray instead of wasteing your money on 'flea' collars
    
    	/robin 
 

Your vet sounds kinda arrogant to me.  I'll bet your vet wants to administer
the sprays, or sells you a nice expensive 'veterinary only' brand, and drives
a Rolls Royce. 

Flea collars have been very effective with my cats.  You just have to be aware
that any kind of pesticide can lose it's effectiveness against a particular
pest population, and try different collars if one is not effective. 

Our vets sell the 'industrial strength' brand, plus we've also used several
kinds of commercial collars.  We've alternated between brands, and have had no
serious problems. 
                                        
Sprays and powders work well, but they are a pain.  I personally don't like
fighting with my cats, and they don't object nearly as much to getting a
collar as they do to a flea bath or spraying.  Plus you have to use a spray or
powder much more often. 

I'd rather send my time playing with my cats or petting them, instead of
wrapping them in a towel, subjecting them to a tremendous indignity, and
having them run from me for the next day or so... 
        
- Chris

I agree with you, Chris -- I can't believe any vet would say that flea
collars are "useless!"  They certainly do help and are MUCH
preferable to at-home sprays and powders (which have their own dangers due
to inhalation of the microscopic particles those products contain). 

My vet did tell me, however, when I took my Bo in as a kitten 5 years ago, to
MAKE SURE the collars contained "CARBOMATE," not the "phosphate" that many of 
the more commercial kinds (i.e., Hartz, Sargent's, etc.) of collars contain.  
There are two brands which contain this preferred "carbomate" chemical:  ZODIAC 
(usually available through vets, as well as many -- but not all -- 
"better" pet supply stores) and the Doktor Pet Center brand, available of 
course at Doktor Pet Center.  

My Bo wore these kinds of collars all his life -- they are kind of milky color, 
coated with a powder-like substance -- and he NEVER had any problems either
with fleas or with allergy to the chemical. I also used to write his name, 
address and phone on each new one -- about twice a year, although some cats 
would need more frequent changes.  The carbomate collars are a little (but not 
much!) more expensive than the kind you can buy at any old supermarket, but 
are well worth it, in both effectiveness and health for your cat.

    RE: .2 and .3  
    
       Yeah, and I'll bet you live in the north too.  Don't make
    assumptions about vets' arrogance until you've lived with southern
    parasites for a while.  
    
       While I've never had a vet rip off a collar, I've never had one
    reccomend one either.  I worked for a vet in Columbia, S.C. for
    2 years when I was growing up.  None of the 5 vets that I worked
    with closely (either working for or taking animals to) reccomend
    collars.   My previous vet reccomended Adam's flea spray.  I can get that
    at other places than his office.  For instance, at the animal shelter.
    (I volunteered there for a while.)  They use adam's spray.  It worked
    very well considering the horrendous situation with fleas there.
    (new invasions with every animal, you know.)  
    
        I'll have to dig up my article on flea collars and why they
    think they work (they don't know) and why they are not of help in
    some areas of the country.
    
        I've lived in the north and I've lived in South Carolina for
    a long time.  You guys just don't understand the parasite situation
    in a place where the winters do not get cold enough to kill off
    the existing popuplation in winter and the summers are hot and humid
    just like the litter buggers want.
    
        (The reason for this regional outbreak, is because I think Robin
    is from Atlanta which would explain her vet's outlook.  If I'm
    remembering wrong, Oh, well.  Maybe there's another reason for his
    dislike...)

    
    
    Nope, I'm from central massachusetts...  My vet gave me a pump spray
    bottle of flea spray, and a aresol can of house spary...  He is
    definatatly against collars though  (my cats are both indoors only)
    I remember him saying with the sprays you catch the 'strays' that
    are in the carpeting, furniture, etc...
    
    /robin - marlboro, mass
 

    My vet gave me a good idea when I waged my first battle with fleas
    and flea control...he told me to get some flea collars (cheap ones,
    even) and cut them into 2-3 inch pieces and tuck them into the
    sofa and chairs where H. B. Farnsworth liked taking his naps.  That
    really did the trick to help control the flea problem without spraying
    my furniture and risking staining it.
    
    I used a powder on Honey for localized flea control and I don't
    think I've ever seen him so angry (except the time I had to give
    him Pepto-Bismol after he ate a spider plant).  He was none to pleased!
    But I wasn't too pleased about the fleas, either!
    
    Mary
    

    JFCL's neck looks MUCH better, so I'm not going to disturb her by
    taking her to the vet, and I will see if I can get one of the other
    varieties of flea collars that she has worn in the past with no
    troubles.  The only thing my vet ever said about my cats' collars
    was that the ones that leave a chemical in the bloodstream (the
    brown Hartz ones, for one kind) do not repel fleas but just kill
    ones that bite the cat, and that many cats are allergic to that
    kind of collar.  Both of my cats wore that kind for a while a few
    years ago with no troubles.  So, I dunno.  I don't want to subject
    them to baths (I had enough trouble washing the chemicals off of
    the 'FCL the other night - my cats do not like water at all, unless
    they are very hot in the summer and some nice human with wet hands
    rubs water into their backs).  I also don't want to spray stuff
    all over the place - I'd probably turn out to be allergic to it
    myself, given how many things I have trouble with.  There aren't
    any fleas inside my house.

RE:  < Note 231.4 by RAVEN1::HEFFELFINGER "Tracey Heffelfinger" >
                            
Yep - lived in Ohio and now Massachusetts all my life.  That's not to say that
I don't understand the problem.  I've quite a few college friends who have
moved south - and visiting them in summer is tantamount to volunteering to be
the snack of the week. 

Granted, in such areas of the country, flea collars are not enough. But
useless?  Not unless the pests have developed an immunity, or they live
exclusively on the tip of the cat's tail.  (Many supermarket brands have
used the same ingredients for so long, they ARE ineffective.  Needless
to say, if you find fleas on your cat despite a collar, get a different
collar.)
                  
All I can think is that the vet in question is a recent import, or rich. When
we first got the Empress Star, she brought an infestation I didn't believe.
(We took her because the people who owned her obviously didn't know how to
take care of kittens.)  Our feet and ankles suffered quite a bit until Star
got old enough to put a collar on.  By this time, the house was crawling. 

Star got a bath, a dose of flea powder, a flea collar and the house was
bugbombed twice, two weeks apart.  No more problem since - two years of flea
control by collar alone. 

RE: .4

Yes, Tracey, you are right -- fleas on both cats and dogs are MUCH more of a
problem in the South.  I have some older friends who live in Florida most of 
the winter and their cats have an incredibly horrendous time with fleas -- when
they leave their condo every year in April, they have to set off two or three
bugbombs, because the fleas would have literally moved the furniture around 
by the time they return in the fall!  (Although back home in Washington DC, 
they just have "normal" flea problems.)  I'm originally from Virginia myself, 
and I remember that fleas on animals are much worse there, too.  (Although now 
that I live in New Hampshire, I've never seen worse mosquitoes -- not to mention
the black flies!)  So, thanks for reminding us that this notesfile covers a LOT
of territory!

    Not exactly a flea "collar" reaction, but there are too many notes of
    fleas and allergies to choose from!  Anyway, we've been having a slight
    problem with fleas since Spike the wonder cat has come to live with us
    ("us" includes two long-haired dogs). One of my dogs has SEVERE
    flea-bite dermatitis, to the point of taking prednisone and benadryl,
    so I'm meticulous about flea control. I decided hand-picking was not
    controlling it, and decided to spray all three animals.  The dogs were
    no problem, the cat was FURIOUS at having been sprayed, but he
    tolerated it. 2 minutes later, Spike came dashing out to me, meowing,
    and was foaming at the mouth!  I don't mean a few bubbles, I mean
    "rivers" of foam, dripping all over his chin and the floor.  I grabbed
    him and immediately tossed him into the tub to rinse him off.  I can't
    tell if this was a "fur-lick" reaction, or an allergic reaction to the
    product (Zodiac dog and cat pump spray).  Anybody else ever have a cat
    react like this to a substance?   Once I was sure he was OK (perfectly
    fine after a bath), I had to laugh. I thought Spike was mad at the flea
    spray routine, but that was NOTHING compared to his reaction to a bath!
    Spike was a stray, for about 2 years wandering around our neighborhood,
    so he was quite surprised by all this activity involving water. He was
    so mad at me for the rest of the night, sneering at me and leaving the
    room when I entered.  I'm used to dogs, so I found his "attitude" quite
    comical.  He didn't appreciate me laughing at him, either : )
    Sarah

    I have had a reaction in some of my cats to a flea dip for cats.  They
    sometimes foamed at the mouth, but more likely were hyperactive and
    hyperanxious.  I did the same thing that you did, toss them into the
    tub and washed it all off.  They were fine after they were bathed and
    free of the stuff.
    
    It could have been a reaction from licking the stuff.  Did you catch
    him licking it?  My cats started reacting before they ever had a chance
    to lick it off.  I would be careful of using flea products on Spike
    again.  The cats of mine that had the reactions appear to be more
    sensitive to other products as well.  Now I use the Borax and a flea 
    comb and that works for all of them.
    
    Jo

    Jo,
    I have a dog who is hypersensitive to flea products, so I guess I'll
    forget them all. Luckily it is snowing right now, so I hope all our
    flea problems are over for this season.  The cat and the dogs are
    flea-free (after our romp in the tub I kept them all in the house
    except for pee-breaks for the dogs).  I didn't see him licking, but
    then he was so angry that he ran and hid under the bed, until he
    noticed something was wrong and came to get me!  Funny how he knew
    enough to let me know something was wrong, even though he was upset.
    I've tried a product with a natural flea-killing additive d-Limonene for
    the sensitive dog, but that didn't have residual effects, just killed
    the fleas on the dog.  I think it's now time to read the "giving a
    bath" notes to get both dogs and cat completely clean.  Wish me luck!

    The flea dip that I used that a couple of my cats reacted to was the
    Hill's Citrus Dip with d-limonene.  Only two of my cats over the years
    have had any reaction and both reversed when the dip was washed off.  I
    still recommend that dip since it is not a pesticide in the usual sense
    and it does work.  I just don't use it on those two cats anymore. 
    
    Actually, I haven't used it in about 2 years now.  Funny, but since I
    have had my dog I have had less of a flea problem.  Mostly because I
    knew that having a dog *could* make things worse so I took a proactive
    approach to the flea problem.  Hit them before they could hit me.  When
    you have a houseful of indoor cats or cattery like I do, the last thing
    you want to have to deal with is fleas.  We keep our yard sprayed so
    that when Annie goes out to go to the bathroom she doesn't bring them
    back in with her.  Also, most of my cats are white in color and we can
    notice the fleas and flea dirt right away, before we have a total
    infestation.
    
    Also keep in mind that cats absorb things through their skin.  That is
    why most dog flea products aren't safe for cats.  That is probably what
    happened with your cat.  The flea spray was absorbed through his skin
    and he reacted to it.  What a smart cat he was to let you know that he
    was having a problem.
    
    Jo 
    
    

    One of my owners, Smokey, was dipped for fleas earlier this year
    at the vet, and actually started going bald!  It was a bit scary,
    wondering if it was ever going to stop.  It did finally, but not
    before she had some bald spots.  The vet was surprised - said he
    had never dipped cats before he found this particular dip due to
    their sensitivity, and he'd never seen this kind of reaction.
    
    Smokey has used the Zodiac flea collars, without reaction, but my
    vet doesn't think much of flea collars either - he recommends
    Adams spray, which I use sparingly on Smokey and my other two with
    no problems (except they hate me for it).

    I comb Spike and Trouble regularly, but Smokey will not let me
    come near her with the comb or brush (or to clip her nails,
    meaning that all these activities are dangerous...).

    Anyway, beware the dips...

    Sue B + Smokey, Spike and Trouble...

    
    Jo, the dip you mentioned was what Carol (an Exotic breeder) used on
    her kids.  Four of them had severe reactions to it. She called the
    company and they told her that Persians and Persian crosses seem to be
    extremely sensitive to it.