Conference misery::feline_v1

1554.0. "The war against fleas has been won!" by MTWAIN::WOODS (George Woods DTN 223-9971) Fri Jul 15 1988 16:06

I hope that the following information based on my experience will be
helpful to people whose cats have fleas.  Most of my experience was
gained during the period of May 1986 through October 1987 while we
were living in Mt. Pleasant, SC.  Fleas are a REAL problem down there
as compared to here in MA.  I'm not sure if it is because of the long
hot, humid season or not, but I suspect so.

We got our first kitten in May 86, and she arrived with fleas.  (No,
cats ARE NOT born with fleas; however, they can immediately catch them
from their mom and siblings.  

We tried flea collars, flea baths, and Proban (sp), a drug that taints the
blood of the cat so that the flea will die when it bites the animal.  
Proban is not legal in FLA, at least, not for cats, according to a
daughter-in-law who worked for a vet. in Jacksonville.  In short, the
drug didn't work, although we kept that cat, P.T., on it for about 13
months.  I do NOT recommend it; it is a drug intended for dogs and some
cats may react to it.  It does not seem effective.  

Flea baths work -- at least for the fleas presently on the animal.
You will have to repeat the process 5-7 days later.  P.T. didn't 
appreciate that one bit.

During this whole time, P.T. wore a flea collar.  It didn't help as far
I can tell.  I don't recommend one.  

Finaly, we were watching PBS and a show called Cats and Dogs.  A woman
vet. covered the subject of fleas and indicated exactly what I found
in our experience with flea collars and baths.  She recommended flea
powders and foams.  We tried powder and found it to be fairly effective.
However, it didn't completely solve the problem.

So, here's how we completely solved the problem:  First, I must tell
you that P.T. (and now, Squeeky) are strictly inside cats.  So, any
fleas must come from visitors (people, or one of our son's dog).  We
bought a very fine-tooth stainless steel comb.  Every time we saw P.T.
scratch, we immediately took her to the bathroom, put an inch or two 
of warm soapy water in the sink, and combed against the fur the area
where she scratched.  Always, a flea would pop onto the comb and we
promptly dispatched it in the soapy water.  Also, combing under the
neck, on the face, and under the ears would almost always bring up
fleas during those early days.  

During that same time, I sprayed the house using one of those gallon 
jugs of stuff with the attached hose and spray; although they make a 
flea spray, I used the general-purpose home spray that seemed to do the 
trick.  Fleas spend the vast majority of their lives OFF the animal.  
So, spraying the home is essential.  Spray everything: rugs, window sills, 
chairs (wood and cloth covered), under furniture, bedding that is not 
to be immediately washed.  Repeat at two to three intervals until the
flea problem is completely gone (if you have inside cat(s), regularly
if you have outside cat(s) who come into the house).  

After about three weeks, PT stopped scratching.  We NEVER had another
flea problem.  Of the remaining five or six months in SC, we were the
only people I knew who owned cats that did not have a flea problem.
We have not had a problem in MA.  The solution: combing and home 
spraying.  It worked for us.

    George                                
    
    I disagree with your point about kittens cannot be born with fleas
    - my kittens were born completely covered with them and the kittens
    gave the fleas to my older cats...this was confirmed by my vet.
    
    My house then became infested with fleas so out came the spray...not
    a good idea if you have never used it before as Dillan was allergic
    to it and for about 15 minutes after spraying him he ran round the
    house, foaming at the mouth like he was rabid!! So I then tried
    baths and powders which, after fumigating(sp?) the house, eventually
    worked.
    
    I then found a better answer, don't know if it's available in US,
    it's a course of tablets called CYFLEA.  I would recommend them
    to anyone...shame I didn't know about them before.