Fleas NBR

kellbell1982 · October 2014

i just got a kitten yesterday and I'm pretty sure he has fleas. I feel so bad for him but I don't think I can afford frontline right now. Are there any flea products anyone can recommend that aren't super expensive but work? My budget is about 20 to 30 dollars. Better yet if anyone knows of reliable home remedies I could try Id greatly appreciate it and Maximus will thank you too;)

cafecreme · October 2014

There should be a shampoo you could use. I would probably wash and repeat 2-3 times so all of them are off.

I also saw this. It sounds like it's similar to frontline but a lot cheaper.

https://www.petco.com/product/125242/Bio-Spot-Active-Care-Flea-And-Tick-Spot-On-Cat-Applicator.aspx?CoreCat=OnSiteSearch

aprilk86 · October 2014

Wal-Mart carries a brand called pet armour

colleen4019 · October 2014

My vet have us samples of revolution when we got our vaccinations. Maybe call your vet and see if they have any samples hanging around? And hartz isn't as good as frontline but you can get it (and a few other brands I think) at Walmart in the pet aisle.

kellbell1982 · October 2014

katydid2014 said:
Don't waste your money on discounted or off-brand products. Get comfortis!!! lol It works by poisoning the fleas when the bite the animal and they die within about 15-30 mins. Best money I've ever spent on flea treatment. Those shampoos don't work and I think the stuff you squirt on their back is a waste too. Fleas gross me out, especially when I find one crawling on me, so I get rid of them as soon as I see them. Good luck!

eta I swear I'm not a comfortis sales person. I just like to tell people about it because it works so great.

Do u think I could just walk into a vet office? How do u think I can get the cat to take it?

Unknown · October 2014

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drudolph11 · October 2014

Dawn dish soap. But make sure you get the brand name Dawn not the store brand. I used to volunteer at the local animal shelter and have washed hundreds of dogs and cats with Dawn and it literally works EVERYTIME!! I promise you will see the fleas falling right off of him it kills them dead without any effort and is perfectly safe for kittens unlike flea baths which have you wait till the kitty is older to use. Now you will obviously have to give him a bath which he prob won't like so either have your SO do it or be really careful cuz cats claws carry all kinds of bad bacteria. Now the Dawn won't prevent more fleas but for right now it will get them off of the kittY and is the cheapest and most effective solution there is. Good luck to you and your kitty

kellbell1982 · October 2014

I appreciate all the advice, right now I'm thinkin a bath in dawn and then the pill that @katydid2014‌ recommended. I'm calling the vet in a few, thanks all;)

Unknown · October 2014

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same1b · October 2014

See if there is a low cost vet clinic in your area. Mine always gives out free goodies or at least discounted.

drudolph11 · October 2014

kellbell1982 said:
I appreciate all the advice, right now I'm thinkin a bath in dawn and then the pill that @katydid2014‌ recommended. I'm calling the vet in a few, thanks all;)

Lol that's great. You will be AMAZED at how quickly and effectively they come off with the Dawn it's pretty cool, although im freaking weird, to watch them all dying haha

acholtz06 · October 2014

Hey I'm mostly a lurker but I'm a vet tech so I thought I'd offer up my advice. In the flea life cycle, there is one stage that nothing can kill called the pupae. It can take up to 3 months for all of the fleas to hatch out of this stage and then die so you may be seeing them for a while. It doesn't mean that what you are doing isn't working, though. Only 5% of the flea infestation is actually on the pet, the rest is in the environment, mostly where your cat likes to hang out. Make sure you are vacuuming often and then emptying the vacuum and taking that trash outside. There are sprays you can use to spray the house to help kill the adults that are fairly cheap. I know a single dose of any flea prevention is about $20. Frontline works well and it is not prescription. Revolution and comfortis are also good, but they are prescription medications.

If you do end up using a topical flea prevention, don't bath with dawn dish soap because it will strip the product right off. Dawn does kill the fleas that are on the pet, but they will most likely pick more up in the environment a day or two later.

We are seeing a ton of people with flea problems this time of year so you aren't alone! I've delt with them with my own dogs and I know they are a huge pain in the ass

jacqueleen1 · October 2014

Look around for shelters who can help you. Also if you cannot afford pet meds, how are you supposed to be able to afford proper vet care for your pet. You should not have gotten the kitten if you could not properly care for it.

kellbell1982 · October 2014

jacqueleen1 said:
Look around for shelters who can help you. Also if you cannot afford pet meds, how are you supposed to be able to afford proper vet care for your pet. You should not have gotten the kitten if you could not properly care for it.

I didn't want to sound like that, let me clarify. I'm taking him to the vet on the first but I won't have tons of money to treat the fleas until then. He's a rescue and I bought him the best of everything and spent over 150 on cat supplies so I just don't have another hundred bucks to blow right now. You are absolutely right tho and we wouldn't have taken him if we couldn't afford him. It's just a tight week until next Friday.

kellbell1982 · October 2014

happymamax2 said:
Totally not fleas related but I hope you're aware you should not be cleaning the kittens poop whatsoever!!! Have your h clean out the litter box, if you clean the poop it can be detrimental to the baby. Sorry if you already know just wanted to let you know in case you didn't!

I'm glad you said that because I asked the woman I got the kitty from and she said I can't smell the pee but everything else was ok so I got the wrong advice clearly. What if I wear gloves and a mask? I could get h to do it but it was my idea to get him so Id rather do the cleanup.

kellbell1982 · October 2014

Well, I called the vet and kitty is too small for the pill so I bathed him in blue dawn and saw fleas just fall of him. I used powder and spray all over my carpet and furniture and then I put a flea collar on him and stuff from the vet that goes on the back of his neck. So far he hasn't scratched since his bath so I'm hoping all this will work! Thank you to everyone for the tips!!

JCWhitey · October 2014

Sounds like you have things under control, but another thing to look into is Diatomaceous Earth (food grade). I have a dog who is allergic to EVERYTHING. Grain, dairy, most flea treatments... it's a pain. DE is the only thing we were able to find that works for him. I use it topically (sprinkle it on his fur) to get rid of fleas and he takes it internally to help with worms. I use it on the carpets and fabrics around the house to help kill stuff on there, too. Humans can take it, too! My nephew's school had a pinworm issue and my sister opted to give him DE instead of the meds and it worked just as well.

The only catch is you shouldn't inhale it, and since cats love grooming themselves so much you may want to look into coning her for a day or so after topical usage. Also research its use with cats. I use it on my dog but haven't researched how well it works with cats. Here's some info about use with dogs: https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/benefits-diatomaceous-earth/

Kdeanda · October 2014

My dogs got fleas earlier this year and my house was infested! I mean infested!! It took 2 months to kill them off for good. Wash the kitten with dish soap and brush. You will literally see the fleas fall out. The soap will kill them, or most of them. Also, only about 5% of fleas will exist on your kitten. The rest are going to be in your house/outside. You will need to clean all bedding your kitten has been on. Wash everything. Once that's done, you can put everything in the drier the following days and just put it in there for 20 mintues. The heat will kill the fleas and eggs. Also a big must is to vaccum daily!

We bought all of the bombs, sprays, drops and wash for the dogs but the above worked the best. We even treated outside. Long story short, the dogs are now outside and the house is flea free. The dogs may still have fleas though.

The biggest thing is to do this almost daily. You have to interrupt the flea cycle. It's a bitch. One flea pill for your kitten is not going to fix the problem.

cogletree · October 2014

Not too sure if this works since I haven't personally tried it, but I have read that an inexpensive way to treat carpets and furniture is to sprinkle salt on the surface, let set for a few minutes, and vacuum it back up.

thejucheidea · October 2014

Capstar gets rid of all fleas, and the Seresto collar is a preventative that is $40 and lasts for 8 months.

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