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Old October 18th, 2010, 11:15 AM
bskillings bskillings is offline
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Question Flea problems

A couple months ago I took in a stray kitten and rehomed him. Unfortunately he brought in fleas with him and gave them to my cats. I have since tried everything I can think of to get rid of them. 2 different kinds of flea shampoo, Harts flea collars, Harts flea treatment(the drops that go on the base of the neck), and sprayed Raid and Pro insecticide all over my apartment. Nothing worked. They still have fleas and the fleas are bitting my son every night. He is litterally covered in flea bites. What else can I do?

Does anyone know of any other flea treatments, collars, or sprays that work? I am on a low budget so preferably not something too expensive. I also live in canada so no US products. If anyone can give me advice it would be appreciated soooo much.
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Old October 18th, 2010, 11:30 AM
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sugarcatmom sugarcatmom is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bskillings View Post
2 different kinds of flea shampoo, Harts flea collars, Harts flea treatment(the drops that go on the base of the neck), and sprayed Raid and Pro insecticide all over my apartment.
Please don't use any Hartz products. These can cause more harm than good, and have been implicated in the deaths of many cats.

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Originally Posted by bskillings View Post
Does anyone know of any other flea treatments, collars, or sprays that work?
Stay away from ALL collars and sprays. Your best bet is to get something from the vet. The amount of money you've already wasted on store products could have gone towards something that actually works, like Vectra.

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Originally Posted by bskillings View Post
I am on a low budget so preferably not something too expensive. I also live in canada so no US products. If anyone can give me advice it would be appreciated soooo much.
Here are some links to treating fleas naturally:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ig106
http://eartheasy.com/live_natural_flea_control.html

Good luck! Fleas suck.
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Old October 18th, 2010, 11:30 AM
aslan aslan is offline
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unfortunately not only do most of the Hartz products not work,,but some can make your pets ill..You need to use a product like advantage,,advantix,revolution..You can get them a little cheaper through something like 1-800 pet meds,, or a few members order from here...

http://www.vetproductsdirect.com.au/home.asp
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Old October 18th, 2010, 11:34 AM
aslan aslan is offline
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actually the Diatomaceous earth SCM is suggesting is not only not harmful to your pet but if they do happen to consume some it is a natural de-wormer too.
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Old October 18th, 2010, 03:16 PM
Mogsmum Mogsmum is offline
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actually the Diatomaceous earth SCM is suggesting is not only not harmful to your pet but if they do happen to consume some it is a natural de-wormer too.
Provided it's the food-grade DE I believe.

In fact, to be sure it is safe for using inside, make sure it't the food grade one. Also, when applying it, do it gently with a small brush (paint brush, make-up brush). This stuff is worse than plaster dust to clean up if you spread it around excessively.

Have you considered asking your landlord to have your place treated? Doesn't matter how the flea hgot there, it's the landlords responsibility to treat it. Especially before it spreads to other units.

We had an issue with fleas whe nwe moved into a house (a long time ago, I was 9!). The people who lived there before us had a dog...whe nthey moved the house was vacant for a bit. Fleas went and hid...we moved in with our 2 cats and it clearly woke the fleas up...they were all over the place before you knew it. They bit me all over.

We boarded the cats for the day and had a pco come in.
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Old October 18th, 2010, 08:10 PM
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kathryn kathryn is offline
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It's a bad year for fleas everywhere. I have to agree with everyone else so far. I have seen reactions to Hartz and other cheap products first hand, including a relative who spent over $400 at the e-vet after her cat nearly went comatose after applying Hartz. Collars, sprays, powders etc are basically always a waste of money unless purchased from a reputable vet because some new vet grade flea collars are coming out.

A good option is also to get a fine tooth flea comb and keep combing your cats. When you pull fleas or flea dirt off, flush it down the toilet. This way you can also "manually" kill the fleas off.

Capstar is good and very safe. We use it on neonatal kittens at my shelter and have safely removed fleas from them.
http://www.ah.novartis.ca/companion/cat/capstar.shtml

Advantage is available in Canada
http://www.bayer.ca/?q=en/node/40

Frontline should be available as well, but my internet is not working so I cannot find the name in Canada. It is produced by Merial though.

www.hartzvictims.org

Hope this helps.
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Old October 18th, 2010, 09:17 PM
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I agree with Kathryn in that this year has been a bad year for fleas.

If you plan to remove fleas manually with a flea comb, it would be a good idea to sit, relax and comb through their fur but keep a little tub of warm water next to you and periodically dip the flea infested comb into the warm water so they don't jump off and keep moving around your house.

We had a terrible flea infestation earlier until we bit the bullet and purchased advantage from our vet. We did have to switch our cats over to revolution as the advantage was causing skin irritations with one of our cats. As much as some on-line websites are cheaper, you should be careful with the products you are intending to purchase through these on-line pharmacies.

http://comparagrid.org/pet-medicatio...edication.html
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Old October 18th, 2010, 10:11 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by klmccallum View Post
If you plan to remove fleas manually with a flea comb, it would be a good idea to sit, relax and comb through their fur but keep a little tub of warm water next to you and periodically dip the flea infested comb into the warm water so they don't jump off and keep moving around your house.
Add some dish soap to the water and that'll for sure keep the little buggers from jumping out.
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Old October 19th, 2010, 08:45 PM
bskillings bskillings is offline
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Thank you everyone for the advice and the information about Hartz products. I had no idea Hartz was harmful to pets. I did ask my landlord to get rid of the fleas and he just gave me spray which didn't work. I unfortunately can't afford to go to a vet right now because I am on a very very low budget and a single mother. I will go out and purchase the Advantage products and try those though. I have looked for flea combs but can't find any at the 2 pet stores in my city. Would a headlice comb work the same because I might have more luck finding one of those? It is a very frustrating problem because I keep trying everything I can to get rid of them and they somehow survive everything I do.
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Old October 19th, 2010, 09:09 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bskillings View Post
Would a headlice comb work the same because I might have more luck finding one of those?
I would give the lice comb a try or even find a small tooth comb available in the pet section of a store. Keep a tub of warm water with a little dish soap (like sugarcatmom suggested) next to you and periodically rinse the little varmits in the soapy water.

Good luck bskillings.
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Rest in Peace Bailey: 12/10/95-1/9/09 (Golden Retriever)
Rest in Peace Kitty: 7/1/2000 - 10/7/2013
Rest in Peace Gryphon (sounds like Griffin): 10/15/2004 - 11/18/2017 (English Springer Spaniel)
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