Flea Treatment for CRF cat?

[PumpkinPal]

Hello everyone!

I searched the forum, but did not see any recent info.

We've got fleas. It's not bad, but I did see one black speck on Sampson earlier. Put water on it, turned red. I've combed all the cats, nothing showing
in the fur or on the comb.

I have used Advantage in the past with no adverse reactions. However, I am
concerned about using it on Sampson. He was diagnosed with early kidney
failure June of last year.

He is still on 100ml sub Q's 3 times a week. I give him 2.5 mg of Methimazole twice daily for his thyroid.

We had a vet visit 2 weeks ago. A little weight loss, but urine came back clean, BUN and Creatinine slightly elevated but better than his last test.

She did a full exam and everything else is fine. He still has a decent appetite and is not drinking much water.

I have read about the possibility of seizures. I am concerned about anemia.

Would it be ok to use on him? He's had on him twice before, never had a reaction but this was years ago before his current health issues.

I plan to ask the vet as well but also wanted to get feedback here.

Any help is appreciated.

[growler~GateKeeper]

Great to hear Sampsom is doing well

Sucks about the fleas. It's been a long time since I've had to deal w/fleas, how is he with daily combing? Will he let you sit him on your lap to run through parting the fur checking him over entirely for fleas? I used to do that when my last ones were kittens with a cup of soapy water nearby to drown any fleas I caught.

Be sure to treat the house environment as well as the cats - frequent vaccuming, hot water washes of bedding etc.

Absolutely check with your vet first, also be sure that you are not using expired product. One option is to apply treatment to the other cats but not directly to Sampson.

Advantage and Revolution cautions against using their flea product on sick pets.

Frontline Plus for cats doesn't have a warning against using on sick cats aside from their sprays should not be used on animals that are geriatric or sick.

The other major treatment is Capstar (makers of Program) which is in pill form, it looks safe with low indications of adverse reactions but to be on the safe side I would caution against this as it is cleared by the kidneys.

http://www.felinecrf.org/treatments.htm#flea_treatments

I think in this circumstance my would be Frontline Plus for cats but applied to the others not Sampson. I have not used Frontline before but have used Advantage for cats on healthy cats and Program for Dogs.

[PumpkinPal]

Thanks Growler, your input is always appreciated.

I'll put a call into the vet tomorrow morning.

I heard if you wash the cats with Dawn dish soap it's safe and will kill
the fleas. I guess I'll have to do that with Sampson a few times if he
can't be treated.

I haven't had fleas in many years. My babies are indoor only and the
dogs I work with are flea treated. I suspect we got them from me helping
the landlady move a mattress a few weeks back. I found out days later it
was moved because the unit it came from had fleas.

Have you or anyone else here had any experience with diatomaceous earth?
It's supposed to be a safe treatment for furniture and carpeting. My vacuum isn't very strong and I can't afford someone to come in and clean.

Still haven't seen any poop on the kitties. They sure are biting me though!

[growler~GateKeeper]

Whenever I had bathed the cats because of fleas I've just used regular (good quality) pet shampoo, basically soaking the cat in water combined with any (non-harmful to the cats) soap will kill the adult fleas on the cats. Dawn is apparently safe to use - that's what is used on birds in oil spills etc.

I don't have any experience w/diatomaceous earth

The vacuuming of carpets etc doesn't necessarily need to be professional strength, just frequent while you have a flea issue, the eggs/larvae aren't super sticky to carpeting etc so a regular vacuum works.

[PumpkinPal]

I spoke with the vet and she said it was fine to use Advantage on Sampson. That is the only treatment that he can have.

I put it on him this afternoon. No side effects. I only used half a dose. He will get the other half in two weeks.

All the bedding is washed and I am vacuuming when I can. I sprayed the couch, mattress, and rugs with alcohol. Haven't had another bite.

Diatomaceous earth is supposed to be an organic way of killing the fleas. It
breaks into a fleas' exoskeleton and dehydrates them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatoma...h#Pest_control

I haven't tried it yet.

Thanks once more for your input.