Cats Fleas Scratching

Question
Dear Ms Connell,

I have 3 cats who go in and out of the house all day & they acquired fleas. I've used Frontline as directed (back of the neck every month), which worked in previous summers, but has not seemed to work as well this summer. I also use a flea collar, also with limited success.

2 of the cats don't seem that bothered by a few remaining fleas, except for occasional scratching. But 1 cat, who is 8 years old, keeps scratching below her neck until she is raw and slightly bloody for almost the last 2 months. Yet she still scratches, despite my putting on her a flea collar. I can't find any fleas when I comb her, except for small specks of black crumbs.

1) Should I still be treating her for fleas after using Frontline monthly as recommended, and a flea collar? What might be the best treatment for a cat continuing to have fleas?

2) How do I keep her from continually scratching herself, so that she may heal below her neck which is raw?

3) All of my 3 cats occasionally scratch in their ear, but I don't know what to look for in their ear, which looks OK, I think.

Sorry if the questions are vague.

Ben

Answer
Ben,
It's good that you are doing what you can for the flea problem, but the biggest problem with the fleas is that you are only addressing and attacking the adult fleas, which are only about 5% of the problem.

The biggest problem with fleas is the eggs, larvae and the cocoons that the larvae spin which are impenetrable.

I want you to read this page on the life cycle of the flea and you will see why you have to get a product that will eliminate the other life stages of the fleas.

http://www.ah.novartis.com/cab/en/cat_fleas_lifecycle.shtml

Now this applies to cats and dogs. The products I use are Ovitrol spray to knock down the adult fleas but in doing so I also kill the eggs on the cat. I haven't used it in 15 yrs on my pets because they all take Sentinel tablets for heartworm prevention AND for the lufeneron in it which render fleas sterile. What happens is that the fleas lay eggs (on your cat by the way) which then fall to the ground. When these hatch, the larvae feed on the flea feces (those black crumbling things you found) which is dried blood actually. Lufeneron makes the eggs sterile so they don't hatch and makes the feces from the fleas full of lufeneron. That is what the larvae eat- so when they eat that they can no longer make a cocoon and they die. Pretty soon, you have no viable eggs or larvae. Now the adults that are in the cocoons will hatch as nothing to date will kill them in the cocoons. So after two weeks they will emerge, bite your cats that are taking in this flea-related hormone (the Lufeneron) and they also become sterile and lay eggs that will not hatch.

After about a month you will start seeing a huge drop in fleas. But the best part is that as long as your cats get this once a month tiny pill they will be flea free and so will your yard.

Now I was very skeptical about this way back when it came out but I have almost 3 acres of land and not ONE FLEA. And that is with wildlife coming through here everyday that have fleas on them.

My dog and cat have no fleas, no flea dirt on them and there are no fleas in my house.

You definitely need to kill the adults you have now, but get an IGR spray for the house and the cats to kill them. That will start the cycle of killing the larvae and eggs. IGR stands for Insect Growth Regulator. Lufeneron, which is the hormone in Sentinel, is safe for anything that isn't a flea.

You can get Sentinel for your cats at the vets along with the Ovitrol. I have had clients use JUST Ovitrol spray on their pets and rugs and get rid of all the fleas.

Sentinel is much safer than Frontline as is the Ovitrol. Frontline is a nerve poison so I avoid it at all costs.

Talk to your vet about the Sentinel and see if you can get some Prednisone for the one cat that is scratching herself so badly. You can try some hydrocortisone cream on it also but she sounds beyond that.

Sometimes the fleas get in the cats ears also.They could also have ear mites.
Flea collars are worthless, dangerous and a waste of money.Most fleas are immune to the chemicals in them.

I hope this helps. It has helped many others that have followed this plan.Please let me know how it's going in a few weeks.