flea problem w my cats

Question
Hi - My cats are on the "Revolution" flea prevention product.  They have been on it since last August.  Recently I have noticed fleas.  I put their monthly application on a few days early.  It has been 3 days now & they are all still scratching really badly.  Last time I had a flea problem (August of 2007), I applied the Revolution & the fleas diappeared within 36 hours w/ no more scratching.  Is it OK for me to use other flea products w/ the revolution; perhaps I will try flea collars & spray?  Do you think I should put some more Revolution on them?  They are currently on the low dosage (below 15 lbs.) but 2 of my cats are large; one is about 11 lbs.; the other may be 15.  My cats are inside cats only.  They must have gotten these from me leaving the screen door open for them to look out.  Also, I am dealing with a rodent issue in my attic so I am afraid they could have introduced some fleas as well.  Can fleas develop a resistence to Revolution?  Should I try one of the other products such as Frontline?  Help!  I can't stand to see them so uncomfortable and I know the stress is bad for their health. One of my cats is diabetic & stress is particularly bad for her.

Answer
I don't know where you live but it sounds like a more temperate climate that encourages fleas.
You need to do more than kill adult fleas. You need an IGR, or insect growth regulator.
I would not put more Revolution on them. I am not fond of Frontline since it is made from a nerve poison so I don't use it.And yes, fleas can develop a resistance to anything except IGRs.

My cats are on Sentinel for heartworm prevention and for flea control. Sentinel has lufeneron in it and it affects the growth cycle of the flea.
Once a flea takes a meal from the cat with Sentinel it sterilizes the flea. It also make the flea poop full of lufeneron, which is what the flea larvae eat that are in your carpets and wood floors.
So then the larvae cannot complete their growth cycle either.
My cats and dog are all on it and they are indoor/outdoor animals and guess what, I have no fleas in my house at all. My property has nothing but sterile fleas if there are any out there at all. It took about three months for it to work on all the fleas.

I have used Ovitrol spray on my pets for over 28 yrs and it has an IGR in it also which is one reason I don't have a flea problem. But I haven't had to use it since I put my pets on Sentinel back in 1997.

You might want to pick up some Ovitrol spray in the meantime while you are working on killing off the other fleas.
Just remember that the adult fleas are the least of the worries with a flea infestation. The larvae and eggs are your real problem.

Here is an image showing what I mean:

http://www.alt4animals.com/images/flea.jpg

If you don't want your cats on heartworm prevention you can use just Program which is the flea product in Sentinel.

http://www.flea-info.com/solutions/en/index.shtml

Your vet will have a size that works for cats. It isn't labeled for cats on the box but has been tested for safety on cats and passed with flying colors.
Those are some suggestions to try. Let me know how it goes.