flea med

Question
What is the best product to use on my cat, seams like nothing works? he's an outside cat that comes in (if that matters).
Thanks a bunch,
Sarah

Answer
Hi Sarah,

The flea products which work best are Advantage ( both available from vets and online) and Frontline.  Both are little tubes of liquid/gel which you apply between the shoulder blades or right on the skin on the back of the neck.  You can get information on Advantage here at Bayer's (the manufacturer) site:

http://www.nofleas.com/

Please don't ever buy or apply any HARTZ flea collars or medications to your cat....these products have proven to be VERY DANGEROUS to cats and have resulted in severe medical problems and even death!  Also, make sure, if you don't buy your Advantage from a vet's office but from the internet, that it's the genuine article and not counterfeit.  It's easy to use, provides a month's protection and always works.

Your cat would have a longer lifespan and be safer if kept as an indoor-only cat. Cats who go outside run the risk of many dangers: cars, ingesting poisons, fights with other animals, disease, catnappers and mean people.  I'm assuming your cat is up on his shots and neutered.  If not, please have these two things taken care of immediately.

If your cat goes in and out, nothing may seem to work if your home is infested and you don't rid it of fleas completely.  This is a big part of controlling a flea problem.  Using the Advantage should help, as any fleas already on your cat or new ones which jump on him will die if they try to bite him.  However, you should have your home professionally treated by a company which specializes in fleas.  I used one years ago called 'FleaBusters'.  They used a machine which looked like a reverse vacuum cleaner to push a white powder (borate?) down into the carpet. This dries out the fleas so they die.  It's non-toxic to people and pets, and all I had to do before they came was to vacuum throughly (I put mothballs in the vacuum bag and threw it out immediately).  I 'chose' to cover my baby grand piano, but they said covering furniture was not necessary.  I found the price to be reasonable, but I wouldn't know what it is at this time. Look them up in the phone book and see if they're in your area.  Don't hire someone who will just come and spray....this does nothing.

So, between properly treating your home (also wash any linens where your cat sleeps, etc. in very hot water with detergent--throw away any material toys and/or beds which are not washable) and treating your cat, your flea problem should be taken care of.  Also, you can comb your cat with a fine-toothed flea comb and after you rake the comb through the fur, dip the comb in a plastic cup filled with warm water and a drop of Dawn dishwashing liquid; then dip the comb in a cup of plain warm water and wipe with paper towel.  The Dawn/water kills any live fleas or eggs.  I also believe other name brand dishwashing liquids do the same job. (only use this for the comb; DON'T bathe your cat in water with Dawn!!) You can do this now, to help your cat, and continue to do it also after applying the Advantage (not immediately after the physical application), to remove dead fleas and the few live ones that may remain (even tho the Advantage is supposed to kill almost immediately).  Advantage is NOT absorbed into the bloodstream, only onto the top layer of the skin.  Some cats don't notice it at all, and some (my cat did this) sort of feel uncomfortable as it spreads throughout the skin.  But, I think this and treating your home is your best bet to beating this problem.

Good luck!

Cher  : )