Fleas on Indoor Cats

By

Martha42

If garlic cloves are good for dogs then how about cats? as for the apple cider vinegar in the cats water, my cat may have a problem with that. I did use some garlic juice on a cotton ball and dabbed the cat's paws, behind her neck and on her tail the other day. she hated that smell. but either it dried or she licked it off. I use the cat flea shampoo on her plus the flea collar and sometimes the flea drops.she is an inside cat. but still gets fleas, have outside dogs and the fleas come in on us from outside. Will try to add some apple cider vinegar to her water and hope for the best. will try the garlic on cotton ball dab again and have some on hand in a bag. I hate chemicals.
Martha42

By katie (Guest Post)

Can I do something for my cats earmites without spending a fortune at the vet? OTC meds or some other suggestions thanks and joey (my cat) aslo says thanks :)

By Spiritwolf (Guest Post)

Steam cleaning carpets gets rid of many fleas and eggs. Fleas spend much of their time OFF of the animal. Dump the dirty steamer water down the toilet to make sure the fleas don't survive!

Mule Team Borax powder, Diatomaceous Earth, or Boric Acid Powder will kill fleas in carpets and upholstery. Boric acid powder is safe for killing fleas and ear mites on the cat.

Mix Dawn dish washing soap and water in a shallow dish, then place the dish on the floor to catch and drown fleas. Use a flea comb on your cat to catch many fleas. Between combings, dunk the comb in a dish of Dawn mixed with water so the fleas cannot escape.

A mixture I've used for years to kill adult fleas is 5 ounces of liquid Seven and 5 ounces of liquid Malathion to a gallon of water. I've used that mixture even with tiny kittens. Flea collars usually don't work at all, they only drive fleas from the head and neck to other parts of the animal, and some cats are allergic to the collars.

Many products contain Methoprene to kill eggs and larvae but fleas became somewhat immune to methoprene's effects several years ago.

A really good brand of flea spray for the house, that contains NYLAR, which IS EFFECTIVE FOR KILLING EGGS AND LARVAE, is Enforcer Flea Spray for Homes. I found it in a local hardware store. Spray EVERYTHING, even between your mattresses and box springs, under couch cushions, cracks and crevices, in stacks of books or magazines, under the refrigerator etc. Fleas hide everywhere!

Frontline IS good but has the disadvantage of being too expensive for most people to use regularly with a multiple cat household.

By

Beth

When got one of my cats from the shelter, she had fleas. Two doses of either Frontline or Advantage (it was 10 years ago) did the trick.

By

Deeli

Just came across this suggestion from another site and might be helpful ...

When I buy flea collars for my three dogs, I use the extra
that I cut off to put in my vacuum cleaner bag to kill any
fleas that are sucked up! It helps to keep the house flea
free.

By **Shayna** (Guest Post)

This is what I did to rid my kitten 10 weeks old of fleas until my Frontline plus arrives. I bought Frontline real cheap off Ebay. 8 month supply for $20.00 that included the shipping! So to kill the live fleas until it gets here. I washed her in Dawn dish soap the blue original Dawn. I did not get her wet first.

I put Dawn around her neck first and quickly rubbed it in as this helps to prevent the fleas from scurrying to her head and face area. Then I put a line of Dawn down her back and worked it in and then under her belly and worked it in. I worked it in real good. Then I added a bit of water to her and then kept on working it in. I could see the adult dead fleas falling off her. Although some did manage to escape to her head and they tried to get in her nose and eyes so for those little critters I used tweezers and picked them off her and put them in container with dawn and water so they would die.

I gently scrubbed her for about 10 minutes with the dawn on. Then I rinsed her off with clean luke warm water. Then I put some Apple Cider Vinegar mixed with water on her as the final rinse to repel new fleas. I know she has eggs and larvae that will hatch soon but by then the Frontline Plus should be here and that will work for those.

As for my house I used common table salt. I sprinkled it all over my house. Let it sit for hours then vacuumed and swept it all up. While I waited those hours I washed all bedding, curtains, any dirty laundry etc. I vacuumed corners and trim and anywhere I thought a flea would hide. To get rid of the fleas I guess I had to think like a flea.

By sheila (Guest Post)

HI, I have found a wonderful all natural product called "cedar cide". We have 2 cats and 2 dogs and had an awful flea infestation every year in this home with or without animals. We have fleas bad in the yard from squirrels and bring them in on us. We spray the whole house and a jug lasts us a year and cost us a third of what we used to spend on poisons. It is safe for all pets, though I have also herd cats do bad with essential oils as they con jest the liver and this has some cedar in it. Our cats have no problem with it but got sick from the poisons.

By

Deeli

Be very careful with any insect bomb! Be sure to have any gas pilot turned off to the stove, hot water heater and heating systems and open all windows and doors to air out the residence well before re-lighting the pilots! Those bombs are highly explosive!

By

doodles

Along w/ all the other suggestions, you could also try what me and my 'boo' do. He loves nothing better to curl up on my lap after a good brushing and letting me continue grooming him w/ tweezers, just running my fingers randomly and crunching any diehards I might find.

By debbie. (Guest Post)

I bought the advantage on ebay for a really good price. I got 8 doses for $22.00. Within the 1st week my cats stopped scratching and within the next 2 weeks they started disappearing from the house. We have been doing this for the last 4 months and have no more flea problems.
Good Luck