My cat recently got fleas and I've tried everything to get rid of them and they won't go away. How do I get rid of these stupid fleas?
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My husband is an entomologist so I speak with first hand knowledge and experience.
The first and very important step is to take your pet to your veterinarian to make certain the only problem is fleas. There are many other medical problems that could be affecting your pet in addition to a flea infestation.
The humble cat (cat, dog, etc.) flea is one of the most abundant and widespread species on Earth. You may have noticed that your dog and cat often choose different places to sleep in your house and outside. Your cat may have five or six favorite inside spots (usually in the sun) and outside even more. Many animals choose several places to sleep to avoid fleas. They might sleep in one spot for a few days and then another for a day or two. This sleep pattern breaks the flea life cycle and does reduce the effectiveness of flea attacks as adult fleas only live for a few days. However, some can live up to one hundred days in a good food environment. As you will see, the flea has a complicated life and you and your pet are invited!
Fleas are such a nuisance and can be very difficult to remove from your pets and your home.
Complete removal takes time and dedication.
Certainly a trip to the veterinarian is the best first choice but you will still have to deal with the removal process in your home.
I now use Diatomaceous Earth (DE) food grade ONLY as I know it is safe for everything and everyone.
When friends/family brings their pets I just spread the DE around and I even apply some to my cats fur.
It really works right away on my cat but it takes a few days/weeks to completely kill the in-house fleas.
DE is used for many things including intestinal parasites in many large and small animals.
Great for killing fleas but other uses as well:
I have had rental property in the past and fleas were a common problem left behind by renters.
No pets remained just fleas.
With no pets or people involved I could use Borax (I always used 20-Mule Team Borax) on the carpet and all through the house.
Borax is pretty safe but may NOT be okay for cats.
There is always a cycle of flea hatching and I usually vacuumed several times (and reapplied Borax) over a 30 to 45 day period. (That meant no rent for 60 days! Not good)
Here are a couple of sites that explain how to use Borax:
Always remember - check to be sure anything you use is safe for children and pets.
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You can't just treat the cat. Everything the cat touched (furniture, carpeting, drapes, bedding, car upholstery and your clothing, to name a few) must be treated as well.
Diatomaceous Earth (DE) is the only truly perfect way I have found to treat any bug infestation. It is natural silica that can penetrate the shell of an insect and dry it out from the inside out. It is completely safe for mammals. I buy food grade in the livestock store near me, sprinkle it on my cat and comb through. Sprinkle on your carpets and it will kill eggs . It's only drawbacks are you shouldn't breath it so use a mask, and it will dry the bottom of your feet. Just don't use too frequently and not too liberally. It will kill bedbugs too.
After treating your cat, you have to keep the fleas from hatching elsewhere. A steam cleaner is probably the cheapest safe option. Just brush over all the surfaces inside with the cleaner. Use any harsher treatments outside, like sprays. Just keep on every month with Frontline or similar, and killing the eggs with the steamer and your problem should go.
Here is a non toxic way to get rid of fleas in the house. Set up a night light or similar low light like a lamp with a 5 wall bulb. Put one on the floor in each room. Put a shallow dish like a pie plate or shallow bowl underneath or next to each light. Fill them with water and a squirt of dish detergent. The soap cuts the surface tension so that the fleas cannot move to the edges of the bowl and escape. Turn out all other lights at night leaving only the low lights you have set up. The fleas will jump to the light and into the bowls and drown. Each morning you will find fewer and fewer fleas as new ones hatch. You can catch the fleas even faster if you stomp around the room or use a vacuum to make vibrations which trigger the fleas to come out from wood floors for example. They come out when they sense motion.
You can comb the fleas from your cat or you can use one of the non toxic medications that you place on the cat's neck. If you let your cat go outside I would recommend the neck medication, otherwise you will always have fleas. Some fleas may still get on your cat but they will not be able to reproduce and will quickly die depending on which neck liquid you administer. Even after bombing twice with no success, I used this method and within a week I had no more fleas. Best of luck.
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