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I had feral kittens dying from a flea infestation. They were too young for treatment with commercial remedies, and tea tree oil can KILL cats at any age. As a nurse, we once had a patient who had head lice infestation that we couldn't rid of with prescription treatments. The CDC recommended olive oil left in for 4 hours and then washed out, so I decided to try it for these little (less than 3 week old) kits.
I soaked them, taking care to avoid eye and mouth areas, with the olive oil and left it on. Their mom licked them clean and not a flea since. I recommend treating moms with worming medication after treatment since fleas ingested result in worms. And I would re-treat in 7 days or any time the fleas reappear. I don't recommend ANY essential oils (tea tree, cedar, peppermint, etc.) as they can kill any small critter.
By Creeksend
Two questions: (1) If the kittens were feral, how did you get them away from the Mom in order to treat them with the olive oil. 2. How did you get the Mom to take the worm-killer? I know little about ferile cats but have a friend who trapped two ferile cats to take with her when she moved from her residence and is going to have to move again after four years (therefore, will have to "re-trap" these cats.)
Clipped from Yankee mag 20+ years ago-3 drops of American Cedar Leaf oil on a 3 inch piece of brown grocery bag in each corner of every room weekly will make the house like a cedar closet and rid it of 99% of insects. Scent leaves so people can't smell it. I have 6 dogs, live in the woods and use this every year-no fleas at all. Purchase at LorAnn Oils 1-800-862-8620. Is expensive $26. for 4 oz, but I'm still working on the same bottle 4 yrs later! Joandogs
Brown paper soaked with Cedar oil and placed in corners of room may repel fleas making the home less desirable to them. I purchased a one pint bottle of concentrate from GREEN LIGHT COMPANY, P O BOX 17985 SAN ANTONIO TX 78217-0985. Their tele # is 210-494-3481 and website is www.greenlightco dot com. The product is called CedarCide Insect Repellent concentrate. It makes up to 8 gallons. To paraphrase from the bottle: "It repels fleas, flies, gnats, mosquitoes, no-see-ums, lice, roaches, silverfish, aand controls mange and dry skin ailments, powdery mildew. It is safe around food. It dries greaseless and can be sprayed on clothing without permanent stain and can be used whereever water can be used. It can be used on people, pets, plants, premise, animal and poultry dwellings. Spray liberally. Do not rinse off. Can be used with trigger or pump sprayers. It works by stifling the insect's pheromone (odor) and heat receptors so they are less able to find food, mates and acceptable reproduction habitat. Their egg laying cycle is interrupted as they migrate to more hospitable habitat."
The product does not kill any of the 4 stages of the flea but chases the adults away, basically. The bottle doesn't say how often to reapply but when I spoke with a company representative he said it lasts a few days. Anyone thinking of trying it should contact the company, I believe, and get more info on how often it should be applied. It is a very strong cedar scent that linger for 3-4 days.
I sprayed it all over the carpet, along the mopboards in the kitchen, etc. and I bathed all our cats and dog. I did it only once due to the strong odor and we still have fleas. I put it in my big pump sprayer but the nozzle tip's hole was too small and kept plugging up with fine particles of the product. When I called the company they offered to send a new bottle that wouldn't clog the sprayer. I did not accept their offer. Other family members requested that it not be used again due to the strong odor.
My husband and I have a cat that is 1 year old,we have been dealing with a large infestation for about 3 months. We have found out that the fleas are coming from our sand floor basement (unfinished).
Our cat has been real good with the use of tea tree oil and lukewarm water sprayed on her. The tea tree oil is also known to be a antiseptic for sores caused by fleas and is less of an irrritant than some chemical based products.
We tried fleas collars that did not much to remedy the problem as it only treats an area around the neck and not the whole body of the cat.
We also tried brewers yeast sprinkled on our cat that did repel the fleas but nothing worked for us as well as the tea tree oil did. But using these remedies are recommended to do them outside as the fleas WILL jump from the animal, thus re-infesting your home and furnishing and being a nuisance.
