Fleas! Question

[Smokey596]

I posted my story here about bringing a stray into the house with my other two cats. The stray is still in his own room for now, but we go to get checked out at the vet tomorrow and after I know he's okay we will start the introduction process.

But I guess I jumped the gun on the flea issue. I had given Snow Kitty (the stray) a dose of an over the counter flea medicine (I know! I found out later that this was bad! But he did fine with it, and I haven't seen any fleas on him for about a week and he is not scratching or biting...in fact, to be honest, I never saw any evidence before either...just wanted to be sure.

But now the other two cats are scratching and biting. Not a lot, and maybe I'm paranoid, but I never saw them do it before.

When I get some Advantage or something for Snow Kitty tomorrow, I suppose I should get some for the other two cats as well. But my question is, will this one dose for each cat, plus thoroughly vacuuming the house and the fact that none of the cats will ever go outside...will that be enough to get rid of the fleas (if there really are any)?

I've had the two indoor cats for 10 years and never a single flea, and Snow Kitty's exposure to the rest of the house has been all but non-existent, so I really don't think there's an infestation.

Any thoughts? Thank for the help!

[shicagah]

Have you physically checked the cats for fleas?

I've never experienced fleas in cats, but generally after I've treated past dogs once or twice with a flea treatment after never having them before, they were good and the flea's were gone.

I think it all depends on how bad the infestation is and whether it's traveled beyond the cats and into the home.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help, but hopefully someone else will chime in with some more information.

[Greenport ferals]

Originally Posted by Smokey596

But my question is, will this one dose for each cat, plus thoroughly vacuuming the house and the fact that none of the cats will ever go outside...will that be enough to get rid of the fleas (if there really are any)?

Yes, that should do it. Throw your bedding and the cats' bedding in a hot wash and dry too. And toss or empty the vacuum bag right away.

[Smokey596]

Sounds good! Thanks for the replies! It's definitely not an infestation, and no...I haven't seen fleas or flea dirt on the other cats (or even the stray now). But the two resident cats are definitely scratching and biting. Hopefully then just one treatment all around will do the trick!