Driving Me Crazy! Fleas!

[Smokey596]

I have never, ever had a flea in the house. The new kitty from outside was barely in here at all and is still in a separate room from the others, but the other two started scratching and biting, so the vet gave me Frontline which I applied to all three cats on Wednesday.

The two resident indoor cats are STILL scratching and biting and it's driving me insane! I still have yet to see even one actual flea anywhere in the house or on any of the cats, nor have I seen any flea dirt. I vacuumed the house on Wednesday as well.

And it wasn't like the new kitty was infested with fleas or anything. She had some, but like I said, she was secluded in the garage and then the upstairs room the whole time. How could it be this bad for the other two cats, especially since they've had the Frontline applied?

[Susan]

I've never had to deal with fleas, so this is a bit of a guess on my part...perhaps someone who has dealt with fleas will come along shortly will better information. However, it would seem to me that, even if the Frontline has killed the fleas, your cats would still itch for a while from the flea bites they received before the fleas were killed. It would be sort of like when you or I are bitten by a mosquito. Even though we might kill the mosquito so it couldn't bite us again, the bite would itch for a few days thereafter.

I hope your cats are doing better soon!

[Heidi n Q]

If the cats are allergic to fleas, all it takes is one bite to set off the reaction.
Also, if the Frontline kills the fleas who bite the cats, all fleas must bite the cats before they will die. They can lay eggs in the meantime and keep the cycle going until all fleas bite/die.

I solve that particular issue by spraying my home with a yard-care product called "Advanced Tree & Shrub". It is made by Bayer, the same company that makes Advantage spot-on flea control for cats/dogs. In fact, the *exact same ingredient* is used in both products; Imidacloprid.
The Advantage spot-on product is 9% imidacloprid and the T&S product is 1.47% imidacloprid.
The spray will leave visible droplets on hard surfaces so I wipe those areas down (baseboards, door/windowsills) but I sprayed fabric areas w/ no problems. I also sprayed a 20' area around our home to create a bug-free zone.

My friend used this product on her yard this summer and she said it was the first time in the 11yrs she'd been on her property that her yard-dogs did not scratch themselves bloody all summer long. She reapplied the spray to her yard about every 5-7wks, depending on rainfall. She sprayed it and allowed her dogs to run through the yard while the spray was wet with no ill effects. She did note that the fleas tried to run UP their legs/body to escape the action of the product. W/in 10hrs, her dogs had stopped scratching and she didn't notice very many living/active fleas. The next day she couldn't find any living fleas.
That Bayer T&S product is my go-to product for flea control around our home. If the fleas can't *reach* my kitties, I am a happy camper!