Goddammit, there are fleas in my brand new apartment

[ET Awful]

I found a couple of nasty sores on Althea, so I took her to the vet. Ends up that she's hyper-sensitive to flea bites, and we found some fleas on her.

Now, she's ALWAYS been an indoor only cat, and never had any problems until we moved into this place at the end of August or so.

Thus, the evil little blood suckers must have come from tne new apartment.

So, the vet recommended Frontline and gave me enough for both kitties for three months (He only charged me for one cat's worth).

I just spent $85, I think I should make the landlord pay the freakin' bill.

[superconnected]

1. Since you are not likely to have the cat bring the fleas in again

I would flea bomb if I were you and use only one months dose of frontline on the cats. That will save you the expenses for frontline in the future and the flea bombs work REALLY good.

I always just put things like food and dishes on the counters away and then bombed the house as is. It always worked fine. Other people go to great lengths to wash all their clothes, empty drawers etc., but I don't.

[ET Awful]

2. Well, the vet gave me 3 months worth of Frontline for each cat

and said that that should break the life-cycle of the fleas and end the problem.

I'll probably do that (since I basically got it for half the normal price) and if there's still a problem after that, I'll bomb :).

[kestrel91316]

9. Cat vet weighs in:

Flea bombs are completely obsolete and also inappropriately unsafe/ineffective. We have not sold or recommended them in TEN YEARS. Since Advantage and Frontline came out, there is no earthly reason to use flea bombs. Why on earth do we need flea control products on our lampshades and countertops and bathroom floors, etc?

The safest, most effective flea control these days is monthly use of either Advantage or Frontline ON THE CAT, where all fleas have to go sooner or later to feed and reproduce. Only if there is a SEVERE infestation is there any need for treatment of the premises. Then, the safest and most effective thing to do is use VetKem or Zodiac Area Treatment, a spray that you use on carpeting and furniture (no need to spray those lampshades, lol) at least once, and repeat in a month if you are worried. That's ALL. No powders, shampoos, collars, bombs, mousses, sprays on the animal, exterminators, etc.

Flea control is extremely safe and easy now. Yes, it costs. But some things are absolutely worth it, and this is one of them.

[amerikat]

3. Same thing happened to me. New apartment, inside cats and fleas.

Frontline did the trick. Don't flea bomb. It's bad stuff and not necessary.

[superconnected]

4. true, it's very toxic.

But it was cool to watch mosquitos fly in, land on a wall, and instantly drop off dead, for several years after I bombed. It lasted to the point I moved - 5 or 7 years. Probably still working.

That stuff is serious. My cat was fine though.

[kestrel91316]

10. We don't need highly toxic pesticides on our walls, that's for sure.

We DO need safe and effective products, used on the CAT as intended, and we have them in Frontline and Advantage.

[ET Awful]

5. The sad part is that when I say new, I mean NEW, I'm the first tenant

to ever liver in it. I'm definitely going to have words with the property manager.

[amerikat]

6. Maybe stray animals came in during the construction process.

Or maybe the contractors had fleas they brought from home.

[ET Awful]

7. I'm guessing the strays during contruction :)

That was my thought too. It's a HUGE building, so it wouldn't have been possible tomonitor the whole works during construction.

[amerikat]

8. Didn't I almost give you this cat?

[ET Awful]

11. Which kitty is that? Is that the one that was FIV positive?

It was actually a lady I work with that I was trying to place the little tyke with since she has no other cats.

What a beautiful little kittie :) :) :)

[amerikat]

13. It was over a year ago. I had two litters in need of homes.

Maybe it wasn't you.

[ET Awful]

14. It doesn't ring a bell.

That is one cute little furball though :)

[Eurobabe]

12. that's really weird. I know we have coons and possums

taking dumps in our houses under construction - my one client is truly skeeved over it. Who knows what they are bringing in? Sheesh. Dumb contractors leave the windows open at all hours.

[kestrel91316]

16. Don't jump all over the landlord just yet. There IS another possible

reason for the sores on your cat. When we see the little scabby lesions on the lower back and around the neck we think first of flea allergy, BUT we also can see these same lesions with FOOD ALLERGY and even rarely with dermatophytosis (ringworm, a fungal infection of the skin).

What do you feed your cat? Dry food - brand(s) and flavors? Canned food - brand(s) and flavors? Any treats - which brands/flavors? Any people food at all?

This might not actually be flea allergy - did you see any flea "dirt", the little black commas that are flea feces, consisting of dried blood???

[ET Awful]

17. Yes, flea dirt was present, the vet also found one flea while examining

her.

As to food, they get only high-end foods such as Pet Guard, Wellness, etc. For treats, they get only Live A Littles which are pure freeze dried salmon or chicken, no preservatives or anything else.

[kestrel91316]

18. I advise all my clients to AVOID FISH in their cats' diets.

Cats are direct descendants of the desert wildcat of North Africa (Felis libyca). There are no fish in the Sahara Desert, so this guy never evolved with fish in the diet.

I can attribute many cases of gastrointestinal, urinary, and dermatologic disease directly to consumption of FISH, so it is a big no-no. My own male at home is highly allergic to fish, and if I mess up with some new kitty treat that I haven't checked the ingredients list on, and he gets fish, he gets the scabby itchy lesions, itchy feet, and itchy face and it lasts two months beyond the exposure to fish! I occasionally see a syndrome I coined a name for: "tuna head" - owner feeds fish (often tuna, the worst offender), cat gets INTENSELY itchy facial dermatitis. It can be quite dramatic.

So, best not to feed it at all. If the skin problem persists in spite of good flea control, then look at the diet next.

[Eurobabe]

21. cheapo canned cat food (I was a first time cat owner in 90s)

nearly did my oldest cat in with FLUTD (FUS) It was the fish!

[Sanity Claws]

22. Thanks for telling us

I never heard this before, ever. I will certainly keep this in mind.

[demnan]

15. Poor little Althea!

I had a lovely cat, Howard, when I was a teenager years ago. He was an indoor/outdoor cat and became allergic to fleas. This was before Advantage and Frontline. I had to bathe the poor boy and he let me, he was such a sweet gentle cat. He suffered tremendously with the fleas. Right above his tail would feel so hot and irritated.

We got an investation in the house (two cats and two dogs) and had to shampoo and treat the carpets with baking soda constantly until we had it licked.

Do you have carpets or hardwood floors?

When Charley walked in a couple of weeks ago I took him to the vet and he had fleas, having lived outside. My brother and I just finished shampooing the carpets in my place. I wanted to be through, although all the cats are on Frontline or Advantage. If you have hardwood floors it wouldn't hurt to go over them with a cleaner, but if you have carpet be especially careful to vaccum throughly and wash the kitty's bedding. I'm sure you probably know that. :)

[demnan]

19. It would be hard to prove the apartment liability

I brought fleas in to my apartment once by merely petting an indoor/outdoor cat who lived in my cousin's neighborhood. The fleas evidently jumped on me (!) and two weeks later I saw them crawling on Pad Thai's white neck.

[ET Awful]

20. One other possibility that occured to me was that they came in on

my camera bag after one of my trips through a field shooting fall shots, etc.

That's a very distinct possibility.

[Orsino]

23. The fleas might have come in from outside...

...on your shoes, particularly if there are a lot of pets in the complex. Dormant flea eggs in the apartment would tend to hatch within a few days of the arrival of new warm-blooded critters.

Beat some borax into all the carpets after you shampoo them.