Absolute flea hell with my cat?

Hi there, If you’ve spotted an infestation and your cat hasn’t been treated at all yet, you need to pull out all the stops. - Get some Capstar tablets immediately! They kill the fleas. Repeat the dose every day or every other day until all the fleas on the cat have been eradicated. (They usually come in packs of 6 tablets). - You also need to worm your cat as soon as possible (something like Milbemax from Elanco). Cats groom themselves and ingest fleas, eggs, and larvae. These can continue to develop and be passed in their stools, and besides, fleas carry certain types of tapeworm. - Vacuum EVERY surface (if you’ve got the energy, do it every single day). - Use a flea fogger on every floor (this is a canister you place in the middle of the room and set off – you’ll need to leave the house). If you live in a flat, make sure to block up any extractor fans or vents first. - Clean all surfaces at high temperatures or with steam (again, if you can face it, do this daily). - If you have a patio, scrub it down with buckets of very hot water mixed with vinegar. The heat kills them and the vinegar acts as a repellent. - If you haven't used a fogger, even if you haven't seen any fleas on your bedding or sofas yet, use a household flea spray. You might not see any fleas, but there will definitely be eggs and larvae that aren't visible to the naked eye. - Any cushions, fabrics, or clothes that were lying around the house should go into a bin bag with a good dose of household spray. Tie it shut and leave it for at least 4 days before washing. - Any bedding that can handle high temperatures needs to go through the washing machine and then the tumble dryer. You’ll need to be really persistent for at least a month (that’s the flea's life cycle). Once you’ve finished the pack of Capstar and there are no more fleas on the cat, apply a spot-on treatment. Just a heads-up, Frontline Combo doesn't seem to be very effective anymore, and a lot of people suggest using Stronghold instead. Keep worming your cat every month if they go outside, or every 3 months if they are an indoor cat. Make sure to keep up with the monthly spot-on treatments, or you could ask your vet for a monthly tablet instead. Apply a repellent spray to your bedding and sofas every month. Something natural, like an essential oil-based spray, is usually a safe bet. Just don't use the heavy-duty household treatment spray for this (as that’s a one-off treatment, not a regular repellent). Keep an eye on your cat every month and be extra careful about keeping their treatments up to date. Give their lovely fur a thorough check-over regularly. Basically, you have to hit it hard and keep at it for five weeks. After that, you just need to set up a monthly routine and stick to it.

Hi everyone I’ve got four cats; two of them spend a lot of time outdoors and my big lad is out pretty much all the time. I’ve been through absolute hell for eight months with these pesky fleas. I steam cleaned everything, including my mattress and the sofa, washed all the laundry and put it through the tumble dryer, but nothing worked. In the end, I called in a professional cleaning and pest control company and re-treated all four cats, and now the flea problem is finally sorted.

I don’t have wooden floors but I still ended up with a flea infestation one summer. I only managed to get rid of them by hoovering constantly—practically ten times a day. It was hard work but it paid off. Now, regarding the cat, I’ve heard that Diatomaceous Earth (from health food shops) is quite effective. You just have to protect the cat’s head so they don't breathe it in as it's very fine. I haven't tried it myself on my cats, so I can't personally vouch for it.

You can certainly get the vet to do it... but you can also do it yourself with a nit comb (like the ones used for children)... That way you'll see if there are any. Also, in my opinion, fleas jump pretty high, so I’m still quite surprised you saw it on your arm... is it possible that this flea had bitten your cat and been poisoned? That would explain its lack of "responsiveness". It’ll be hard to keep a cat that likes going outdoors inside for long... maybe a day or two, just enough time to check their coat, but if they're treated regularly, you shouldn't have any issues.

Maybe fleas in the floorboards?

Yes, absolutely, the flea dies once it bites her, but my worry is that if she brings more back home, they’ll just start laying eggs around the house again. Just look at what happened tonight – if that flea had jumped onto the floor instead of my arm, that would’ve been it. I’ve just thought of a potential solution: maybe I could take her to the vet to see if they can give her a proper flea-combing and get all of them off her (I’m not sure if that’s something they actually do?) and then keep her indoors from then on. But then again, I don't know if she'd be particularly happy being stuck inside.

I'm honestly really happy for you, I truly am... It’s the absolute truth, especially as the first thing I did when I got her was take her to the vet, who confirmed she was all clear. She’s been on tablets for two months, she’s had Stronghold for a week, and she’s been wearing the collar for three days. The problem is knowing at what point this vicious cycle actually breaks. Because, as I’ve been trying to explain, if I hadn't spotted that flea tonight, it would have been the same old routine all over again. I mean, if no product actually stops a flea from landing on the cat, it’s just a never-ending circle.