Advertisement
So, my brothers dog gave my kitties fleas. The dog is in & out all the time & my brother is lazy about bathing him. Anyway, I know they have fleas. But, now, they have scabs & bald spots from scratching, sores, the whole lot. I think it's flea allergies. I've tried drug store stuff, then frontline...made the fur loss worse! And they are still crazy-bothered by fleas. I flea bombed tonight but I'm still finding fleas. Please help me help my girls until I can get them to a vet!! My older cat sits in the basement all day everyday except to eat drink & use the litter box. And she absolutely hates the dog btw!! So what can I do?
Advertisement
Advertisement
-
Re: Flea allergies?
Fri, August 28, 2009 - 8:16 AMI wish I could help!! My friend's dog had the scabs & bald spots from scratching, and he had to get a special shampoo. I'm not sure what the story would be for cats though. I'm so sorry this is happening to you, I can imagine how scary it would be to see.
I found this, but I don't know if it will help:
www.ehow.com/how_2289116...as-cats.html
-
Re: Flea allergies?
Fri, August 28, 2009 - 10:13 AM<<So what can I do?>>
Kick out your brother and his dog!!! -
-
Re: Flea allergies?
Fri, August 28, 2009 - 10:15 AMThe dog for sure, I mean your kitties are just going to keep getting re-infected. Can you keep the dog somewhere else? -
-
Re: Flea allergies?
Fri, August 28, 2009 - 11:03 AMTreating the kitties without treating everything else (your carpet, couches, etc.) will not cure the problem. Your brother should get some flea treatment as well. Treatments like Frontline should work even if they are outside. Obviously, your kitty had an allergic reaction the Frontline, but there's stronger stuff out there that you can get from your vet.
-
-
-
Re: Flea allergies?
Tue, September 1, 2009 - 11:01 AMOne of my cats has flea allergies. Cortisone was the only thing that helped once he got fleas and started itching. You will need to get them each a cortisone shot to make them more comfortable, flea bomb the house, and flea shampoo all the pets.
Now that we have a dog, we keep flea medicine on the cats as well as the dog, even though the cats never go out. We call the mass dosing of pets (3 cats, one dog), Pet Wetting Day and while all of them hate it, and my long haired cat looks like she should be doing the Thorazine Shuffle in a mental hospital, we have no flea problems.
I don't care much for flea collars. They often ruin the hair on a cat's neck. -
-
Re: Flea allergies?
Tue, September 1, 2009 - 11:13 AMI'm highly inclined away from msot veterinary allopathiccs, but Advantage flea treatment has made a huge differnce. beause i stops fleas at ALL a=arts of the flea life cycle, if you treat yor lets, it will eliminate the fleas that hops off and on again and you shouldn't need to flea bomb or otherwise "treat" (that is, ;poison) your rugs, bed, etc. it;s really totally unhealthy, and flea bombs can even cause explosions...no, really; i used to work fr pesticide Action Nework and I was an information technician.
flea colalrs are documented not to work and they are also strong pesticides; increase the chances of you and your pets getting cancer.
Advantage is not cheap but it;s pretty low toxicity and it really does work within a few days to get rid of the fleas in your house. there are some reports of flea resistance but don;t overuse it (it;s applied topically between the shoulders once very four weeks - with my cat who is allergic to fleas, the vet recommended every three weeks instead when the weather is warm and it has made a huge difference.
try catnip oil sprays too...it works as a mosquito repellent and one evolutionary advantage, no pun intended, to cats' attraction o rollin in catnp may be that it helps repel fleas and other skin parasites.
I have a funy story to tell about catnip oil bug repellent; I bought some lat year at a natural pharmacy and the label had a warning "do not use in wild areas; it is unknown whether large wild cats such as mountain lions are affected in a similar way to housecats by catnip." uh huh, where do people generally use mosquito repellent; in air conditioned movie theaters or apartments, or out in the wild?
though maybe it *will* help in your house if your cat has fleas. since most ats don;t like to be sprayed with anything, maybe spray a little on yor hand and then pet or brush your cat with it.
-
-
Re: Flea allergies?
Fri, September 11, 2009 - 1:35 PMThanks for all the replies, I'll let you know what happens. I do want rid of the brother/dog problem for other reasons too. My brother was gone for 2 weeks (I was hoping for good) & the cats spent all their time upstairs again, so I'm getting even more suspicious that they hate him!! I already flea bombed bathed the cats, etc, & while I was brother free the dog stayed outside at all times, & there was an improvement. But, they weren't completely gone. I guess I'll hesitantly try the advantage. I just worry after the frontline episode!! Hopefully my vet will be back soon too. And in the meantime I do find it therapeutic to comb fleas off the girls & drown the little nasties!!