[OT] Ouch! Pain pain pain!

[Zhure]

Ok, this sounds retarded - I mean special - but put a night light on a floor outlet and a bowl of heavily salted (table salt) water under the light. If the rest of the house is fairly dark, the light will attract the fleas and they will fall in the saltwater and die.

It's not 100%, but about ten years ago we had a bad flea problem and that helped for that summer.

Greg

 

[Scion of Vyshaan]

I have three cats too. Washing them is an adventure, but the worst trouble they gave us is when we realized that one of them had worms. We had to give each cat two pills. Six pills in one night... shudder.

 

[the Jester]

If you're going to let your cats out, why not pick up some Frontline or a similar product from your vet -- a monthly or bimonthly dose will keep the fleas & ticks off. It's a topical -- a few drops between the shoulder blades is all it takes -- and doesn't have the negative side effects that most flea collars do.

We've got multiple furkids; living in Georgia we'd have major flea/tick problems without this sort of treatment.

Edit: if you don't go the Frontline route, at least pick up a fine-toothed flea comb, which will allow you to brush the fleas out, catch, & kill them without doing the sctraching-cat-submarine ritual.

Edit 2: My lovely spouse tells me Frontline may not be cat-friendly, but the competitive product (Advantage) is and works the same way.

I used Advantage for years on my cats. It worked great, is relatively cheap, doesn't piss them off and takes only a second (literally) to apply. I heavily recommend it.

 

[Tarrasque Wrangler]

I hate to be a nazi about this, but don't let your cats out. Cats will attack birds and other indigenous wildlife, and your cats could run afoul of a dog who's just minding his business in his backyard. Your cats will stay cleaner, pick up less fleas, and you'll have that lovely smell of cat waste that every cat owner should cultivate.

If you MUST let your cats out, get Frontline or the equivalent. That stuff is awesome.

-Tarrasque Wrangler, who hears lots of horror stories from his vet tech girlfriend.

 

[F5]

When I brought my 2 cats home from the pound, the smallest one had a nasty flea infestation. She had been so badly chewed on by the little bloodsuckers that she was dangerously anaemic. We had to give her a flea dip. My wife (then girlfriend) and I wrestled the 5-lb hellcat into the water, and wound up with deep gashes from elbow to wrist. Let me tell you, soapy flea-killer suds sting when gotten into open wounds. Clean them out ASAP, kuz you don't want that stuff getting into the wound.

We lathered the cat up all the way to her face, and the fleas ran to the only part of the cat that wasn't toxic. Dozens of little black bugs swarmed out of her fur and started skittering around her face. It was nightmarish. My wife is traumatized to this day...

 

[Uzumaki]

Allow me to throw my hand in behind a plain ol' flea comb. When I got my kitten, 8 long years ago, she was covered in fleas. I think their combined weight was more than she was (granted, she was a runt). Spent a week combing her two or three times a day, everyday, for a half an hour. Got maybe 50 fleas off of her each time. She was a family project. But it all paid off, and she's been completely flealess for years. I heard somewhere that fleas weren't as attracted to lighter colored cats, and I guess that may have something to do with it, as she's orange and white.

 

[Darrin Drader]

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[Mark]

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[S'mon]

Our two cats go out in our walled garden ('back yard') - we use Frontline on them, it interrupts the flea life cycle and works well. It's expensive here though - only available from vets, at a big mark-up.
If you have a bad flea infestation you may need to treat the house with flea powder, but this won't kill the eggs.

BTW in the UK keeping cats indoors is generally considered cruel. When we lived in a flat (apartment), one cat would jump off the balcony and roam around, but the other stayed indoors and seemed very depressed. Now she can go outside she's a lot happier.

 

[Darrin Drader]

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