Our cat Athena is a fluffy girl and we just found a flea on her, we removed it and crushed it but now my girlfriend is freaking out and her skin is squirming thinking the whole house could be infested. I’m of the opinion that we’ve caught it early and we should just check her usual sleeping spots as well as get a flea comb but my girl is damn near ready to buy a steam cleaner for the rug.
Idk, what do you guys think? How should we handle this?
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Get some Revolution Pro or Advantage, follow the directions on the box. They are very effective unless you have a serious infestation, which it sounds like you don’t. Just make sure it’s the cat version and for the correct weight range of your cats.
Yep, any fleas about the house will jump on to the cat and then die.
No need to decontaminate the entire house, just make sure that fleas can’t make a home on your cat.
Please, don’t nuke your cat.
It’s the only way to be sure.
I read somewhere that nuclear weapons were potentially bad for cats.
Citation needed. Also, three people seem firm in their belief that nuclear weapons are perfectly safe for cats.
but are they worse for fleas? 🤔
You have a ton of comments so I’ll keep it short. Fleas are very, very, very extremely hard to get rid of once they reach critical mass. Their eggs can remain dormant for up to two years, and they’re immune to pest control methods including bombs.
My suggestion: get a pill based flea treatment, read the dosage instructions and keep it going for at least 3 months. Clean and vacuum regularly. You don’t need to buy a steam cleaner but other than that your girl is spot on.
If you’ve checked the cat’s fur thoroughly and found no other fleas, it’s not a big deal. Check sleeping spots for eggs and use preventative treatments regularly and you should be fine.
Get pest control there now. Give your cat a flea bath. Clean everything very well. I had to deal with this once and it was a months long ordeal. If you catch it fast, you might avoid this.
Pest control right out of the gate is overkill. Get your pets some of these new medication they make. It’s like one tablet for a whole month, fleas will get obliterated.
Thankfully we have very little fabric in our tiny apartment, I would imagine our vinyl floors are not fleas favorite places. Were in the middle of some monumental purchases rn so I’m not sure we can afford pest control, but what we can do is hit every spot of textiles in our house, might just go for the steam cleaner after all
Don’t panic. A few fleas could easily be random chance. You don’t really have to go to a vet, but in this case I would just for peace of mind for the humans.
Do buy a flea comb (if you do not already have one) and begin combing every night. Espcially around the neck and head. Don’t worry about squishing the fleas, just mix up some mild soapy water in a glass and drop them in that.
Keep count every night and you will be able to tell if the problem is under control or not.
Do vacuum and clean house.
You may want to invest in a flea trap. These combine a light and a sticky pad and can be placed on the floor to attract any loose fleas. Move it around to likely places and it will both help trap fleas and give you an idea of how many might be in the house (if any.)
If you do not go to a vet, do buy some over the counter flea treatment. If regular combing is not enough, it will help, but I would not use it for just a few fleas.
My cat has had fleas a few times, but thankfully I’ve only needed the ointment once. Mist of the time combing was enough.
Unless that was the specimen 0 (and even then it could have already laid eggs), go full nuclear.
Anti flea necklaces, insectice (make sure it says it kills fleas) all over any textile in the house (since i asume ur cat is the same as mine and goes everywhere) remember they can jump up to 3 meters, so even if kitty kiter didn’t sleept over them, they could be there, if necessary burn his bed and buy a new one (if u see lots of little white “dusty” stuff, its to late, u wont get rid of those eggs, burn it), etc, etc, etc.
Conclusion? the level of treath u feelt, react two levels above that.
You should be able to rent a steam cleaner, rather than buying one for this single event.
Fleas are annoying. When my cats got them bad or was weeks of cleaning all the “soft fabricy things”, vacuuming, and flea baths.
Now is down to just a dose of advantage flea medicine on the back of her neck once a month (and still washing a lot, but she’s much better now)
I can only recommend advantage for the flea medicine in the back of neck. We tried a cheaper off brand and she was like…got very sick. Vet said it can happen, so I went back to the only one that she tolerates well.
