Cats and Flea Control Products

[sarahseben]

no biggie ashley. it's good enough that you've responded to my inquiry. i've brought them to the vet and she recommended the frontline spray to de-flea them since i'm having multiple cats at home; and as for red-spot rashes, she gave me a topical cream.

i dunno about others but imho, having such articles by you or other forumers did give me a rough idea of what's going on with my cat's condition. of course, we won't accept it wholly and take matters into our own hand without getting a professional advise, at least i know that my cats are having problem, it's curable and i should do something before it becomes terminal. thanks to you, at least i know now the basic guidelines on flea control for my cats.

btw, all 9 of them are, finger-crossed;flea-free just to be on a safe-side, we had a spring-cleaning session, washed all their beddings; in case the fleas were originated from there. and bathing 9 cats in a day is not that fun at all! i got cuts and scratches everywhere!

Originally Posted by ashleywong

Hi sarahben

as per mentioned in my earlier post, i sought advice from my vet and followed to the "T". i made my vet my best friend - also my cats' best friend - you can't do wrong.

i have never ever tried to buy over the counter medication for my cats, not even deworming tablets because it is always safer to get vet's advice, even for deworming and as i've found out often, the condition of the cat, it's health status and its weight matters in prescription and even non-prescription medication.

i'd advise you to seek your vet's advice - like i said, it can't be expensive - furthermore, you found out about your kittens' conditions from your vet - why not get the medication from your vet? it is not that much more expensive than outside and some vets do give discounts to their regulars (if the said customers ask).

even though we share and share alike, i don't think that you should use the articles and information found here as a substition for good vet's advice - for our additonal knowledge and understanding for the betterment of our cats yes but to substitute as vet's advice - that's not good.

hope by now you've already sought your vet's advice as to which product is suitable for your kittens.

sorry to reply so late - i was innundated with lots of work

good luck

[FurKids]

Originally Posted by sarahseben

no biggie ashley. it's good enough that you've responded to my inquiry. i've brought them to the vet and she recommended the frontline spray to de-flea them since i'm having multiple cats at home; and as for red-spot rashes, she gave me a topical cream.

i dunno about others but imho, having such articles by you or other forumers did give me a rough idea of what's going on with my cat's condition. of course, we won't accept it wholly and take matters into our own hand without getting a professional advise, at least i know that my cats are having problem, it's curable and i should do something before it becomes terminal. thanks to you, at least i know now the basic guidelines on flea control for my cats.

btw, all 9 of them are, finger-crossed;flea-free just to be on a safe-side, we had a spring-cleaning session, washed all their beddings; in case the fleas were originated from there. and bathing 9 cats in a day is not that fun at all! i got cuts and scratches everywhere!

Sarah, why did you bathe your cats? When did you do it? How many days after applying Frontline spray? Hope you didn't bathe them too soon to ensure the maximum effectiveness of Frontline's protection against the bugs for a longer period of time. According to literature, even though Frontlines says that bathing the cat 2 days after application does not diminish the protection against fleas, the studies showed that it does and reinfection appeared earlier than if the cat had not been shampooed. And according to Frontline, reapplication must not be done in less than 3 weeks because all flea products are poison at the end of the day and have negative effects later on in life.

To be effective, you should not bathe them for at least 2 days after applying the spray (and application of Frontline should only be done 2 days after bathing your cat, not immediately after) so that the medication stays on the fur and offers 1 month of protection where the fleas will be killed on contact with the fur, they do not even have to suck the blood to be killed. Frontline enters the oil glands and is distributed and stays on the fur of the cat, killing fleas on contact.

[ashleywong]

Hi Sarah, Furkids
Furkid is correct as my vet gave me the same advice - so i made sure that either i bathed the cats first and waited at least 2 -3 days before i applied it or if i applied it prior to bathing, i did it at least 2-3 days before bathing. i know i'm sometimes quite forgetful (so many dates to remember) i wrote them down so i can check and when i applied the medication.

i now use advantage for my cats because it is easier to apply. my cats are quite naughty. initially i will locked each cat and myself in the small shower stall and to apply all over the cat but my cat is also smart, it would cling to me and clamber all over me and rubbing the product onto me until i'm all fully covered with it (and the cat has "rubbed" of most of it (i rubbed it into their skin and did it almost all over the cat's body). after getting such "application" myself for two months in a row, i went back to my vet and recounted my problem. she had a good laugh and recommended i used advantage instead but each month i'd buy the amount i needed from my vet because she has my cats' health and weight histories on record.

advantage is easy to use, just squeeze the content of the vial/pipet on the nape of the cat so that it can't lick it off and voila - done. no fuss. however i'm a bit "kiasu" i was afraid that the other cat would lick it so i also make the treated cat wear the e-collar (leftover from their neutering surgeries days). when the product has dried off on the skin, i take of the e-collar. it worked and save me countless hassle of having to monitor that the cat do not groom itself or other cat groom it before the medication dries off.

yeah, i do agree with you, some articles here (i'm not refering to myself as i post only general information that's widely considered public domain information) are very informative and provides more knowledge to forming a better understanding of our furkids.

do share with us your tips and secret to bathing all 9 cats in another post - that's the part i don't like the most and i'm sure my cats hate it as well - nicky doens't mind playing with running water from the faucets and fountains but if i bathe him, he'd hate me for weeks on end!

[sarahseben]

Hi Fk, I bathed them before i went to the vet and applied the frontline spray.
Just to make sure that they're not smelly when the vet is handling them

Originally Posted by FurKids

Sarah, why did you bathe your cats? When did you do it? How many days after applying Frontline spray? Hope you didn't bathe them too soon to ensure the maximum effectiveness of Frontline's protection against the bugs for a longer period of time. According to literature, even though Frontlines says that bathing the cat 2 days after application does not diminish the protection against fleas, the studies showed that it does and reinfection appeared earlier than if the cat had not been shampooed. And according to Frontline, reapplication must not be done in less than 3 weeks because all flea products are poison at the end of the day and have negative effects later on in life.

To be effective, you should not bathe them for at least 2 days after applying the spray (and application of Frontline should only be done 2 days after bathing your cat, not immediately after) so that the medication stays on the fur and offers 1 month of protection where the fleas will be killed on contact with the fur, they do not even have to suck the blood to be killed. Frontline enters the oil glands and is distributed and stays on the fur of the cat, killing fleas on contact.

[FurKids]

Originally Posted by sarahseben

Hi Fk, I bathed them before i went to the vet and applied the frontline spray.
Just to make sure that they're not smelly when the vet is handling them

Sarah, you still did not answer the Q of how many days after bathing was the flea medication applied at the vet. 0 day? 1 day? 2 days? And your so-called vet did not ask nor advised you at all?

The reason we all ask is we always want to know which vet is bagus (do things correctly) and which vet tak bagus (who do things incorrectly) so that forumers do not end up going to lousy vets who do things incorrectly, we still have to foot the bill for zero services provided and our Furkids suffer. Some vets are good and competent, but some are lousy and do not admit that they are and we forumers mahu kongsi pengalaman and avoid these lousy vets like plaque. Worse stil, some are not even qualified vets but menyamar as one (ada many sad, sad stories on this forum and the other kampung).

Sarah, not all flea products are the same (ie. work in the same manner) ... some fleas products need the flea to suck the animal's blood in order to kill it. The better ones do not even require the flea to bite the animal and suck the blood ... ie. just passing through and brushing against the fur on contact is enough to kill the pest because the product does not enter the animal's blood system, only the oil glands in the skin and the oil secreted distributes the poison throughout the fur to kill the fleas and eggs.

Advantage is not the only product easy to use via spot-on. Frontline is also just as easy to apply and unlike the others, the Frontline spot-on combo formula addresses mites as well (which I am very happy about). Frontline does not require the fleas to suck blood to kill, just contact with the fur kills it (I also like this increased effectiveness in killing those bugs). Frontline does not enter the animal's bloodstream.

There has been a tremendous breakthrough in fleas products making them easier to use, more effective and at the same time, much safer on the animals. We need to always update ourselves so that we do not end up with obsolete information and knowledge. But at the end of the day, fleas products are still poisons and need to be handled with much care.

[euanna]

How exactly do you know if your cat has fleas?? I got curious and checked Sherbet's neck and saw dark colored dirt on the base of his fur.. Google it up and it's probably flea residue... but Sherbet doesn't hv any red marks or spots on his skin. I do see him scratch his neck / side of his face now and then.

I'm guessing his flea problem hasn't gotten very serious..so..should I go to the vet immediately..or can i just use medicated flea shampoo and over the counter flea spray like Frontline??

Lo and behold.. things like this always happens to me on the weekend.. when gov vet hosp is closed

What about my house? I know I have to clean all the beddings and such.. but do I need to use something else to stop the flea getting out of hand ?? (Spray the house or something?? )..

Best I asked here 1st before the vet thinks I'm overreacting

[blackie007]

I just remembered something I learned more than 3 years ago. For very young kittens, don't use Frontline or any fleas products.

When I brought Brownie & Blackie home, Brownie had flea eggs. You could see the black dirt on his skin. The vet said they were too young to use Frontline on (they were only about 3 days old), so suggested that I use limau kasturi juice instead.

As per the vet's instructions, I sliced up pieces of limau kasturi and wipe them with the pieces (even though Blackie didn't have fleas, I was advised to make sure the fleas don't jump from Brownie to Blackie).

I don't remember how often I had to do this, but I think it was every day or alternate days. I don't really remember, so anyone wanting to use this on their young kitties please check with your vet the frequency of application first.

[euanna]

Originally Posted by blackie007

I just remembered something I learned more than 3 years ago. For very young kittens, don't use Frontline or any fleas products.

When I brought Brownie & Blackie home, Brownie had flea eggs. You could see the black dirt on his skin. The vet said they were too young to use Frontline on (they were only about 3 days old), so suggested that I use limau kasturi juice instead.

As per the vet's instructions, I sliced up pieces of limau kasturi and wipe them with the pieces (even though Blackie didn't have fleas, I was advised to make sure the fleas don't jump from Brownie to Blackie).

I don't remember how often I had to do this, but I think it was every day or alternate days. I don't really remember, so anyone wanting to use this on their young kitties please check with your vet the frequency of application first.

Limau Kasturi?! That's something new..I'll try that.. but... doesn't cat hate citrus smell??

[blackie007]

Err, Yan, limau kasturi for very young kittens, like 3 days old....I don't think they are effective for your Sherbert as he's much older. Use Frontline, for older kittens, but please follow the bottle's instructions strictly as it is POISON!

I think they're too young at that time to know what they like or hate....haven't opened their eyes yet!

Originally Posted by euanna

Limau Kasturi?! That's something new..I'll try that.. but... doesn't cat hate citrus smell??

[cookie]

Originally Posted by sarahseben

and bathing 9 cats in a day is not that fun at all! i got cuts and scratches everywhere!

Originally Posted by ashleywong

do share with us your tips and secret to bathing all 9 cats in another post -

Sarahseben, please do share with us the secret. I am flat out after bathing 2 only.

[euanna]

Originally Posted by blackie007

Err, Yan, limau kasturi for very young kittens, like 3 days old....I don't think they are effective for your Sherbert as he's much older. Use Frontline, for older kittens, but please follow the bottle's instructions strictly as it is POISON!

I think they're too young at that time to know what they like or hate....haven't opened their eyes yet!

I rasa lebih selesa / selamat tenyeh limau kasturi kat anak2 bulus tu..dari guna frontline / chemical based flea control product...

Sekarang Sherbet ada masalah flea sikit..pastu ada selamatkan sekor stray (Salem) ada kutu .. ishh kena mandi limau gitu..esok la..hari ni banyak sangat excitement ..

[June]

Cookie,during CNY holiday I bathed 11 cats of mine I took nearly 6 hours to bath all of them. First my hubby and me running around in the house to catch all the cats and put them inside the cage and carrier. After that I took 1 carrier (contain 3 cats each carrier) to my room.The rest stay outside with my hubby.I bath them in my bedroom's toilet.3 cats in 1 carrier will wait for their turn to be bath. If I don't do like this,I'll have to start digging the boxes,cupboard,under the kitchen cabinet etc By the time I'm done with them,I was totally drenched.so normally I put on my t-shirt only while bathing them.

Originally Posted by cookie

Sarahseben, please do share with us the secret. I am flat out after bathing 2 only.

[blackie007]

I know how you feel, Yan, but an older cat may have more fleas or flea eggs, and if you don't control it when it's just a few tiny eggs, they'll multiply.

But if you prefer to try limau kasturi first, then do go ahead. Just make sure the juice doesn't get into their mouth or eyes. Make sure the spot where the dark dirt is gets thoroughly "juiced". You might need a few, since your Sherbert is many times bigger than when Brownie was 3 days old.

Originally Posted by euanna

I rasa lebih selesa / selamat tenyeh limau kasturi kat anak2 bulus tu..dari guna frontline / chemical based flea control product...

Sekarang Sherbet ada masalah flea sikit..pastu ada selamatkan sekor stray (Salem) ada kutu .. ishh kena mandi limau gitu..esok la..hari ni banyak sangat excitement ..

[euanna]

Originally Posted by blackie007

I know how you feel, Yan, but an older cat may have more fleas or flea eggs, and if you don't control it when it's just a few tiny eggs, they'll multiply.

But if you prefer to try limau kasturi first, then do go ahead. Just make sure the juice doesn't get into their mouth or eyes. Make sure the spot where the dark dirt is gets thoroughly "juiced". You might need a few, since your Sherbert is many times bigger than when Brownie was 3 days old.

Hehe..I bought a bag of Limau Kasturi.. let see if Sherbet would stay still..

[cookie]

Originally Posted by June

Cookie,during CNY holiday I bathed 11 cats of mine I took nearly 6 hours to bath all of them. First my hubby and me running around in the house to catch all the cats and put them inside the cage and carrier. After that I took 1 carrier (contain 3 cats each carrier) to my room.The rest stay outside with my hubby.I bath them in my bedroom's toilet.3 cats in 1 carrier will wait for their turn to be bath. If I don't do like this,I'll have to start digging the boxes,cupboard,under the kitchen cabinet etc By the time I'm done with them,I was totally drenched.so normally I put on my t-shirt only while bathing them.

Wow! June, you are a SuperWoman! Must salute you - bathing 11 cats in 6 hours with only a T-shirt on! Somehow I can't do it. Max is bathing 2 cats only. I will be dog-tired.

[sarahseben]

no specific secret nor techniques. i have to bear with all the mewing, scratching, tantrums and amuk from them

usually there will be my nephew to help me out. he will hold my cat while i bathed and shampooed them with lukewarm water. the shampooing part was not that hard, things will get worse when i spread water on them. instead of using the hose, i'll use a gayung and bathe them with it.

bathing 9 of them was never an easy task.it would take me up to 3 hours to finish up. since i have no water heater at home, i gotta re-heat the water 2-3 times to prepare "a nice water temperature" for them

june, salute sama u! 11 cats in 6 hours! how can u endure!! i 3 jam tu pun dah bad mood giler dah tuhhh hahahahaa..especially bila ada yang put on tantrum. nasib baik comel!

Originally Posted by cookie

Sarahseben, please do share with us the secret. I am flat out after bathing 2 only.

[June]

huhuhu!!! Sarah,kucing aku tak scratch tp mengiau mcm kena lapah.smp my neighbour on the 2nd floor will call me."June,what happened to your cats?? sangkutkah?? Bukanlah,I bathed them".2x terjadi mcm ni,pastu she never call and ask anymore. I use gayung also.masak air panas dulu,then sediakan besen besar dgn air panas campur air paip.baru mandi time. I need to take out everything inside the toilet first.baldi,bin,toiletries etc.klu tak tunggang langgang toilet.biar kosong je,besen,air dan syampoo. Sarah, 6 jam tu dah masuk tea break.wakakakakakak!! klu tak pengsan woh!!

Originally Posted by sarahseben

no specific secret nor techniques. i have to bear with all the mewing, scratching, tantrums and amuk from them

usually there will be my nephew to help me out. he will hold my cat while i bathed and shampooed them with lukewarm water. the shampooing part was not that hard, things will get worse when i spread water on them. instead of using the hose, i'll use a gayung and bathe them with it.

bathing 9 of them was never an easy task.it would take me up to 3 hours to finish up. since i have no water heater at home, i gotta re-heat the water 2-3 times to prepare "a nice water temperature" for them

june, salute sama u! 11 cats in 6 hours! how can u endure!! i 3 jam tu pun dah bad mood giler dah tuhhh hahahahaa..especially bila ada yang put on tantrum. nasib baik comel!

[June]

I kept reminding myself,penat 1 x. meaning I will get tired bathing them at one go.heheheheh!!! every mth I must pick one day dedicate to bath them only

Originally Posted by cookie

Wow! June, you are a SuperWoman! Must salute you - bathing 11 cats in 6 hours with only a T-shirt on! Somehow I can't do it. Max is bathing 2 cats only. I will be dog-tired.

[FurKids]

euanna, that is a beautiful little kitten you saved. Poor baby, he must be so itchy and suffering from all the flea bites.

He is very, very young so you must be extra cautious with everything you apply on him or feed him.

Every time I find a very small kitten like this (or he finds me), I do not bother to give milk at all because of the risk and bother of diarrhea. I just soak a little RC Babycat in hot water, cover it up and wait about 15-20 minutes for it to soften. Then, using very clean fingers (wash with soap and rinse well, especially the fingernails), mash it up and add some warm water if needed to get a thick bubur consistency and give it to the kitten to lick it all up from a small kichap saucer.

Feed it at least 4 times daily. Using RC Babycat, I do not have to bother with diarrhea, and he is getting all the necessary nutrients needed for his very young age.

Never get him wet and never let him get a chill. They get sick very and die very easily at this age.

Get a lice comb (the kutu comb which people use) and use it to remove all the fleas and eggs. Make sure you are able to catch and kill the fleas quickly because they jump and escape very, very fast and hide to lay more eggs elsewhere (like your clothes, carpet, rug, furniture, floor, etc).

They can jump on to your clothes very fast, hide and then hop off to another cat very, very easily without you knowing it, that is why Sherbet got infected (he is definitely infected although you do not see the fleas because they are very good at burrowing quickly into the fur to hide.

If Sherbet is 3 months and above (and 2 kg) , go and get the Frontline Spot-on (not Advantage which is cheaper).

DO NO BATHE HIM AT LEAST 2 DAYS BEFORE AND 2 DAYS AFTER APPLICATION. IF YOU HAVE JUST BATHED HIM, WAIT 2 DAYS BEFORE APPLICATION.

I think this instruction is because when you bathe the cat, you strip off the natural oil from his fur and the way Frontline Spot-on works is by entering the sebaceous glands and spreading all over the fur through the body oil, giving the fur its protection whereby any flea will be killed upon contact with the fur alone, without having to bite the cat (this is the difference with Advantage which requires the flea to bite and suck the blood to die). Frontline does not work through the blood system, only the sebaceous system, which I find more effective.

To apply, carefully part the fur at the base of his skull at the back (where he cannot lick) and apply on to the skin (not the fur). It needs to get absorbed into the skin. Put him in a cage so that the medication dries well (takes half a day at least because the medication turns oily on the fur and takes some time to totally dry). You do not want your cat to go bergolek somewhere and rub it all off or get caught wet somewhere and interfere with the absorbsion because you are not allowed to reapply the medication again until at least 3 weeks has passed because of the toxicity to the cat. You will need to reapply again after 1 month and again after another month in order to break the flea life cycle effectively, otherwise you can easily end up with re-infection when the pupa or any eggs on your carpet or floor or furniture hatches later on.

[sarahseben]

wuish..harus ada teabreak..kena buat stretching jugak, lenguh woooo nak mandi them lama-lama..sekor sekor dahla berat..tapi part your concern neighbour tu kelakar! ahahahahhaa bunyi lebih teruk dari tersangkut sebenarnya. ada few of my cats dia suka mcm kecikkan tengkuk dia, hoping that they could escape from my grip. padahal kita pegang bawah ketiak dia. if i mandi them in the sink, they like to grab on the tap head.time tu dorang relax la sikit.

but don't worry cookie. we escaped unhurt and alive although it might sound like we're in the middle of the war or something hehehehe

Originally Posted by June

huhuhu!!! Sarah,kucing aku tak scratch tp mengiau mcm kena lapah.smp my neighbour on the 2nd floor will call me."June,what happened to your cats?? sangkutkah?? Bukanlah,I bathed them".2x terjadi mcm ni,pastu she never call and ask anymore. I use gayung also.masak air panas dulu,then sediakan besen besar dgn air panas campur air paip.baru mandi time. I need to take out everything inside the toilet first.baldi,bin,toiletries etc.klu tak tunggang langgang toilet.biar kosong je,besen,air dan syampoo. Sarah, 6 jam tu dah masuk tea break.wakakakakakak!! klu tak pengsan woh!!