How to Get Rid of Fleas

Fleas. Even the word sounds ugly. And, they are. They’re disgusting little insects that bite your cat and feed on its blood.

For all of you who love your cats, flea control is something you have to take seriously. Not only can fleas be an annoyance to you and your scratching cat, they can also be a threat to your cat’s health. They can cause flea allergy dermatitis, and can also transmit parasites in your cat’s intestines.

How to Detect Fleas

How do you know if your cat has fleas? The obvious sign is scratching. Another sign is worms in your cat’s feces (which indicate parasites in the intestines). You might also be on the lookout for the telltale sign of flea droppings in your house. They look like little grains of pepper and turn red when water is added to them.

Flea Remedies

The first step in ridding your cat of fleas is a good soapy bath. Almost any ordinary pet shampoo will kill the flea, but if you wish you can check the strength of the soap by dropping a few fleas from a flea comb into the soapy water. If it dies, you’re good to go. As for commercial products, there are safe flea control products on the market, and there are unsafe flea control products

Unsafe Flea Control Products

There are some chemicals used in dips and on collars which can not only kill the flea, but be very harmful to your cat, as well as toddlers (who may touch these chemicals and put their fingers in their mouths). According to the NRDC (“Natural Resources Defense Council”), do not buy any flea products, or have any flea remedy procedure performed with contain the following chemicals:

• Dips with Phosmet
• Flea collars containing dichlorvos (DDVP)
• Flea collars containing chlorpyrifos
• Flea collars containing Dursban
• Dips, sprays or dust containing tetrachlorvinphos
• Spot-on products for dogs containing permethrin should never be used on cats

Again, the above chemicals are not good for your cats or your children.

Safer Flea Control Products

The following flea control products are recommended by the NRDC for use on cats

• Frontline Spray Treatment
• Frontline Top Spot for Cats
• Advantage Tm9 Topical Solution
• Advantage 18 Topical Solution
• Program
• Hartz Rabon Spray with Methoprene Aerosol
• Zoecon Rf-322 Ovicidal Pump Spray
• Zoecon 9207 Collar
• Sandoz 9116 Mousse
• Raid Flea Killer Plus
• Flea Ovisterilant Collar for Cats #1
• Pyriproxyfen IGR Residual Ovisterilant Shampoo #1
• Pyriproxyfen 10% Spot On for Cats
• Adams Flea and Tick Mist with Nylar
• Mycodex Fastact WP Flea and Tick Spray with Nylar

Everyday Flea Control

One way to control fleas is to eliminate them before they get on your cat. One way to do this is to be very diligent about vacuuming your house on a regular basis. After vacuuming, be sure to immediately dispose of the vacuum bag in the outside trash. You might even want to tape up the bag so no fleas escape.

Regularly wash your cat’s bedding (at least once a week) to kill the flea eggs and larvae which have accumulated on it.

Regularly comb your cat with a flea comb, and drown any fleas you have caught in a container of soapy water.

Synonyms:  Flaes, fles, lfeas and flesa are all typos for fleas.  Froontline, Frotnline, Fontline, Fronline, Frontine, Frontlne, Frontlie and Frontlin are all typos for Frontline. Avantage, Adantage, Advntage, Advatage, Advanage, Advantge, Advantae and Advantag are all common typos for "Advantage."