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Tiny problem(s) with the stray I’m going to adopt
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Ronkonkomonga
LIF Adolescent
Member since 5/05 544 total posts
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We Three Kings...
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Tiny problem(s) with the stray I’m going to adopt
I just went to ‘meet’ my cat, and knew enough to comb through his fur to look for flea dirt. Unfortunately we found a live flea on him and on the cat he was curled up with. The woman who is looking after this stray litter is going to put some kind of serum on his shoulders that is good for 30 days. I never heard of this – but I don’t have much experience with outdoor cats.
How long should I wait before I bring him in the house? I hope it’s not too cruel, but I was going to keep him in the garage until I don’t see fleas anymore. I want to avoid fleas in my home as all costs.
I asked if I can give him a flea bath in addition to the serum, and she said it would be too much. The earliest I can take him to the vet is next Sat. I will ask if we can do a flea dip also, but until then – I can’t have this guy in the house.
Does anyone know about how long it takes for this flea ‘serum’ to kick in? Can I give him multiple doses? He is only 8 months, so I don’t want to over medicate – its not like he is infested, but I will go bananas if I get fleas in my house.
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Posted 9/28/07 2:18 PM  |
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Wendy
Wheeee!
Member since 5/05 13736 total posts
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Re: Tiny problem(s) with the stray I’m going to adopt
The neighborhood cat that has been hanging around our house gave my dogs fleas.
I tried a "natural" flea killer on the cat but it did nothing. My mother sent me an extra tube of Frontline and the kitty is scratching less and when I pick through his fur all I see are DEAD fleas, so it's doing it's job. I think I just put it on him on Monday or Tuesday and pretty much by the next day I didn't see any live ones.
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| Posted 9/28/07 2:30 PM |
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Ronkonkomonga
LIF Adolescent
Member since 5/05 544 total posts
Name:
We Three Kings...
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Re: Tiny problem(s) with the stray I’m going to adopt
OK - that sounds promising.
That is actually the stuff she used on my cat - Frontline. I will keep an eye on it, but I am worried about flea eggs too. Hopefully the frontline will take care of all.
Thanks for the reply
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| Posted 9/28/07 2:55 PM |
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CookiePuss
Cake from Outer Space!
Member since 5/05 14021 total posts
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Re: Tiny problem(s) with the stray I’m going to adopt
You should be fine with the Frontline. My neighbor actually gave my dog fleas and this works very well.
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| Posted 9/28/07 3:04 PM |
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Goobster
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Member since 5/07 27557 total posts
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:)
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Re: Tiny problem(s) with the stray I’m going to adopt
Ok I can help you. I have dogs who use flea protection, the same as cats.
Once a month we put a pre-measured dose of medication on their upper backs (same as cats). We use Revolution, there is also frontline, etc.
You can ONLY give it once a mth or you could hurt the animal. But whatever product it is will either
1) kill the fleas
2) make them sterile
For example, Revolution doesn't kill fleas automatically. You WILL see live fleas but the fleas will be sterile and not be able to produce new fleas and a flea infestation comes from fleas being able to reproduce so quickly.
I have found LIVE fleas on my doggie, and panicked. But we were using the Revolution and it worked. My house never got infested and my dog stopped scratching, I stopped seeing live fleas and flea dirt. These products work. But I was warned I may see living fleas (and I did) but they would soon die and not be able to make more fleas. It worked, trust me.
Also, you cannot flea dip a cat that is too young, you could kill it. My ex bf dipped his kitten too young (we were kids) and the cat got very sick and died. Also it might be too much in conjunction with the flea meds. I say, if you keep the cat safe and comfy, keep the cat in the garage if you are that worried for a couple of days, maybe until you see the vet. Any fleas should be on their way out by now, any fleas that are already on him and any eggs should not be viable at this point.
When my dog had the fleas, I went ballistic. I panicked. My vet, with his guidance and supervision, even let me use Frontline (it works in a different way than the Revolution I was already using). I evne called Revolution to verify I could use Frontline too, and they said yes. So your vet may let you use another product in addition JUST to be safe. But no need to use 2 every month. Just for now till you don't see any more fleas or dirt.
Trust me, these products work. Your house will NOT get infested. Don't be afraid of your kitty. I have had cats my whole life, this was our first dog and I was sick when I saw bugs on my dog. But now that I know the meds work, I don't worry anymore!!
If I can help you anymore, FM me. I am glad to help.
Message edited 9/28/2007 4:05:51 PM.
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| Posted 9/28/07 3:35 PM |
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Goobster
:)
Member since 5/07 27557 total posts
Name:
:)
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Re: Tiny problem(s) with the stray I’m going to adopt
Posted by Ronkonkomonga
OK - that sounds promising.
That is actually the stuff she used on my cat - Frontline. I will keep an eye on it, but I am worried about flea eggs too. Hopefully the frontline will take care of all.
Thanks for the reply
I know for a fact that Revolution sterilies those damm fleas, so they can't reproduce (very important). So under my vet's close supervision and assurance, since I was already using Revolution but saw some live fleas since Rev takes longer to kill them (about 3 days I believe), he let me ALSO use hte frontline which would kill hte fleas faster.
If you call Revolution, they tell you you MAY use Frontline since it works differnetly and is taken up by the body in a different form. But only use both one or two months, and stagger them.
So when I did this, I was using Revolution, and applied the Frontline 2 weeks after the Revolution just to be even safer. Suggestion, even if you planto keep your cat indoors, give the cats the flea medicine (frontline, revolution, whichever) for at least 6 mths in case some flea happened to be stubborn enough to live.
I give my dogs the Rev year round, even here in LI, just in case. It is safe for them (supposedly) and also prevents heartworm, which dogs can get if the temp drops down even in the winter and they get bit by an insect. Iwould never NOT use it after already knowing fleas were in my house on or off of my dog. For what it costs, to me, it is worth the peace of mind.
Message edited 9/28/2007 4:04:42 PM.
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| Posted 9/28/07 3:41 PM |
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Re: Tiny problem(s) with the stray I’m going to adopt
My impression of Frontline and other things like it was that it will prevent fleas but once you have an infestation it may not work. I could be wrong about that, though.
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| Posted 9/28/07 3:50 PM |
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Goobster
:)
Member since 5/07 27557 total posts
Name:
:)
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Re: Tiny problem(s) with the stray I’m going to adopt
Posted by ssdbk
My impression of Frontline and other things like it was that it will prevent fleas but once you have an infestation it may not work. I could be wrong about that, though.
http://frontline.us.merial.com/fleas/fleas_flealifecycle.asp
Let's say you have an infestation, how it would work is that the fleas would have to jump on the animal to become sterilized, and break the flea life cycle from egg to live flea. So you would SLOWLY be breaking the infestation when the fleas that are living jump on the dog/cat, and then not be able to make anymore flea babies.
http://www.revolution4cats.com/display.asp?country=US&lang=EN&drug=RV&species=FL&sec=100
Ok I just looked this up too. Turns out Frontline does kill flea eggs. Seems like you should be ok with just that, just take the kitty to the vet and continue using once a mth for hte next few mths.
http://frontline.us.merial.com/products/products_flplus.asp
Message edited 9/28/2007 4:08:14 PM.
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| Posted 9/28/07 3:58 PM |
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