# I found a flea on one of my cats...



## CelesteMoon (Oct 1, 2010)

I adopted two cats last week that were rescues and I found a flea on one of them. They haven't been itching much and I thought they were flea free, but to my surprise I found one. I don't want this to become a problem, so does anyone have any good tips on how I can treat this before it becomes an issue?

Can I give them a bath (if so what should I use that's safe and inexpensive)? I've been vacuuming the house just about every day and I've heard that can help if you dispose of the debris properly. Is that true?


----------



## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

Welcome!

A bath with a little bit of Dawn dishwashing liquid is safe. Comb them out really good to get the fleas while you're bathing them. You should probably wash or vacuum the places where they sleep. I just washed my bedding, all the little rugs and everything else I could put in my washing machine yesterday. Fleas are hard to get rid of if you don't catch the problem right away. I sprayed the rooms with flea spray and I have ointment to put on the cats.


----------



## Ducman69 (Aug 28, 2010)

My vet recommended Advantage 9 for my kittens whether or not they had fleas, which I applied by just holding the head, spreading the hair out, and applying a squirt right at the base of the skull. 

Supposedly it keeps killing fleas for around a month, as otherwise eggs that hatch later could still get our little guys again.


----------



## CelesteMoon (Oct 1, 2010)

Thanks. I'll try giving them a bath tomorrow. I wonder how they'll like it cause they don't seem to mind water much. I should look into some flea sprays, any brand I should use? Or does the brand matter?


----------



## teasha (Aug 15, 2010)

Don't use the flea spray for on the cats, they are toxic. 24 hrs after their bath you can apply Frontline to continue killing any remaining fleas/eggs.


----------



## Ilovemykitties (Jul 26, 2010)

Its good to give it flea and tick treatment to get rid of any and to prevent. Frontline and Advantage are good but expensive. I suggest you get the Frontline spray which I have found it for 45$ and it last for 2-3 years. 

wait... What's wrong with flea spray? It's Toxic? Where did you hear that?


----------



## teasha (Aug 15, 2010)

I was referring to the off brands. There are a lot of brands you apply on the animal too I do not trust. The Frontine sprays may be cheaper but in my opinion it's much better to get the Frontline applied on the animal.


----------



## Ilovemykitties (Jul 26, 2010)

Oh okay. whew. Yep, you can't trust any flea and tick control.


----------



## xnatalie (Sep 29, 2010)

if it hasn't gotten out of hand yet you can apply frontline to them.. I have also heard good thing about Hartz flea and tick shampoo, but I've never used it


----------



## glassbird (Jun 19, 2009)

I would not EVER use any product by Hartz. Not. Ever.

I worked as a vet tech for 12 years, and everytime we had a call (or a visit) regarding a bad reaction to a flea product we knew it was either a Hartz (or Seargent) product OR someone had used a dog product on a cat. There were exceptions, but very few...


----------



## azcat (Oct 10, 2010)

I second Dawn detergent.

My boyfriend's cat had a killer infestation when he was a kitten. After a few baths with unscented Dawn, he was a free kitty. He's 5 now and has never had a single flea on him since.


----------

