The Big Flea Battle, or why cats should be kept indoors

I used the Zodiac stuff before I used the Advantage, because I figured I wouldn't be able to afford the Advantage. I bought the drops that you put on their necks, and the flea spray to spray in their fur. It wasn't until after I bought and used the products, that I found out that NEITHER was a flea killer! They were just "insect growth regulators" which means they just stop the flea life cycle (ie stop eggs from hatching, or stop larvae from turning into adult fleas). So, the adult fleas were still left alive and kept on biting my cats. To add insult to injury, two of my cats got sick from the spray (which stank up the house to high heaven as well), and the other one lost the skin and most of the fur on the back of his neck where the drops were applied. On top of that, each tube of Zodiac drops cost me exactly the same as I ended up paying for each tube of the Advantage! The difference was that the Advantage got rid of the adult fleas, which were my immediate concern in the first place. In my opinion, insect growth regulators are fine to spray on carpets, furniture etc., to keep lurking flea eggs and larvae from hatching into adults that bite. But, I think that the primary concern is getting the biting adult fleas off of the cats, to spare them the itching and discomfort. Therefore it's best to apply something that kills fleas, directly on the cat.

Maybe it was the spray that I used. It was 2 days after I put the Zodiac on, and haven't seen one since, though I'm feeling them on my ankles in my bedroom, so we get bombed on Sunday. Cats will go in my car in the garage while I go to lunch with a friend for 2 hours.

I am new to this board, but I thought that I would give a little tip that someone gave to me when I was fighting this battle as well.....if like me you still have the vac**** with the bag (mine is an upright) I was told to start out with a fresh bag and then drop a flea collar into the bag (pcs of one if you do not want to waste a whole collar each time) and this will also kill the fleas that you vaccum up... Also sortta on the flea note....if your cat is scratching themselves (or even if they do not have fleas and are scratching you and your furniture) then there is a company that is called Soft Paws (www.softpaws.com) that has these rubber tips to put on the nails of your cats...they come in different sizes and colors and is safe for you and them....they so help when it comes to bath time....(I do not have stock in this product I just believe in it...lol) Ro

I like the idea of the flea collar (or pieces of it) in the vacuum bag, and it would be really good in bagless vacuums too. I looked at the softpaws site, I had vaguely heard of the idea of glue-on claw covers before but figured they wouldn't last long on the claws, I normally have to clip the claws of my three cats about every week and a half or so. But, I was planning on getting new furniture when I move, they've ripped up my old furniture already. I think I will invest in the softpaws before I invest in the new furniture! I have always been staunchly against declawing, after all. My cats are pretty good about allowing their claws to be clipped, since they are so used to it now.

It sounds like you may have used a treatment that contained pyrethin. Cats are really allergic to it and it can kill them. many don't know that, and use the dog only cheap flea treatments on their cats. I'm glad your had minimal exposure and are doing great. I always use either Advantage, Revolution, or Frontline on my pets. They all work great to keep fleas away. I'm sorry to hear about the kittens. Flea anemia is all too common. I'm glad you won your battle though.