Poe Cat's Mommy asked 8 years ago
My beloved kitty cat has a flea infestation. He has been to the vet and was given Revolution topical as well as two Capstar pills just last week. I am 9 months pregnant and can’t treat my house with chemicals and luckily I don’t have carpets but I do have hardwood and tile and one rug in my soon-to-be born daughter’s nursery. The cat typically sleeps at the foot of my bed. I’ve noticed today a week after his flea treatments a flea jump off of him while I was petting him on our bed! The flea looked very immature. Very very small and black. I was able to get it as it was very slow moving and flush it away. I am frustrated though because my bed is his bed. I can’t really untrain him from getting on our bed as he’s 10 and set in his ways. We love him so much and I don’t want to punish him! I’ve already had my comforter dry cleaned. It’s too large to wash and I have washed our bedding and every other upholstered/fabric thing in my home several times! Is it ok to allow kitty to roam freely in the house or do I really have to lock him away for months until this is erradicated? What am I doing wrong? I thought with Revolution treatment the fleas would be gone. I thought him roaming through the house would be beneficial because I figured the fleas that hatch will jump on him and then die. Plus I didn’t think after all the cleaning I’ve done that many would be left anyway. I understand there are still flea pupae but it’s just frustrating after all the cleaning I’ve done to imagine where are they coming from!? I’ve vacuumed our hardwood and vacuumed his carpeted cat tree several times. I just hate to think I’ll have a baby any day now and there are potentially still fleas in my house that can try to feed off our newborn! Any advice?
Adam Retzer Staff answered 8 years ago
Hello,
1 week isn’t long enough to determine if the treatment is effective. It will take around 8 weeks, and sometimes longer, before all the fleas are gone from the home after proper treatment.
The cat’s treatment will kill adult fleas, but it isn’t instant. It can take up to 24 hours to kill fleas, though most will die within a few hours of exposure. Immature fleas make up the bulk of the infestation and live in the environment. As they mature into adults, they will emerge and jump onto your cat. These are the fleas you are likely seeing before they succumb to the treatment.
If the cat sleeps on your bed, it would be a good idea to wash the bedding a couple times a week. Eggs may be falling there.
It is also a good idea to regularly vacuum the rooms where the cat spends the most time, which it sounds like you’re already doing. Focus on the rugs, cracks in the flooring, crevices around baseboards, and anywhere that debris collects.
Cleaning is a very beneficial thing to do to speed up the eradication process. However, you won’t be able to remove all of the immature stages this way. Some will escape removal, and will only be killed once they reach adulthood and jump on the cat.
It sounds like you’re taking all the right steps. It will just take some patience. The cat can roam around, and it shouldn’t affect the process much because it’s treated.
To prevent bites, it may be a good idea to keep your baby away from areas of the floor which are frequented by the cat. Also, keep in mind, fleas can only jump to the height of a human ankle. So they won’t be able to reach most cribs.
Hope this helps,
Adam
