25 Fleas found!

[ChristineL]

Hello @Dr. Jeff, @Dr. Christina and @Dr. Jean Hofve,

I caught a total 25 (!!!!) fleas on my INDOOR cat today...she is in no contact with any other animals...what do you think could be the cause of this infestation? When we got her in late April (she was about 4 weeks old), we gave her a bath and that was the only bath she's ever gotten. After we found the first five fleas today, we attempted giving her a bath and it was a disaster - only 1/2 of her body was bathed. We're getting all bedding washed and we vacuumed the entire home.

Her BEAM has been good with occasional soft stool.

I have Green Hope Farm's "Flee Free" and Jackson Galaxy's "Para Outtta-Site" on hand and applied that on her. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Dr. Christina]

Have you read the Flea Be Gone book? (member benefit).
You can bring in fleas, or maybe could you have mice?

Flea comb is the key. When my in/out cat suddenly (in 2 days) had over 100 fleas and flea dirt (crawled near a fox den I think), flea combing (outside) and there were no fleas in 2 weeks.

The flea traps (you can make your own) in the house after really good vacuuming is a place to start along with the combing two to 4 times a day - with tons of treats and loving, of course. Make it fun!

And use the flee free with INTENTION (I love you fleas, you are so smart, you have a rightful place in the world and please leave my cat and house alone) on cat and house.
Dr. Christina

 

[Dr. Jean Hofve]

Natural Flea Control for Dogs & Cats | Little Big Cat - Dr. Jean Hofve

 

[ChristineL]

over 100 fleas and flea dirt

oh my! I can't imagine...

Flea Be Gone book?

Thank you for the reminder, Dr. Christina - I read it many years ago when I first joined HA!

You can bring in fleas, or maybe could you have mice?

I think we (humans) are the culprits - we feed raccoons, possums, feral cats, and squirrels in the yard and they visit regularly...the foods also attract rats in the yard. I will spray some Wondercide in the yard today.

I am incorporating some essential oils by AnimalEO like Away and Kittyboost in the rotation. I caught above five fleas today (I'm losing count!). I hope this problem will be resolved soon.

 

[ChristineL]

Natural Flea Control for Dogs & Cats | Little Big Cat - Dr. Jean Hofve

Thank you, Dr. Jean!

 

[ChristineL]

Hi @Dr. Christina, @Dr. jeff and @Dr. Jean Hofve - I want to give a quick update on the fleas situation. So we have caught probably more than 80 fleas thus far - we vacuum almost daily and flea comb our kitten throughout the day (I work from home). We have set up flea traps in every room of the house (none trapped thus far)...but we are still finding 1 or 2 (at most 4) fleas on the kitten!

We use flower essences, essential oils (by AnimalEo) and recently added rubbing organic coconut oil on the kitten (which by far is the most effective - we saw a dramatic reduction in fleas on the kitten after application but we have a greasy kitten now!)...but then again, we're still catching at least 1 or 2 fleas on her. We are baffled.


As mentioned previously, we have wild animals (including rats) that come visit us every night...but we have been pretty vigilant about not bringing fleas/fleas eggs into the house by using Wondercide in the yard (we don't have grass field, only planters)...etc.

We have ordered a few raw baltic amber collars for the kitten and they're on their way (from Luthania) - I don't know if the collars will work but that's what I used for my pups.

Is there anything we can do? I read that healthy animals do not attract fleas but fleas love kittens/puppies...can you kindly confirm that? Or animals with internal imbalance attract fleas..do you think that's the case here? My kitten (Penelope)'s BEAM is decent - she sleeps a lot but then when she plays, she plays! She's not vaxxed either.

Is there anything else we can do?!!

 

[aruna]

@Dr. Jean Hofve @Dr. jeff @Dr. Christina do you have any feedback for ChristineL?

 

[Dr. Jeff]

None from me (Dr. Christina may) beyond what we already discussed and those which are also in the other recent flea threads.

BTW-I also mentioned this to Christine in the private conversation where she asked about other thoughts.