Poor kitty...

[robotech_master]

I just had to douse my big ol' orange fuzzycat Gumdrop in flea spray; she had developed a small colony and the Frontline I ordered won't be here for a few days yet. She wasn't terribly happy about the experience, but I mixed half a can (can't give her a whole can or she gulps it all down and then pukes it all back up again five minutes later) of the best canned catfood I have (Nine Lives Select—you can tell it's fancy because you have to use a can-opener on it; it doesn't have a pull ring) with her dry and fed it to her and she seemed to feel a little better. Still not too happy though.

Comments

[robotech-master.livejournal.com]

Uhm... this is a topical spray that's intended for direct application to the cat, and in the amount indicated?

Yes, it is. Instructions are very clear you're supposed to spray it all over, and make sure it penetrates to the skin.

Even so, what's wrong with the much more effective "flea bath" where you trim kitty's claws, then share a bondage, er, bonding, experience in the bathroom with the flea shampoo?

Tried that once. It didn't work very well, because the next day the fleas were still all over her, thick as ever. The vet noted that flea shampoos don't work very well because they've been around long enough that fleas have developed a resistance to their ingredients. He recommended using Frontline Plus instead—which I do indeed intend to do, it's just that the Frontline I ordered hasn't arrived yet (it was sent to the wrong address and sent back) so I had to use this spray as a temporary measure. It actually does work pretty well; I've used it before. It's just that the Frontline is more permanent.

Also, completely change her litterbox, washing out the box and saturating the area with IGR-based spray.

Will definitely be doing that. Have some nice Precor 2000 Plus premise spray that I got via a friend who is the computer support for a pesticide wholesaler that works really well.

Also, wash cat bedding, your bedding, and spray down all the edges where baseboard meets floor, and if she goes outside, shame on you and soak any woodchips she might hang out on with more IGR based spray.

She doesn't go outside, and doesn't have any specific bedding per se, but I'll be spraying all over the place with it once the room is cleaned up and the Frontline is on.

[foomf.livejournal.com]

Glad she's not one of those 'Oh, my cat has to go outside or she'll call cat protective services' types :)

It's a good idea to start the spraying now, to interrupt the flea reproductive cycle. They actually spend relatively little time on the cat, just going aboard to get a blood meal before mating and laying eggs. The Precor sprays prevent the eggs from hatching. It takes 2-4 days, so if you start now, the fleas will be greatly reduced by the time she gets treated.