Flea Baths

We just gave our dachshund, Bailey, and our cat, Ramman, a flea bath. Dog = easy. Cat = ow. We actually found a really good holding technique that allowed us to control the cat and not have him flipping out. Hold the cat near his elbows, right near his armpits, very firmly. He did lash out a few times in an attempt to get me to let him go, so I'm sporting a few scratch marks, but we got photos! We are letting the towel dry and letting the cat and dog dry before attempting the other two cats. Hopefully we will get pictures of them too. Tyran should be interesting. I know she will be whining the whole time.

Why are you using flea shampoo? It can actually kill cats and cause seizures and even death in dogs. MUCH safer to use a Capstar to kill any fleas on the animal and then use a monthly preventative such as Frontline, Advantage, or Revolution afterwards.

DO NOT use flea shampoos or ANY flea preventatives/collars from the pet store or grocery store. They kill.

Capstar pills are very, very inexpensive and work for a full 24 hours, but begin to work within 30 minutes killing the fleas. They are very safe to use on cats and dogs.

If you want a cheaper alternative, use Dawn dish soap. It can be used on day old kittens.

the groomers at my dads store use dawn or Adams flea shampoo. I have used both for my dog and used the Adams shampoo on a 6 week old kitten with no ill effects but I wouldnt recomend it.

I don't know. I've never had the problem of fleas before. My mother in law uses flea shampoos on her cats and flea collars. (I definitely will never use a flea collar). I will stick to dawn dish soap. We have tons of that. As for flea preventative, what is best to use?

We've never had the issue of fleas with our cats since they were always indoor cats. Never went outside unless it was in a carrier and they went straight into the car for a vet visit. Bailey, our dachshund brought them in. So now we are on the hunt for flea preventative that actually works. (tried some on the cats a week ago and it didn't work).

There are flea shampoos that are okay for cats. It's just easier to use a nice puppy/kitten shampoo and let it set on them for 5 minutes to smother the fleas. Dawn works, just put a little bit in a squeeze bottle of water(if you have a bottle of Dawn that is "empty", you can add water to it, shake it good, and have shampoo).
One easy cat bathing method, go get a mesh laundry bag from Walmart/Target. Either a zipper close or a drawstring one. Then the cat cannot JUMP out of the tub. Be aware that the cat can still scratch and bite through the bag. Be CERTAIN you rinse really well to get all soap off the pet.
Using straight Dawn makes it really hard to get all the soap off the pet, so cut it with water to dilute it.
You can soap and rinse the cat right through the mesh bag, since it's made to launder "delicates".
Hope you survive!

Frontline and Advantage are both good products, and can be found very inexpensively online. Instead of all that effort on your part and trauma for your cat, you can just open a little tube and squeeze it onto your cat's back right between the shoulder blades. Total elapsed time: 20 seconds. These treatments are also very effective against ticks.

If I put a cheap flea preventative on them earlier (2 weeks ago) but give them baths, will it be ok to put frontline on them instead of using the cheap stuff. (The bath might wash it off?) I used the cheap stuff at someone's recommendation but it didn't do crap!

cheap flea shampoo,collars or any other type of flea ridden stuff does not work well at all. i have used fronline for about 6 years now and though sometimes it can get a little more expensive then others it works alot better. i guess it goes as the saying says...... you get what you pay for. also once treated by shampoos read your directions, you should not bathe or use any type of flea dip within a 30 day period. and mixing different types of this stuff be it shampoo or dip or anything can cause serious injury or death.

I get Frontline Plus on eBay for cheap. It's something like $40 for 4 months if you get it from your vet, on eBay its $19 with shipping for 8 months. I use it once a month on my cats just to be safe. It works great.

If I did wash them with say Dawn, would putting frontline on them be ok?

Yes it would be fine. Let them dry completly then put the flea med on them.

ANY kind of normal pet shampoo/dawn/human shampoo (althought i dont suggest human kind unless is baby shampoo) can kill fleas if left on for more than 5 mins.....

Start with the head, suddsing really well around the face/ears then do the butt and tail....

anytime a flea feels like its going to drown it looks for crevises to hide in. then work your way to the middle.....

I went to visit my SIL a couple weeks ago.....all 3 of my dogs got fleas while down there, and I rescued my cat and brought her back with me (long story to why she had her in the first place)

my cat was covered in mats and fleas was anemic...... i had no idea this was the conditions she was in....

We shaved the cat, bathed her while there and then brought her back and bathed her again.... when i bathed her the 2nd time i sat with a pair of tweezers picking off the fleas either dead or alive.

Now she is good with shavings and bathes, since she used to be a show cat (persian) so this didnt bother her.

Needless to say none of my animals will be going back there.

But I have a friend who is a groomer and she suggested this method to me, since I normally dont have flea's and the dogs just had a little infestation.


When its flea season, I use program for my dogs, as I dont like topical treatments... But this year my adult dog was pregnant and needed to stop all flea treatments.... it was so close to winter, I didnt think they would get infected..... last i heard the SIL had gotten rid of her flea infestation, I come to find out....NO SHE HADNT i was furious when i arrived and realized this....

We could probably get away with shaving Ramman. He's a long hair, but the other two won't have anything to do with something like that. We shall see. We are getting flea bombs on Thursday and I'm having a big flea extermination thing on Friday. All animals will get baths, flea preventative and the house will be bombed.

Now with a flea bomb, do I need to remove all cages? We have a ferret cage with removable trays, rat cages, snake racks/tanks, and everyone's bedding. I plan on removing all animals from the house, snakes in tubs, rats in tubs, and cats and ferrets in carriers and moving them to another location while we bomb. Will the racks and tanks/cages be ok with the bomb or should I remove them?

Diatomaceous earth. Garden center. Get it.

This is a non-pesticide powder made from the skeletons of diatoms(google it). It shreds the exoskeletons of ectoparasites(kills intestinal parasites too). It poses no harm to mammals and reptiles, even if you put it on them or feed it to them.

I would get a 50lb bag, spread it in your carpet, on your animals, in their bedding, in your yard. It will kill any bugs.

Less danger to your animals, and you don't have to remove anyone. Frontline spray on everyone plus your carpet is a good defense too.

If you get Frontline Plus, which I really recommend you do for everyone including the cats/dog/ferrets(then treat everyone for tapeworms while you're at it), you will want to wait AT LEAST THREE(3) DAYS before or after a bath, before applying it.

Frontline works via the oils on the skin and the hair follicles. No oil, then it won't get dispersed throughout the body and it won't work very well.

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

Diatomaceous earth. Garden center. Get it.

This is a non-pesticide powder made from the skeletons of diatoms(google it). It shreds the exoskeletons of ectoparasites(kills intestinal parasites too). It poses no harm to mammals and reptiles, even if you put it on them or feed it to them.

I would get a 50lb bag, spread it in your carpet, on your animals, in their bedding, in your yard. It will kill any bugs.

Less danger to your animals, and you don't have to remove anyone. Frontline spray on everyone plus your carpet is a good defense too.

If you get Frontline Plus, which I really recommend you do for everyone including the cats/dog/ferrets(then treat everyone for tapeworms while you're at it), you will want to wait AT LEAST THREE(3) DAYS before or after a bath, before applying it.

Frontline works via the oils on the skin and the hair follicles. No oil, then it won't get dispersed throughout the body and it won't work very well.

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I use this!

http://leerburg.com/56.htm

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Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

We could probably get away with shaving Ramman. He's a long hair, but the other two won't have anything to do with something like that. We shall see. We are getting flea bombs on Thursday and I'm having a big flea extermination thing on Friday. All animals will get baths, flea preventative and the house will be bombed.

Now with a flea bomb, do I need to remove all cages? We have a ferret cage with removable trays, rat cages, snake racks/tanks, and everyone's bedding. I plan on removing all animals from the house, snakes in tubs, rats in tubs, and cats and ferrets in carriers and moving them to another location while we bomb. Will the racks and tanks/cages be ok with the bomb or should I remove them?

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BTW, YES!!! Do not let your snakes or any animal sit inside the house/apartment with a flea bomb going on in the house.

It's incredibly powerful stuff, would you want to be sitting in there with it?

Heck no you wouldn't :2cent: Don't kill your animals, keep them out of houses being treated with flea bombs.

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Originally Posted by Reediculous

I use this!

http://leerburg.com/56.htm

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Or you can go to the garden center and get a 50lb bag of DE for $20 ;) Wanna sanitize it, stick it in the microwave. Dogs lick their butt, drink out of the toilet and dig in the backyard, I don't think they care much about something being sanitized, LoL.

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

Or you can go to the garden center and get a 50lb bag of DE for $20 ;) Wanna sanitize it, stick it in the microwave. Dogs lick their butt, drink out of the toilet and dig in the backyard, I don't think they care much about something being sanitized, LoL.

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good point

Oh no, I meant is it ok to keep the main part of the rack in the house. I plan on removing all animals from the house for the day. I also plan on removing the snake's tubs, but I wanted to make sure it was ok to leave the main frame of the rack. Also, what about rat tanks and snake tanks? What about the rat rack frame? (I plan on taking the tubs). No animal will be left in the house, just cages and tanks. I plan on bombing on Friday and my friends said we can put our snakes and rodents at their house. We will basically pack everyone up (snakes in tubs, sorted by sex, rats in tubs, sorted by sex, cats into carriers, ferrets into carriers, fish in tanks over to friends house, dog on leash, sugar glider in pouch). Once all animals are out, we will bomb the entire house, five bombs in total. After the bombs have gone off and we allow time for it to settle, we go in and open windows to air it out for a few hours. After that, we bring the animals in one by one to give them baths. (Do I have to wait a certain time period to put flea meds on them? I think you said three days. Will it be ok to wait those 3 days before putting stuff on them or should I skip the bath and just use the flea meds?) After everything is done, we will wipe down racks and tanks (permitting its ok to keep them in the house) and wash bedding. (ferret hammocks, sugar glider pouches, ect) So that is the plan.

I would just skip the baths, get some Capstars for the fleas that are actually on them, then use the Frontline for month-long protection(or 2-3 months in winter if you live in Texas, LoL, our fleas can survive the holocaust).

I would keep the animals out of the house for more than a few hours(try 48 hours). Rats are very sensitive to chemicals, as are ferrets/cats. If the chemicals were to get on them, and they lick it off themselves, it may mean seizures or death. Flea bombs are just not safe.

Seriously consider the DE. Easy to find, easy to use, very safe for all animals, and your carpet. Not safe for bugs *evil smile*

If you have to use bombs, get the Adams ones, or ones you get at your vet. Even spraying Frontline spray on your carpet is easier on everyone.

So if I use the DE, I can just dust it on the carpet, wait a while and then vacuum it up? And I don't have to worry about the animals being in the house? How about the same room? I read a little about it and it recommends you use a dust mask when spreading it.

I have talked to my husband and as long as its ok to use around the animals (meaning we don't have to move them from the house) we are going to give DE a try.

You can put it in the yard surrounding the house, inside the house(pet beds/bedding/whatever), ON the animals themselves, and even feed it to them. Like I said, it's very safe to mammals/reptiles/birds/fish, just so they're not inhaling tons of it.

It doesn't take much and you'll barely use any of that 50lb bag.

So go get some Capstars for the dog/cats/ferret, treat them with Frontline the same day(no bathing for 3 or more days before or after the treatment), and use the DE on everything in the house, mainly the carpets and the yard.

Woo for flea carnage :)

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

Woo for flea carnage :)

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:rofl: Haha, flea carnage. :)

What are Capstars? I will be going to Southern States tomorrow to see if I can find any. Friday is officially flea carnage day. :) I can't wait to get rid of these fleas. So basically on Friday I spread the DE on the carpet, then vacuum it up later (How long should I let it sit in the carpet? Do I need to rub it in to the carpet or just let it sit there?), at the same time rub the cats, dogs, and rats down with it, then use Frontline on them.

I found some Revolution for my cats. I had bought a box of three applications a long while ago and the applications are not expired yet. Is Revolution good to use? I've used it in the past but I know that some work better than others.