Flea Baths

[Jay_Bunny]

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.

[SatanicIntention]

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.

[stangs13]

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.

[Jay_Bunny]

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).

[wolfy-hound]

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!

[desertpirate]

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.

[Jay_Bunny]

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!

[xanaxez]

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.

[ShawnT]

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.

[Jay_Bunny]

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