Five Tips for Getting Rid of Cat Fleas

Rid your home of cat fleas using these five handy tips. The life cycle of a flea passes quickly. One female flea lays up to 30 eggs per day. Those eggs hatch in 48 hours and larva feast on an animal or human's blood for up to 15 days before turning into an adult flea.

The lifespan of a flea depends on the temperature. In cooler weather, flea eggs take longer to hatch. They hatch fastest in warm, humid weather. Upon reaching the adult stage, a flea lives for thirty to forty days laying new eggs and continuing the life cycle. One flea quickly turns into thousands of fleas in little time. Proactive management of cat fleas is essential to ridding your home of these parasites.

Bathing Cats and Kittens

If your cat or kitten has fleas, bathe them daily until the flea epidemic is over. This works best if you fill a bathtub with warm water and place the cat in it. Use cup or hand-held shower head sprayer to soak the cat.

While you can use flea shampoos, but many find Dawn dish soap or baby shampoo are as effective, and safer for the cat or kitten. Work the shampoo into suds that cover all areas of the feline, avoiding the eyes, and wait five minutes. If your cat is aggressively scratching, wearing gloves can help prevent injury.

Purchase and Use a Cat Flea Comb

Flea combs use close, fine metal teeth to trap fleas and eggs within the gaps. Use the flea comb a few times a day. If you find any fleas, drop them into sudsy water.

Keep combing your cat for the next forty days in case any other fleas have hatched. Usually after two weeks of this, you'll no longer see fleas. It's still worthwhile to keep using the flea comb just in case.

Cleaning Your House of Cat Fleas

Fleas and flea eggs will fall onto your cat's favorite bedding areas, carpeting and furniture. Vacuum a few times a day to collect fleas and flea eggs that jump off your pets.

Fleas seem to hate Borax powder. Many people sprinkle bedding and carpeting with Borax and letting it sit for ten minutes before vacuuming. Borax doesn't stain or harm furniture or carpeting. While it is supposedly non-toxic, you should keep children and pets out of the room while the Borax powder is spread as an extra precaution.

Keep Your Cat Inside

If you keep your cat inside, the risk of getting fleas is limited. Usually, inside cats are only exposed to fleas if a new flea-ridden animal enters the home.

Prescription Medications that End Cat Fleas

Topical prescription medications like Advantage or Frontline are placed between a cat's shoulder blades. The medications in these topical ointments have a low risk for toxicity. If you use topical medications, keep cats from grooming each other for at least a day.

Program flea medication is given orally or as a vaccination. The medication does not kill cat fleas, but it does stop eggs from hatching.

With any prescription flea medication, never use flea baths or flea collars. This can lead to an overdose of flea prevention medications.

 

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