Conference misery::feline_v1

       Yes!  I think flea combs are great.  I bought one last year and they
    work really good.  I just took a small cup of water and dish washing 
    detergent and when I combed them any fleas that came off I put right
    into the water.  You can usually buy them at an Agway or most pet
    stores, or the Vets.  Good Luck.
    
    
    

>    What are the benefits of using a flea comb?  Do they work?  How
>    often should you comb your cat with one of these?
    
>    I still have fleas hanging around from last season.  I've sprayed
>    the house and bathed/sprayed the cats.  Still, Schnapps seems to be
>    terribly bothered.  Would combing provide some relief?

a flea comb has very fine teeth and will pull fleas off the cat.  You use
it everyday, all over the cat, and drop the fleas you pull off the cat
into a dish of very hot water with dish soap in it....the fleas will drown.
It can help your cat a little.  However, the fleas spend most of their time
in the carpet, in the spaces between floor and baseboard, in stuffed furniture,
etc.  If you still have them, then you are in shape to get a real explosion
of fleas soon.  Have you considered having professionals come in and treating
your house AND YARD WHILE you get your cats dipped at you vets?  I know it 
sounds like it will cost alot, but if a cat that is "terribly bothered" keeps 
getting bites, you can bet he/she will develop flea dermititis allergy - which
will mean that the cat loses hair and chews her/himself to raw meat with ONE 
flea bite.  A cat with flea dermititis cannot go outside - it makes them 
miserable to get a flea bite and you cannot control the entire outside world.

Depending on the part of the country/world you are in, you may find it is
cheaper (and better living) to simply treat the yard at regular intervals
year-around rather than deal with a real infestation.  That might help you
avoid having to treat the house.  

I really sympathize with Schnapps...I'm allergic to fleas and I know how
much they hurt/itch/make me miserable.

    As my vet has pointed out many time, the flea doesn't spend the
    whole life on the animal but a considerable amount on rugs, cracks
    etc. so from my own experience the only permanent solution is vacuming
    the hell out of your house 1,2,3 times a day until the fleas get
    sucked up at a higher rate than they can reproduce. The reason
    I know this works is that I had a Rainbow vacuum which filters thru
    water and the body count is apparent.

      With my large cat count,  I sure wouldn't be without a flea comb!
    They really help a whole lot!  In the winter our house is around 55
    degrees, so we don't really get many then, but in the summer, when you
    use the comb, you can see the  bodies of the fleas.  Sometimes the
    amount of fleas will surprise you.  Yes, yes,  get one today!
    
                        Denise and the gang of 10

    Paula -
      I have shows this weekend and next so if you want flea combs I
    can pick some up at Haddeleigh House for you.  They cost about
    $5-$6.  Let me know.
    

    RE:  .2  Flea Dermititis Allergy - I didn't realize this was a
    developed thing.  This was one of the reasons Tequila was so unhappy 
    in our humble abode.  Now Schnapps seem to have developed the
    condition.  I do use the bath (less than once per month), dipping,
    cat spraying, environmental spraying, vacuuming techniques.  Things
    will get better for a while, and then "POOF". 
    
    When does flea season actually begin in "the great outdoors"? 
    
    RE:  .5  Thanks Nancy.  But :'(, I just paid $9 for one...Sigh.  
    They do work great, though!  I wish I had though to ask you directly.
    
                                                                 

    I, too, battled a flea problem for months.  What finally worked for me
    was to use the house/carpet spray every two weeks, for a total of four
    sprayings.  This really seemed to break the flea life cycle and (knock
    on wood) I haven't seen a flea since.  When you do the spraying, be
    sure to vacuum thoroughly including the carpets, crevices, upholstered
    furniture and curtains.  Wash all blankets, bedding, pillows and
    curtains, too, if you don't want to vacuum them.  Comb the cats and put
    flea powder or spray on them.  Vacuum every day or every other day in
    between sprayings.
    
    It's a lot of work and this took an 8-week period but it worked.  I
    don't care if I ever see another &%@# flea again!
    
    Good luck!  It's very hard to get rid of fleas once they get a foot
    hold in your home.  Since flea sprays do not kill eggs and larvae it's
    very important to repeat the application every 10 to 14 days to kill
    the eggs and larvae that have grown into pre-adult and adult fleas.
    
    Just be diligent and you'll ultimately win the battle.
    
    Terry
    

Last year, I fought the same battle. I took in a momma stray and two kittens. I
thought I was safe because I kept them in my garage.  

Well, a few weeks later my house was filled with the critters. I bought flea 
bombs and sprayed the house, as well as, bathed my own two cats with Mycodex 
shampoo, but they came back. 

I asked the vet what I could do. (I was going out of my mind.) He suggested a 
flea bomb made by Vetchem (I think that's how it's spelled.). Wow! That stuff is 
super! It killed everything with one application (eggs included), and it lasts
up to 30 weeks. The only catch is it's expensive. I paid around $14 a can, but 
it was well worth it. I haven't seen a flea since I bombed my house last August.

Deb 

    here's another feline lover who swears by Vetchem!! I used a variety
    of their products, suggested by my vet, for my particular situation.
    (one indoor kitty at the time, w/ neighbors downstairs being owned by
    two, so fleas would go from aprtmnt to aprtmnt when ever anyone
    bombed!) We did the whole schpeil, & still do a routine spray of the
    kitties, and of the premisis (rugs, beds,curtains, furniture, etc...)
    We have had NO PROBLEMS w/ fleas since we started this regiment!
    
    Bonnie, Tabitha & new to the scene....CALLIE "The Crazy Cute Cuddly
    Critter!"

    Vetkem is what I used, too.

    re: .7
    
    Zodiac makes an excellent product.  Most pet stores carry it.  There is
    a spray w hich can be used throughout the house (not on the cat) and it
    kills fleas and their eggs.  I've used it twice in the past year when
    my cats had gotten fleas from another animal.  It worked like a charm. 
    you just have to get used to seeing dead fleas all over the place. 
    MAKE SURE TO VACCUUM CONSTANTLY!!  Also, Zodiac makes a flea powder
    which was excellent.  I haven;t tried the other products mentioned in
    the previous notes, but the Zodiac spray (for carpet, couch, etc) costs
    about $9.00 and I think the poweder for the cat is about $5.00.  
    
    I definitely recommend it.  Apply the powder once a week until you
    notice the fleas are gone.  
    
    Michele 

fleas start reproducing and moving around as soon as it gets warm enough for
them to move...and they are small enough that it doesn't take a lot of sun
to make them move around. 

Keep your yard treated - as well as your house - and it really can help keep
the problem controllable.  If your cats go out, however, it will always be
there at some level so plan a regular schedule of spraying yard and house,
and dipping your pets that go out.  That keeps the problem from becoming
an infestation.  Remember, the flea only EATS on your cat or you - it
reproduces on the carpet/floor/baseboard/furniture....flea combs are one
tool to help PREVENT an infestation - comb each cat each time it comes in...
but the comb won't get rid of an infestation once it is there.

Oh, if you are not allergic to it, add flea powder to your vacuum cleaner
bag before vacuuming...it helps kill them when they are vacuumed up.

    Foster and Smith sells a whole line of flea products including
    Adams and Vetchem.  You can get the products for a whole lot less
    that the vet will charge you if you shop smart.  You do have to 
    pay shipping so you need to order in enough quantity to make it
    worth the shipping.  
    
    If you are interested in a catalog, their number is 1-800-826-7206

    FYI - shippinng on orders from 0 - $50 is 4.95, from $51-$100 its 5.95
    $100 - $150 - 6.85 etc.
    

    Jeffers Vet Supply, Dothan, Alabama carries Vetchem, Adams and
    many other type of supplies, and they are less expensive than
    F & S. (Horses, cattle, sheep, pigs, cats, dogs, rabbits, you
    name it....)
    
    Lynne