Conference misery::feline_v1

    If you've already used some chemical that's gotten on the carpets, it
    may be causing an allergic reaction in the cats and that's why their
    taking refuge on the tables.  even some plain carpet cleaning solutions
    will cause this.
    

    To keep the cats flea free in the future, keep your yard and garden
    sprayed for fleas too.  If they are free roaming cats, this won't help
    that much since the minute they leave your yard they will be exposed to
    fleas again.
    
    I have seen cats avoid the floor due to fleas, and that may be what
    your cats are doing.  Rest assured that the fleas would rather be
    either on your cats or in the carpet than on your table.  There is no
    where for them to hide on your table, and they are more exposed and
    easier to kill if they do end up there.  There isn't much you can do to
    keep the cats off while you aren't there short of locking them out of
    the kitchen/dinning room areas.  When you are there, use the spray
    bottle on them.  If the fleas are that bad in the house, then I don't
    blame them for wanting to be up high.
    
    I dust my carpets and upholstery with Borax (20 Mule Team) every time I
    vacuum and that has kept our house flea free for about two years now. 
    Works great.  There are many notes about it in this file under the
    keyword "fleas".
    
    Jo

    
         I second the Borax,  in fact, one of the products I sell at 
    my herb farm is a flea killer product to sprinkle on your carpets,
    which contains the borax.  Borax supposedly dries up the moisture in
    the carpet, which is what the flea eggs need to hatch.  NO moisture,
    NO fleas!   And we always had embarassing problems with fleas as you
    can well imagine with 10 cats in the house.  But this year, since I
    used that new magic herb/borax formula, NO FLEAS!   I am thrilled.
    Cats will jump up on a high surface to avoid the fleas, which seems to
    be what yours are doing.  If you are using chemicals to treat the flea
    problem, then you could be exposing the cats to chemical reactions.
    I had tried all those bombs, and sprays too, but nothing really worked,
    because the eggs still hatched and the cycle started all over again.
    And I don't mean to brag, but I am thrilled about my herb/borax mix
    because it works, and the carpets smell great, and I'm not afraid to
    put my feet down on the floor in the morning!  ;^)
    
           Denise and gang of 10 (11 as of this Fri.night)

    I have been told that flea collars aren't really effective in flea
    control.  Also , you want to be very careful about mixing too many
    chemicals as you can end up poisoning your cats.
    
    Another thing you can do is add garlic or yeast to your cats' food.
    It changes their body scent and the fleas don't like them as much.
      nancy
    

    We used the Borax this weekend on all rugs.  We sprinkled it
    on...left it for about 4 hours...and then vacuumed real good.
    We noticed a reduction of fleas jumping...but I did still
    spot a few very small ones.     We also used the flea comb on all 
    cats...and put collars on each of them.
    
    Few questions???
    
    Does the Borax kill fleas too...or only eggs?  Does it work
    immediately??  How often should we apply the Borax?  Weekly???
    Is the Borax harmful to my cats or bird??
    
    Thanks...Sandy

    re:.4
     
    I always wondered why a vet would sell a product that `didn't
    really work' such as the flea collar.  But last year and this year
    the ticks were real bad, and they were coming in the house on Nippa.
    Well, I've been using a flea and tick collar, and we haven't had any
    more tick problems.  No fleas either (knock, knock).  Charlie the third
    (R.I.P.), was covered w/ fleas, we bathed him in flea shampoo, and
    placed him in a new enviroment, and added a flea collar.  Well we
    didn't find any more lfeas on that kritter.  We thought it might be
    related from the enviroment change, but the 2 dogs (w/ out collars)
    are always being bathed and dusted for fleas and ticks.
    
    

    4 hours isn't long enough for the borax.  Leave it down for two or
    three days before vacuuming it up.  You must repeat this process for
    about three weeks before you see any difference.  The borax works by
    dessicating the flea eggs (drying them out so they can't hatch).  It
    won't kill the adult fleas very well, that is why you vacuum and throw
    out the bag.  You must keep doing the borax for an entire life cycle of
    the flea initially.
    
    Borax is a salt derivative and is not toxic to humans or pets.  I had
    my vet call the company to find out for sure before I started using it.
    
    Jo

    Two or three days?? Do you just walk on it, or do you avoid the room
    while the borax is down?
    
    ng 

    Just walk on it.  You will hardly notice it's there.
    
    Jo

    I can't imagine keeping it down for two-three days.  It was all
    over the place...just keeping it down for 4-5 hours!   The stuff
    is pretty messy...and I'm still seeing spots I missed!!
    
    Maybe I'll put it on in the AM before I leave for work...and vacuum
    when I get home...which will be about 10 hours...maybe I can
    stay on top of it that way.  I know I'll never be flea free...but
    I would like to control it!!
    
    Sandy
    
    

grit your teeth, take your "Mrs. Clean tranquilizer" pills and leave it on the
floors and carpets long enough for it to work...honest, it does help, but it
does also take a few days each time you apply the borax.  I know, my roommate
and I had gritty beds, furniture, etc. from the cat's paws tracking the stuff
around...but the fleas were killed of after a few applications.

    God...can you imagine what my kitchen would look like after one
    day of walking on it...with a chocolate brown wall to wall carpet.
    hey...I didn't install it...it was there when I bought the house!
    
    I also have alot of dark pine furniture........where do I get
    those Mrs. Clean tranquilizers!!!
    
    Sandy

    Borax, huh? Ok, I will give that a try.  I have never had
    a problem before this year.  I think the fleas were already in the
    house when we moved in.  I feel real bad for the cats, they keep
    looking at me like, Mom, make it go away!!
    
    I've been using brewer's yeast and garlic in their food. They
    got a bath for the first time last week in a castile-based
    shampoo (which only seemed to result in spectacularly clean
    fleas), which they were not terribly happy with, they
    get powdered every week and we've just sprayed the house with
    something called Duratrol which the vet recommended.  If it works
    like it says, I will be pleased, since there is little or no odor,
    and it is enzymed-based, killing fleas and eggs for up to three months.
    it is also directional, which means it gets on the baseboards and
    floors, not the counters, food, etc. it dries very quickly, and
    you don't need to vacate the premises (although the cats weren't
    too keen on being locked in the bathroom for three hours while
    the carpet dried.
    
    think it would hurt to put the borax down anyway? the faster I can
    get rid of the little pests, the better off we'll all be.
    
    Mary

    A friend of mine highly recommends the Zodiac Carpet Spray for flea
    control.  He only has 2 cats right now (actually, he has 3 now that
    he's taking Domino) but he says it works great.
    
    Jan

    I had a flea problem last year for the first time in many years and
    Zodiac Carpet Spray was recommended to me - I was very pleased with the
    results.  I have lots of wood in my place so I sprayed the baseboards
    (and even further up) as well as the carpeting.  I also found that
    throwing the cats bedding, blankets, etc. in the dryer on HI every day
    helped a lot as well as washing all the stuff once a week.
    
    Giudi

    You can do the Borax in addition to the Duratrol spray.  The Borax can
    be a maintenance action.  I haven't found the need to use any chemicals
    for flea control in the two years that I have used the Borax.  For me
    it is the perfect solution.  The Duratrol spray is supposed to kill
    flea eggs too, right?  I have tried it, and I was flea free for about 3
    days. Then it was back to business as usual.  The Borax will continue
    to kill the flea eggs while not putting any poisons in the environment.
    Let the Duratrol take care of the adult fleas, and use the Borax to do
    in the eggs, and you should have it made in the shade. :^)
    
    Jo

    I think my problem is...that I let the fleas get ahead of me!!
    I thought I was so lucky in June/July having eight indoor/outdoor
    cats...and not even seeing a flea.  I thought I was controlling it
    by just using the flea comb!  WRONG!!!!  Already had one case of
    tapeworm!!!
    
    I need to quickly resolve the problem I have now...and then continue
    to use the Borax a couple times of the week forever!!  They really
    seem bad this year..  
    
    Sandy
    

Hi!

My puppy and kitten have got a flea problem too.  I've been straying them, and 
treating the house as much as possible.  This is not a picnic for me since I'm
allergic to the stuff that does the flea killing.  It seems I still haven't 
managed to get rid of the fleas or even dimished thier population.  And the I 
think the sprays and stuff are drying out my puppies skin (looks like she's got
doggie dandruff).  Can somebody please recommend something that I can use on the
dog and/or cat that won't dry out thier skins?

Thanks in advance.

							-Lisa

    Lisa -
    
    I don't know of anything you can use to prevent the dry skin as most
    products have alcohol in them.
    
    I battled a flea problem beginning last October well into February.  I
    tried everything, flea spray, flea powder, different carpet sprays,
    Borax, vacuumed like crazy, you name it - I tried it.  Finally I called
    my vet and talked to one of the technicians.  She told me to spray the
    house every two weeks for three applications and in between
    applications to vacuum frequently.  I used Syphostrol (sp?) house spray
    which contains Dursban, Pyrethrins and Precor.  Precor is a growth
    inhibitor which keeps the eggs and larvae from maturing into adult
    fleas.  This is finally what did the trick.  During this 6-week period
    I combed my cats twice a day, didn't even put anything on them.  Of
    course, they're indoor only.  Also, I sprayed the vacuum bag before and
    after each vacuuming to take care of whatever stage of flea I vacuumed
    up.
    
    It is important to break the flea's life cycle.  It is a lot of work
    and it takes patience but it can be done.  After you get rid of them
    you must continue to keep on top of the flea situation.  Comb your cats
    daily.  If a flea is found, repeat the spraying routine.  I found a
    flea on Mike's tail last Saturday which isn't bad considering we've
    gone from February until now with no fleas.  Who knows where it came from.
    My guess is the last visit to the vet, but it could have come through the
    window screens or I could have brought it in on my person from outside. 
    Indoor cats are not safe from fleas.  So, needless to say I sprayed and
    this Saturday is spraying #2.  In the interim, I haven't found any
    fleas on them.
    
    Fleas are not fun and I know it must be even more difficult for people
    with outdoor pets.  The Syphostrol spray is a good product and you
    might want to try it if what you're using isn't working.  It's made by
    Vet-Kem and I bought it through a pet supply warehouse.
    
    Good luck.
    
    Terry + 4
    

    I use the complete line of vet-kem products on the advise of my
    vet. I had a really bad flea problem when I adopted Tabitha. We 
    rescued her from a flea ridden pet shop, believe it or not. The 
    premise spray used along w/ the bombs & a dip have SOLVED my problem.
    
    We haven't seen a flea in a year & a half. Our girls are indoor cats &
    that helps of course. We just moved into an apartment where we're not
    sure if the last renters had pets, but you can bet that we'll be
    bombing and spraying & dipping as soon as we do (if we do) see one!
    
    Breaking the life cycle *IS* the key.
    
    Bonnie

Terri --> I haven't been able to find the Vet-Kem Syphostrol (I've looked for 
	it already), you mentioned a Pet Suppy Warehouse.  Can you pass on 
	any information on it?  I think I'd like to order some.  



Bonnie -->  Lucky you, you haven't seen a flea in that long.  I think my babies 
	got fleas from the carpet our neighbors gave us (they have 2 dogs).   
	Of course, I'm not real good with bombing and spraying the house too 
	often because I'm allergic to the stuff that does the flea killing.  
	Most often it doesn't seem to relieve Heidi or Tasha and I just end up 
	scratching along with them, but I'd be willing to suffer so that they 
	could find a little reprieve.  Guess I'll just have to grin and bear
	it for a stretch and hope I can beat the flea.

    Jack is also allergic to the vet-kem flea sprays, but that doesn't
    stop me from using them.
    
    You can order the whole line of Vet kem products from Foster & Smith.
    1-800-826-7206.
    
    I HIGHLY recommend NolvaCIDE shampoo used in conjunction with Adams
    14 day flea dip.  What I do is bathe the cats, then as the very last
    "rinse" pour the flea dip over them and towel them dry.  
    
    I also recommend the VetKem premise sprays with Precor and the Ovitrol
    spray with Precor - tho you wouldn't use that on top of the dip.
    
    A trick that Sue Stephens taught me for flea bathing animals is to put
    a collar of flea shampoo around your pet's neck before you even start
    wetting them down for their bath.  When you start to wet them, the
    fleas will all try to run to their head and the collar of flea shampoo
    will block them and kill them.
      Nancy DC
    

    OH - the Nolvacide may be used on kittens but I believe that the
    Adams dip should NOT be used on kittens under 3 months of age.
      Nancy
    

Nancy -->  Thanks for the phone number.  I'll give them a call tonight.
	Tasha (the terrible) is a little over 4 months old now.  It should
	be interesting to try and give her a bath again.  For a cat that loves
	showering with me in the morning, she suddenly sprouts about 24 extra
	legs while trying to get her into a bath.

    Could you please tell me how much of the Borax do you use on the rug??
    
    Do you use the whole box, or just shake some all over the rug?  I want 
    to pick up a box tonight but don't want to over kill my rug either.  I
    haven't seen any fleas but might as well be safe anyway.  
    
    If your going to leave it on for afew days, do you need much??
    
    Thanks
    Helena

    Put it on liberally.  The more you put on the better.  Buy several
    boxes.  It cost $2.19 a box out here.  Cheap compared to flea bombs.
    
    Jo

    Where are you finding borax at $2.19 a box?  Last time I looked
    Safeway and Lucky were charging between $3 and $4 a box.  Inquiring
    minds want to know where they can get it for cheaper in this area.
    
    Jan

    Payless Drug Store.
    
    jo