Kitty's Intolerance to Flea Treatment

[Cityrefugee]

I have a fella kitty, Simon, he's about 4 or so. Was a stray I took in last year. Someone did a real botch job of declawing his front paws, only has little partial toes but gets around okay and is a real sweetheart. Small tabby, neutered and housebroken just fine.

Trouble is, I can't treat him with any kind of preventative flea items.......can't use the powder, or a flea bath and can't put a flea collar on him. He starts to palpitate within minutes, even has seizures.........in the midst of this heat, with two other cats and a large backyard with a few feral cats in the neighborhood, I'm noticing flea activity in my house and have treated my other two cats with no problems, but can't seem to treat Simon. He has been to the vet in the last few months for a checkup and has no conditions to speak of. Didn't think to ask about the flea situation then cuz it was winter and not an issue, but now, there's gotta be something I can try at home before another expensive vet visit.......

any ideas anyone? brewer's yeast in the food? baby shampoo?

HELP THE LITTLE PRINCE SIMON!

Thanks!

Marti

Buy a higher quality flea treatment suck as Revolution, Frontline, or Advantage. If you can buy it at the grocery store or Wal Mart it is not going to do the job and it is a lot more likely to poison your cat.

[mrsrhino]

This is just something i've heard of, not tried, & everyone else here can chime in & say yea or nay, but how 'bout looking in to Diatomaceous earth. Your suppose to be able to use it on your yard, home, pet bedding, & on your pet's fur with no side effects. This is the explanation of it : DE is composed of finely milled fossilized shells of minuscule organisms called diatoms. The microscopically fine, sharp edges desiccate the insects' exoskeleton upon contact and the pests dehydrate and die within hours. The insects also die when they eat the dust.
I've done a little research on it & not found any side effects reported from it since it is not a chemical other than the warning to be careful not to breath the dust when you are spreading it on your yard. I would assume you would need to be very careful if you were to put on your cat, recommended amounts are only a teaspoon rubbed in to the fur.

Another safe alternative, but would need to be done in the spring because the ground needs to be between 55 - 85 degrees is Nematodes. Again, this is something I have not tried, but would like to try next year. You can find info on this at Gardens Alive under Flea control Nematodes.

[TIFFERS]

Flea baths, collars, and dips are utterly pointless and very dangerous. If you are using Hartz brand flea control, it has been known to kill cats and cause many of the symptoms above.

If you cat is indeed seizureing it needs to see a vet, NOW. You're probably dealing with toxicity issues now.

Also, OTC flea preventions are crap. You need to look into Revolution. It's amazing and cheaper than any of the other flea preventions. Can only be bought at a vet or with a prescription, but it works well and is safe in some cats. However, before you go trying more crap...get that cat to a vet, if the kitty is seizuring, you've got more than just fleas on your hands now.

And, yes I've heard of that rock stuff, have never used it. But, have heard of it working well.

[Cityrefugee]

Thanks for all the input. I have never bought the "crap' referred to, OTC collars and collar drops. Always felt they wouldn't be safe. I did see the vet about this last year and they gave me something I believe was Revolution and he (Simon) reacted badly to it. The vet said some cats are just overly sensitive to any kind of treatment.......my mother who has tons of cats said she heard putting brewers yeast in their food helps them give off a natural defense through their skin....just don't know if anyone else has heard that or not......he does okay if I give him a warm bath just to rinse off fleas and clean the skin and i do that like every third day (not his favorite thing in the world!)

[TIFFERS]

...Brewer's Yeast is okay. Just make sure they're not Brewer's Yeast and Garlic. As Garlic is in the same family as onions, and both are more fatal in cats than dogs. If Revolution doesn't work for your kitty, more than likely nothing will. Does your vet have Capstar? It's a pill, safe for everyday use but would be expensive, I'd say give it once a week. It's not a prevention, but kills every single flea on the pet within four hours. The warm bath is also okay, but you're just rinsing the fleas, not killing them. If you're bathing your kitty that often, you need to be using a cat shampoo that doesn't have any soaps in it. OTC shampoos and human shampoos aren't safe for every couple of day bathings.

[flea control]

This might be a little late for this conversation, but there are a couple of things I would like to add:

Firstly, the reaction your kitty had to the revolution was most likely due to the carriers that are used in top-spot medications to get the active ingredient to absorb. Some animals with sensitive skin will react to them. However, the carriers will vary for different brands of treatment. You could always try using Frontline Plus or Advantage if Revolution caused an issue. Definitely worth speaking to your local vet about your options.

I would agree with the above people that the flea control products you tried using are causing some kind of intoxication in your cat. Cats are especially sensitive to some flea control products such as permethrin, and they can develop quite severe seizures especially if dog strength products are used. Luckily, the ingredients in revolution, frontline and advantage are much safer.

If your cat will tolerate it, bathing is not the worst thing in the world if he truly is sensitive to every kind of topical flea treatment. Or, as Tiffers mentioned, capstar is a great option as it is a tablet. The only downside is that it only works for 24 hours and will need to be repeated regularly.

The other important issue is controlling environmental contamination. This is best served by vacuuming your house especially the places where your kitty likes to hang out. Also a good idea to wash your cat's bedding in a hot cycle on the washing machine. Diatomaceous earth is relatively non-toxic and will dessicate and kill any larvae in the environment. I wouldn't recommend putting it on your pet as the adult fleas are not really susceptible to dessication.

Good luck with the flea problem (if it isn't fixed by now)

Simon.

[Dirky47]

You buy for a highly branded flea treatment. Maybe your kitty is not allergic on that treatment.

[james waller]

Originally Posted by Cityrefugee

I have a fella kitty, Simon, he's about 4 or so. Was a stray I took in last year. Someone did a real botch job of declawing his front paws, only has little partial toes but gets around okay and is a real sweetheart. Small tabby, neutered and housebroken just fine.

Trouble is, I can't treat him with any kind of preventative flea items.......can't use the powder, or a flea bath and can't put a flea collar on him. He starts to palpitate within minutes, even has seizures.........in the midst of this heat, with two other cats and a large backyard with a few feral cats in the neighborhood, I'm noticing flea activity in my house and have treated my other two cats with no problems, but can't seem to treat Simon. He has been to the vet in the last few months for a checkup and has no conditions to speak of. Didn't think to ask about the flea situation then cuz it was winter and not an issue, but now, there's gotta be something I can try at home before another expensive vet visit.......

any ideas anyone? brewer's yeast in the food? baby shampoo?

HELP THE LITTLE PRINCE SIMON!

Thanks!

Marti

dvm can give a shot,but you might try advantage,,directions are a must read first,,sincerely james waller

[Dirky47]

Well, based on some customers concerns, We must read the directions on how to put these treatments before using it.