Safest flea treatment for kittens/cats?

[cricket246]

Its almost flea season folks and im looking to find a safe treatment for my 10 month old kittens (first time having a young cat in years so help is appreciated lol humom here thanks you ) some people have suggested Advantage but Id like some input here. I know many of you have farms or own cats.  

[Miss Bea]

I use a flea comb on two of them.  We have a three legged kitty, and I don’t think it’s fair to not help him. To see him trying to scratch with the bent back leg...I don’t know how many good scratches I’ve given him! 

Sort of the circumstances. When they are little, easy to comb them. Kitty scratches, I comb. If they go outside...plus, some areas, fleas are more of a problem. Not much here, but, 12 miles away, a sister actually has copious amounts of fleas. Underground nests! Ugh. And her problem is so much worse then ours. We do treat the dogs. Ticks. 

Come to think of it, we should probably treat the kitties. Batgirl, my cat, got a tick bite, and it infected, turned into an abscess, and ended up at the vet. The vet said she’d totally heal. It was a huge mess. On her neck. You can’t tell she ever had it today...

i have pondered, what are fleas good for? 

Wont it be nice to find out! 

Oh, I read somewhere that when you treat cats, (and dogs?) with the flea treatment, it spreads to the area around them. That fives  me creeps. Not that I’d invite a flea! But they will get on our bed, and, at this point in my life, I do not need a flea treatment. Maybe something to fend off ticks, but not fleas! If I were you, I’d do research. We are talking about insecticides. 

Edited February 23, 2018 by Miss Bea
Um, need you ask?

[pnutts]

A bit of garlic in their food works wonders. Not too much. Had a cat that got fleas from rescue cats. Could Not get rid of them, and they were vicious fleas.

Heard about natural way - add garlic ( used fine ground garlic ) to their food. Finally it worked. Changes taste of blood which fleas don't like.

Maybe that is where the myth of warding off blood sucking creatures came from.

[cricket246]

Has anyone here used Hartz Ultra Guard and had any negative side effects?

[cricket246]

These are barn cats and unfortunately the fleas around here are quite a pain in the Spring/Summer warmer weather.

[Myew]

Have you looked into rubbing them with food grade Diatomaceous Earth and dusting a little bit of it into their food? Dusting it around the barn? Only be careful to not get it directly into nose or eyes, but food grade is overall pretty safe. I've used it all around the house for spiders and eat some every day. I've used it on my mom's cat, she loves the massage. A 5lb bag is around $12-14 10lb bag is $20 online (I've had some for ~2 years and used maybe ~2 lbs), it's good for drinking (good minerals and kills parasites), as a pesticide in the home and garden, etc. https://www.amazon.com/Diatomaceous-Earth-Food-Grade-10/dp/B00025H2PY/ https://www.amazon.com/Food-Grade-Diatomaceous-Earth-Lbs/dp/B00JJ71LW6/

Edited February 25, 2018 by Myew

[cricket246]

I have been considering Advantage II for small cats as it's low grade chemical and seems to have the highest success rate with least account of side effects. I don't like the reviews on the Hartz or Revolution though, too many accounts of seizures and deaths/near deaths. The vet recommended Advantage , not that I put too much into vets sadly.... We've tried several natural and home based stuff but still had problems : Cinnamon, baking soda, catnip, skin so soft from avon (somewhat affective if you don't have superfleas lol), etc. Some of the friends here use flea collars but I'm out cause I'm leery of the cheap chemicals plus I don't want my cats hanging the collar and choking to death.

Edited February 26, 2018 by cricket246

[Myew]

Cinnamon and baking soda (the baking soda requires salt mixed in and causes worse skin irritation) really don't compare to how diatomaceous earth works. It's like microscopic glass shards of sand that mechanically kill pests, it's impossible for them to avoid it when it's spread in a fine powder on the body and living area. At most it can cause some dehydration or irritation in humans or mammals skin and lungs, so you just don't want to overdo it. Completely safe to eat. If a cat doesn't enjoy massages, it's easiest to take them by the scruff, dust it on their back, work it around the head/ears/throat and down the rest of the body. It's pretty much what cats and dogs roll around in the dirt for.

https://wellnessmama.com/13213/diatomaceous-earth-uses/
https://www.mommypotamus.com/diatomaceous-earth-uses/
 

 

Edited February 26, 2018 by Myew

[Sylv]

Diatomaceous earth is great stuff! We have used it to get rid of ants in the kitchen. Worked perfectly*, and perfectly safe for our dogs. 

 

* disclaimer: I have not tried this on aunts, but it works for ants  

[Myew]

I can confirm it works on ants.
@pnutts Oh, please don't use garlic in pet food. :< It is very toxic for them, their livers? I believe can't process it.

Edited February 26, 2018 by Myew

[pnutts]

I learned about garlic for cats from a pet health site. I know they give it to horses too, since I had trouble getting it sometimes because a horse owner would buy it all up.

[Wren]

I've used "Revolution" with no problems. 

 

The Toxic Plant: Allium. The Allium species of plants is where the toxicity lies. These plants include garlic, onions, leeks, scallions, chives and shallots. If your pet eats one of these products, red blood cells can be damaged, resulting in the cells not being able to carry oxygen.

[cricket246]

I bought some advantage (low grade and use only part packet forst time to check for allergies) but still searching for other options. Places mearby dont really offer organic or natural, safe pet solutions so im going online. 

Im so leery of using anything afraid it will hurt the cats and i dont quite have the money to vet four cats right this minute. 

But flea season is upon us here and i cant procrastinate any further.