Flea larvae can remain dormant in your home for months, so new fleas may continue to emerge — even after treatment. These fleas will quickly die after hatching if you’ve treated your home and kept up with regular flea preventive for your pet, but it can take a while for all the existing fleas to hatch and be killed.
How long after flea treatment can I pet my cat?
To be safe, you should wait around 24 hours before petting your cat after applying a topical flea treatment, but that time frame may go down depending on the brand you select. If you opt for a flea collar method, you can pet your cat as often as you like, but you will need to wash your hands immediately after every pet.
What happens if my cat has fleas?
As well as being extremely irritating, fleas can lead to skin problems, allergic skin disease and in some cases serious conditions such as anaemia (blood loss). 95% of a flea problem lives in the home – if your cat has fleas, your home does too! Prevent fleas by regularly treating your pets (and home) with a licensed flea product.
How long does it take for fleas to go away?
It can take a few weeks to sort out a flea problem, but once they’ve gone it's easy stop them coming back: De-flea all of your cats, dogs and rabbits as regularly as your vet recommends (depends on which flea product you’re using). De-flea your home once a year.
How do dog and cat flea treatments work?
Both dog and cat flea treatments work the same way. You need to wait for any topical treatments to dry completely before petting your dog, wash your hands after petting a dog with a flea collar, and read the instructions thoroughly. Additionally, separate any pets, dogs, and cats for 24 hours after applying any topical flea treatments.
Do fleas fall off cats after treatment?
Flea larvae can remain dormant in your home for months, so new fleas may continue to emerge — even after treatment. These fleas will quickly die after hatching if you've treated your home and kept up with regular flea preventive for your pet, but it can take a while for all the existing fleas to hatch and be killed.
Why am I still seeing fleas on my cat after treatment?
Most flea treatments just kill adult fleas, but fleas can continue to emerge for months after you think an infestation has ended. When a newly emerged female flea finds a host, she can lay eggs within one day. Regular treatment is the key to keeping fleas at bay, but bathing your pet does nothing to prevent fleas.
How long does it take to remove fleas from a cat?
Call a flea expert. Even in large numbers, fleas are tiny and pretty easy to kill. After a few weeks of thorough cleaning, they should stop bugging your cat -- and you. Although it can take up to 3 months to fully eradicate an infestation.
How long will I see fleas after treatment?
As eggs hatch and develop, you might find fleas reappearing 10-14 days after treatment - this is quite normal and provided the insecticide remains in place it will kill them. This is why it is important not to carry out cleaning which might remove insecticide.
How do you tell if your cats fleas are gone?
One way to differentiate between regular dirt and flea "dirt" is to wet any black specks that fall off the cat onto the white paper towel (using regular water sprinkled on the specks). If they turn a dark reddish-brown color, you are seeing the digested blood that the flea has passed through its body and excreted.
How many fleas on a cat is considered an infestation?
Just One Flea Can Be a Sign of a Problem As few as 20 fleas might mean your pet is infested, while the most could be between 200 to 300.
What is the fastest way to get rid of fleas on a kitten?
Treat Fleas With A Dish Soap BathUse comfortably warm water and a fragrance free dish liquid or a natural baby shampoo.Try to complete the entire bath in less than 2 minutes, as kittens can become panicked or chilled during this process.Wash from the neck down, avoiding the eyes, nose, ears, and mouth.More items...
How long can fleas live in carpet?
On average, a flea can live for two to three months in the carpet. But without intervention, they can stay in the carpet without end if they have a host. If a blood meal isn't consumed the flea may only survive for a few days.
How long does it take for fleas to kill a cat?
Oral pills are ingested by your pet and work very quickly. This treatment is so quick, in fact, that it can work in as little as 30 minutes. They can either treat eggs or adult fleas but never both.
What happens if my cat licks flea treatment?
If your cat licks off wet flea treatment or scratches the affected area, you do not have to panic. This treatment has a really bitter taste, which can cause the cat to salivate, foam in the mouth, throw up, or become nauseous. Some cats also run around the house or become agitated.
How does flea treatment work?
How flea treatments work largely depends on the treatment you select. Generally speaking, the product will release chemicals that attack the fleas’ nervous system. This makes them unable to feed on your pet and eventually die. Other flea treatments also have insect growth regulators.
Can you apply flea treatment to both dogs and cats?
Knowing how to apply flea treatment to both animals is pretty simple. Both dog and cat flea treatments work the same way. You need to wait for any topical treatments to dry completely before petting your dog, wash your hands after petting a dog with a flea collar, and read the instructions thoroughly.
Can you pet a cat after flea treatment?
All treatments will have slightly different instructions, drying times, and more. The drying time will largely determine how quickly you can pet your cat after treatment.
Can you pet a cat with a flea collar?
As for a flea collar, you need to be a bit more careful. You can technically pet your cat when they are wearing a flea collar, even immediately after putting it on, but you should wash your hands after since the collar releases treatment every time you touch the cat.
Can cats get fleas all year round?
Fleas are a pain for many pet owners. Though fleas can strike all year round, you are most likely to see them during the warm summer months. To keep these pesky bugs at bay, you will likely need to apply a flea treatment to your cat. Unfortunately, flea treatments can be a bit tricky and stress-inducing to apply.
Overview
If your veterinary practice isn't able to dispense your cat's usual prescription flea treatment you could try contacting another veterinary practice. If this isn't possible, you may need to consider using a non-prescription product (from a pet shop, or online) until your vet is operating a full service again.
General information
Fleas are tiny insects that bite and cause itchy skin. They can lead to skin problems, especially in cats with flea allergies, and can even cause anaemia (blood loss) in kittens. Fleas are most common during the summer months and can be caught from other animals, the outdoors, or from your home (if they’ve been brought in on shoes or clothes).
How to tell if your cat has fleas
Not all cats with fleas have symptoms, but you may notice the following:
When to contact your vet
If you think your cat has fleas, call your vet practice for advice. If they have had a vet check recently, it’s likely you’ll be able to collect a flea product without them being seen, but if they haven’t been examined in a while, or have developed skin problems due to fleas, they will need an appointment.
How to get rid of fleas
Treat your cat - treat your cat and any other cats, dogs and rabbits in the house (on the same day). Ideally use a prescription product from your vets, but if this isn’t possible, use an NFA-VPS product. Products you can buy of the shelf, without a prescription (e.g. from a supermarket or pet shop) often contain less effective ingredients
Which flea treatment?
Prescription flea treatments - proven and effective products that can only be prescribed by a vet. If your cat is healthy and visits your vet regularly, your surgery may be happy to dispense prescription flea products without an appointment, but if they haven’t been examined for a while, you will need to book an appointment for them to be checked.
Preventing fleas
It can take a few weeks to sort out a flea problem, but once they’ve gone it's easy stop them coming back:
How long does flea medication take to dry on cats?
The short answer is to wait for it to be completely dry before giving your cat their much-deserved pets.
How long after the flea treatment do I have to wait before I can give my cat a bath?
There should be a leaflet that comes with the treatment package that answers this question. But if there isn’t one, just wait for 48 hours before giving your cat a bath. If you can wait a couple more days, even a week after treatment, that’s even better.
How long should I keep my pets apart after flea treatment?
You have to keep your treated cat away from your other cats and pets for the next 24 hours. Because although the treated cat cannot reach the medicated area on their body, the other cats or pets may possibly lick or rub up on the medication. It can come into contact with their eyes, nose and mouths which we do not want.
Conclusion
After applying your cat’s flea treatment, you have to wait 24 hours before touching them. This is to make sure that the medication is completely dry and the chemical is no longer harmful to you or your other pets. Keep your cat in a crate for the 24 hours so they don’t rub up on furniture or people.
How long does it take for flea drops to dry?
If you used simple flea drops, these should dry within about 15 to 20 minutes, at which point it should be safe to touch the cat.
Is it necessary to use flea treatments?
Having to use flea treatments may be inconvenient, but it may be necessary . The most important takeaway is that you always need to follow the exact instructions on any and every flea treatment product you buy.
Can you touch a cat after flea treatment?
Before we talk about touching and petting your cat after a flea treatment, it is important to note that most flea treatments are not overly safe. Many cats may suffer from adverse side effects from flea treatments.
Do flea collars come off cats?
This situation is a bit different with flea collars, because of course, unlike drops or sprays, flea collars are a constant application and release method; they don’t come off your cat.
Do you have to wear gloves when treating cats for fleas?
One thing to keep in mind as well is that it is always recommended to wear gloves when applying any sort of flea treatment to cats. Once again, these flea treatments contain harsh chemicals which should not come in contact with human skin. So, always wear gloves and wash your hands thoroughly after each application.
How to get rid of fleas on kittens?
The fleas have to bite to be killed so you may still see some lingering live fleas on your kitten. Wash ALL bedding, blankets. Vacuum thoroughly and tie vacuum bag into a plastic bag and tie up.
How long does it take for Revolution to kill fleas?
It's s big can, and if you follow the directions on the can, and use Revolution for a few more months (some use it permanently), you really should be rid of all fleas within 6-8 weeks, tops. Remember too yards (grass) will harbor fleas. If you let your cats or dogs in a flea infested yard, you will get them again.
How old was Luna when she had her first flea bath?
East Coast, USA. surille said: My kitten Luna had a mild case of fleas - after her first flea bath I found roughly less than 20 adult fleas on her, she was 8 weeks old. Now 2 weeks later having taken her to the vet to be treated with Revolution, I've still found two or three live fleas on her.
Can fleas live on blankets?
Fleas can live on blankets, towels, sofa cushions, etc. Wash as much as you can in hot water and vacuum thoroughly for a couple of days. Empty the vacuum canister or bag into a trash can outside the house. I'm not sure if whole house flea bombs work or not.
Can fleas die after revolution?
I agree with the people saying that there would be fleas/eggs/larvae hiding in the house and jumping back onto the cat even after it's been treated with revolution. However, depending on how severe the infestation is, if you keep up with the revolution treatments it will actually cause the fleas to eventually die out (assuming none of your cats go outside where they can pick up new ones). The problem is that the eggs can lie dormant for a long time so even if you kill ALL of the adults on your cat, it could still be several months before all the eggs and pupae in the environment have finished popping up out of the blue as adult fleas. However, the revolution disrupts the life cycle so every flea killed by it won't produce more fleas at least, so theoretically as long as you apply it every month, eventually they'll all die out after each and every egg in the house hatches, grows into a flea and gets poisoned by the revolution (might take a few months before they are all gone). Also, definitely check with your vet with this but I THINK in a severe infestation you can actually apply revolution every 2 weeks instead of 4 without it being harmful to the cat.#N#If your cat comes into contact with any outside fleas, you might see them on your cat and think it's infested again, but as long as the treatment is applied every month and your cat doesn't come into contact with new fleas too regularly (for example by going outside - good luck getting any outside cat completely clear of fleas haha) then they shouldn't be able to breed in your house and should clear up soon enough.