Fleas. Help?

[Cranberry]

Sigh. Crystal (my papillon) doesn't usually play with other dogs, because most of them are too big and could hurt her. She doesn't even get close to Scout, because she's nervous of him (and for good reason; he's got 100 pounds on her). But on Wednesday morning I took her to the pet supply store and she hit it off with the resident little dog, and they ran and played for 10 minutes or so. I bathed her on Friday evening and didn't notice anything amiss, although I wasn't looking. I took her to an agility/flyball demo and workshop on Saturday (she did very well, by the way; she loved the jumps and especially the tunnel, even when the lady bent it into all kinds of weird shapes). There were about 15 other dogs there, and she played with a couple of the smaller ones.

Then today (my birthday, by the way), I noticed a tiny flea scurrying across her abdomen. I grabbed it, but it jumped away. I checked her all over for flea dirt or eggs and didn't see anything. But later I found another flea, a bigger one, running up her neck. I immediately bathed her with a flea and tick shampoo we had leftover from the summer (when Scout had that gross maggot infestation). I found one flea on her after that, dead. I washed her crate, her bedding, my bedding and her coat. I swept my floor with a vacuum broom and a regular broom. I bathed the cat just in case (although not with any of the flea/tick shampoo, as she's 18.5 years old and I'm worried about hurting her). Tomorrow my mother will vacuum our rug, the couch and chair and our one carpeted room (my brother's asleep now, so she can't). What else should I do? None of my pets have had fleas in... forever. I don't think she's infested; the earliest she could have gotten them is on Wednesday (but more likely got them yesterday at the seminar), and I haven't noticed excessive scratching or seen fleas on anything but her, and again, there's no flea dirt on her (it would be easy to see, as she's white). Should I go to the vet and buy some Frontline or something? How soon can I use it after bathing her in what's essentially insecticide? Hopefully one of you can help!


(No, nobody got bitten or scratched, although I got soaked when Patch jumped at me while trying to get out!)

[Huggles]

I'm sorry I don't have any advice to offer, but maybe it'll make your day a little bit better to know that I thought this was a thread about keeping fleas as pets. Perhaps training them to do tricks. I think...I think it's past my bedtime.

[Cranberry]

Like my very own Flea Circus? Hm, the thought is intriguing... perhaps I should think of this as an opportunity!

The vet's office opens in a couple hours, so we may just take a walk up there and ask them for advice.

[Kuroro]

A few years ago, there was a major heat wave here, unlike any we had in ages. And yes.. suddenly we had a flea investation on our hands. Despite using frontline and such. We cleaned everything, the house, bed sheets, cat's sleeping basket, etc.. and then sprayed everything with an anti flea spray. Washed the cat and sprayed him too (with a spray adviced by the vet).. After that, I bought him a flea collar and kept also using frontline (as adviced by the vet). They haven't come back (the fleas)..

I doubt it was as serious with you if you only found a few. I guess calling the vet is a safe thing to do anyway. I hate fleas.. sigh. I felt them crawling on the sheets weeks after they were gone.. Just the thought..

[Jessi]

Even though you've bathed them, I'd recommend using a good topical flea treatment (especially now that you HAVE bathed them - this is the time to use it!). Whatever you do, do NOT get the cheap $10 for a 5 month supply crap they have at pet stores. And Walmart. It doesn't work - trust me!

I'd recommend using Revolution, and if you go to a vet (or your vet xD) they can sometimes sell you just one month individually, that way you're not buying a whole box, especially if you never have a flea problem. Revolution is nice because it does fleas, ticks, worms, ear mites.... etc. I use it on my cats - even though they're indoor cats, because we still let them wander out on the patio. Wyn got fleas ONCE (like.. five, that's it) and it was enough to make me decide I never wanted fleas again!

[Cranberry]

I went to my vet ths morning and she sold me Advantage, which has a four-month supply in the box. I got dog stuff and cat stuff and it came to $71. She assured me that it would be safe to use right after an insecticide because they work totally differently, and that it wouldn't harm an 18-year-old cat. I just treated both animals and they aren't concerned with licking it off at all, which is good. I'll just vacuum everything that's made of cloth or carpet today (luckily, we have just one carpeted room in the house), and then hopefully it will be fine. I caught it really early, so I'm optimistic. (And she hasn't been anywhere near Scout in more than a week and he hasn't been inside, so he should be okay. I'll watch him, though.)

I have had more bad luck with pets in this past year than I have in my entire life. At least this isn't as bad as liver failure or a maggot infestation.

[Fjorab_Teke]

Blah. I hope your fleas get gone fast.

My kitties are on monthly Revolution, and they're completely flealess. They usually itch a little during the first 10 minutes after application, but after that they're fine. Advantage and Frontline are both good too.

[Cranberry]

Thanks, guys. So far, so good... I haven't seen a flea since Sunday. Crystal occasionally scratches at her neck, but she's always done that (I make her wear a collar all of the time and her breeder didn't, so she's still not totally used to that). I think it will be okay.