CS> Grin, Been there!  You have moved to 'flea country' and others outside it 
just
CS> dont understand what we mean when we say 'flea season'.
Neither did I until it hit. 
CS> Ok step 1.  Take cat to vet/parlor and have them dipped.  Do this to 
*both*
CS> cats.  This will not eliminate all fleas, but will prevent your cat from
CS> getting sick fast as they are already infested.
Does this really work better than the OTC flea shampoos?
CS> Step 2 is flea bomb house.  It is NOT safe for aquariums or gerbils, or 
anythig
Exterminator said this didn't work as it didn't penetrate the carpet and 
just laid on top. He said to try Raid Flea Plus and if that didn't work, he 
had a stronger spray (no longer available for sale) that killed them dead. 
Even with the Raid spray we had to cover the fish tank and remove us, the 
cats and the gerbils for a few hours.
CS> Step 3 is vacumn all your house.
I've been doing that, plus shaking flea carpet spray on it before 
vacumming.
CS> Step 4 is treat your yard best as you can with a flea product made for 
he
CS> yard.  I consider these largely useless but with 1 cat an outdoor type, I
CS> suppose you have no choice but to attempt it.
Hadn't thought of that, but considering the size of our yard (300ft back to 
the lake), treating it all isn't possible. But perhaps a heavy layer near 
the doors and windows.
CS> Step 5.  Flea collar cats.  NEW ONES.  They say they last 6 momths or so. 
They
CS> do outside of flea country.  They last 3 months where you are at best 
and
CS> alone do nothing).
TC could just about use a new one then - Lucy's is brand new - do you find 
any one brand that works better than any other?
CS> Step 6.  Rebomb house 2 weeks later.
I was thinking of doing the Raid Flea Spray a week later - don't they hatch 
in 7-8 days?
CS> Step 7, use some flea powder on the cats starting 3 weeks after flea dip 
but be
CS> advised it makes some cats sick.  Dont overdo it.  Flea powder is a 
preventive,
CS> and not enough if you have visible fleas already.
Lucy is already sick (cancer) and is losing weight - but I don't know if 
she's losing weight from the cancer, or from the stress from scratching and 
all the sores on her neck. I've applied lanolin anti-itch lotion and have 
shampooed her several times, but I don't want to overdo it with her... 
she's almost 16 years old and this is the first time she's ever seen a flea 
too. 
CS> Step 8. repeat as needed.  Flea season hits every 6 months or so. ..
What surprised me is that we moved here last June but didn't get hit until 
now. Maybe if I could remember which brand of flea collar I was using 
_last_ year, I'd know which one worked best. 
Thanks, Michele
Internet: chaos@ao.net                           FIDO: 1:363/340
 * Anatomically Correct beats Politically Correct any day.
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