Do Dog Flea Treatments Kill Cat Fleas

[Ellie's mum]

As such we are having a cat flea problem as well, so do I have to treat Ellie with something different as her Capstar does not seem to be effective against them.

[persephone]

What sort of fleas are they? The largeish ,hopping ones, or the tiny ones which are permanently(almost) attached to ear tips /between toes.....in clumps, often.

The capstar is probably killing those immediately on her- but a couple hours later.. on hop ...more, etc etc....

Can she not have a spot on, or rinse?

[Crisovar]

Any of your flea treatments should work, when you say the Capstar is not effective is it not killing them?

You will need to treat your yard if the problem is stray cats.

[Ellie's mum]

What sort of fleas are they? The largeish ,hopping ones, or the tiny ones which are permanently(almost) attached to ear tips /between toes.....in clumps, often.

The capstar is probably killing those immediately on her- but a couple hours later.. on hop ...more, etc etc....

Can she not have a spot on, or rinse?

I've used the rinse but as you say the moment she goes back out in the yard more hop on, I haven't used a spot on and was hoping to get some recommendations that would work against these fleas as they are giving her a rash and I cannot keep her inside during the day when I am at work.

[Ellie's mum]

Any of your flea treatments should work, when you say the Capstar is not effective is it not killing them?

You will need to treat your yard if the problem is stray cats.

I have tried to lime our house yard but as we live on acerage it is extremely hard to keep the blasted things out of the house yard. No the capstar does not seem to be killing the cat fleas or not killing them before they bite her causing a rash on her, which is the main problem, I was just wondering if the spot on treatments are effective against both sorts of fleas or would I have to use a cat flea treatment, which specifically kills cat fleas.

[Kavik]

If you choose a spot on treatment make sure it is safe for cats. Some treatments, like Advantix, are NOT safe for use on cats.

[Tilly]

To remove the fleas you will need to treat more then just the cat. You will need to do a complete elimination ... and repeat it a couple of times to get rid of any eggs that may hatch later.

I would look at doing a flea bomb in the house and any rooms the cat accesses, spray all the yard with something like Malawash, wash all the bedding with a flea treatment and hot water as well as treat the cat.

My mum's dog had a flea problem ... and she found Innovation was the old thing that helped - not sure if there is a cat variety ....

Spot on treatments or sprays are evenutally licked off by the cat during the cleaning process ... so do be a bit careful about what you use ... maybe a flea collar might help ...

Edited September 20, 2010 by Tilly

[Crisovar]

If your dog is sensitive to flea bites then you may need to use something like a spot on or rinse and also a product in the yard and house that kills the eggs and larvae or you will not get rid of the fleas.

Capstar will only kill adult fleas that are on the dog and will not have any effect on the eggs and larvae.

Advantage or Frontline may work better for the dog, and flea bombs in the house and spray for the yard.

[aussielover]

Try comfortis. It should be effective against all life stages.

Also, flea bomb and spray your yard.

do you actually have pet cats? I personally find advantix better than FL with fleas but advantix is toxic to cats.

The FL spray on is better than the spot on.

[Ellie's mum]

Try comfortis. It should be effective against all life stages.

Also, flea bomb and spray your yard.

do you actually have pet cats? I personally find advantix better than FL with fleas but advantix is toxic to cats.

The FL spray on is better than the spot on.

LOL no pet cats only ferals I was thinking about using a cat product on my dog as I don't know whether dog products kill cat fleas.

[aussielover]

yes, kills both types of fleas (well it should anyway).

Cat products are the same ingredient but in a lower concentration.

[Staff'n'Toller]

Cat fleas and dog fleas are the same- it's called the common flea.

Capstar only works for about 12 hours, so if that's all you're using and you live in Sydney then that is most likely your issue. You are killing adult fleas only, which Dr Harry likes to tell us is only 5% of the total population (and that's pretty accurate).

Try a spot on, or Comfortis which is a month long (Capstar type) tablet. You many not need to do anything else at this stage unless you literally have cats sleeping in your garden or under the house AND those are areas that are shared with your dog.

Cats just passing through shouldn't be much of a problem.

Edited September 20, 2010 by Staff'n'Toller

[Maddy]

Cat fleas and dog fleas are the same- it's called the common flea.

No, there are many different species of flea. From what I recall (although damned if I can find the source) almost every type of mammal has its own species of flea (over 2000 species of flea).

Cat fleas are the most common though.

[Staff'n'Toller]

Cat fleas and dog fleas are the same- it's called the common flea.

No, there are many different species of flea. From what I recall (although damned if I can find the source) almost every type of mammal has its own species of flea (over 2000 species of flea).

Cat fleas are the most common though.

For the context of this thread unless they are stickfast fleas, the problem this OP will be having is with cat fleas due to the fact they are using a medication with short residual effect. That's why I said they are the same. I never said there weren't other species of fleas.

[dancinbcs]

Also think about getting some cat traps from the RSPCA or AWL and get rid of the cats.

[OSoSwift]

I would use a more appropriate product for long term flea control. I use Advocate but there are a few around. I would also spray around your yard/house.

[Crisovar]

Try comfortis. It should be effective against all life stages.

Also, flea bomb and spray your yard.

do you actually have pet cats? I personally find advantix better than FL with fleas but advantix is toxic to cats.

The FL spray on is better than the spot on.

LOL no pet cats only ferals I was thinking about using a cat product on my dog as I don't know whether dog products kill cat fleas.

No, you don't need a cat product, but you do need to treat your yard and home, you need to work on eliminating all stages of the flea life cycle not just the adult fleas that see on your dog.

[mac'ella]

If they are definately ferals and not the neighbours I can lend you a cat trap (Im in SW Sydney also)

[Ellie's mum]

If they are definately ferals and not the neighbours I can lend you a cat trap (Im in SW Sydney also)

Definitely ferals as we have no neighbours, thank you for your offer but OH is going around to AWL to pick up a trap which we will give a go tonight, just don't want to be catching any native's by mistake.