We have been infested with cat fleas....

Question

Now it feels like they are in my hair. This is embarrassing. How do I get rid of them if they are there? Regular shampoo? Any help please!!!!

Answer 1

Hire an exterminator to spray the house then treat your cat with flea mousse & a flea treatment that goes between their shoulder blades that will make any flea that bites them infertile.

We have been infested a couple of times & getting an exterminator in, was the best thing we could have done.  As long as you keep your cat treated, the spray the exterminator lays down will last 3 months which will take you to the end of the flea season at this point.  

Wash all your bedding and if you can't get an exterminator in right away, buy some flea spray from the vet.  Spray everywhere the cat hangs out & along baseboards, on your furniture, carpet including stairs.  Treat your cat with mousse right away.

Good luck.  I know it feels like they are everywhere.  You can put a couple of drops of tea tree oil in your shampoo to help keep them at bay (even though they probably aren't there).

Answer 2

I bet they're not really in your hair. They don't like us because we're cooler than the kitties. Talk to your vet about Resolve. It's a medicine that you put on the back of the cat's neck and when Mr. Flee takes a bite of Miss Kitty he gets a mouthful of poison. It works like a charm. I didn't have to flea bomb or anything and I had plenty of fleas! It kills some worms and ear mites too and almost all cats have a few ear mites so that'll be a nice plus too.  

Answer 3

First hire a professional exterminator then either get rid of the cat or care for the cat properly.  I once had to fire an employee because she had fleas.  Almost same facts as your question.  Consider your health, appearance and the effect of the fleas on others who live outside your home.  You realize that you have fleas just like an animal . . . .

Answer 4

I am assuming you have pets - See your vet about treating the pets for flees and vacuum house surfaces well. Once the pets no longer have flees the problem should go away, they don't really want you, they want the pets.

Answer 5

Is this a cat that is in your home, or did you only hold it briefly at another location?  If it's your cat, you'll need to contact your veterinarian for some safe effective flea control to use on your cat.  OTC products generally aren't safe for cats.  

Simply bathing and shampooing with regular shampoo will be enough to get any fleas off of you, though fleas don't usually stay on a person for more than a moment - they prefer cats & dogs.  What you're feeling is probably an allergic and emotional response to the fleas, and that should subside very soon.  

You can get rid of any fleas that may have landed in your home by vacuuming thoroughly and then wrapping the vacuum bag in a trash bag & disposing of it in the trash outside.  If you have pets or children in your home it's best to avoid using pesticide bombs & sprays - vacuuming thoroughly is just as good, so long as you dispose of the bag & treat all your own pets with flea medicine from the vet.

Answer 6

Chances are you don't have fleas...  when I've had flea problems, I'd experience the same thing, but it was all in my head (no pun intended).  Thinking and worrying about the bloodsucking creepy-crawlies will mess with your mind.  Fleas don't usually take up permanent residence on their host, they live a good part of their lives on the ground waiting for a host to walk by--that's why they're such good jumpers.  If there's a big flea problem, you'll get bites on your legs and ankles from walking around, and you usually feel a tiny sting when they bite, and leave tiny red spots on your skin.  As long as you aren't using your cat as a pillow or putting your head on the floor, you probably don't have fleas.

Original Dawn dish soap is said to repel fleas, so if you're really concerned about them in your hair, washing with Dawn would probably be the safest and least expensive way to go.  In general, I've successfully combated flea infestations by combing my cats for fleas at least twice daily, then spraying all my carpets with flea killer.  Killing the fleas and eggs in the carpets immediately makes the problem more manageable.

Answer 7

If it is fleas they wouldn't be in your hair.  You would mostly have bites on your feet, ankles, legs.  If they are real bad you can use those insect bombs made for your home.  You just have to leave for a few hours.  If it feels like there is something in your hair though, you might want to check and make sure it is not lice.  Had these once when son was in kindergarten.  They were not quite as easy to get rid of.

Answer 8

Wow some people are not so nice on here!  Fleas can not live on you but they can bite you.  You may have eggs and poo everywhere in your house but a flea can not live 24 hours without a blood meal.  The larvae and eggs however can live in your house for an indefinite amount of time and keep in mind that one flea can lay 50 eggs a day.  I would suggest treating your house like you would if you had head lice.  You need to clean everything and purchase a good area spray to treat all carpet, furniture etc.  You need to get a flea product from your veterinarian, dont but the c**p from the store or you will be sorry.  I like Frontline Plus, it kills the eggs on the cat too.  You need to be very aggressive with the situation or you will be fighting it for a long time!