The best flea treatments for cats depends on the flea problem itself. Click on the heading below, to go straight to the section about cat flea control, where you would like more information.
Flea Infestation In The Yard
A multi pronged approach will work best. Use a product like Diatomaceous Earth in the yard, in the home and on your pet. A cat flea spray for the yard is another option. Some cat flea sprays can be used indoors and outdoors.
Flea Infestation On The Cat
If you want fleas off your pet fast, fast, fast use a shampoo and a flea comb then follow up with a more conventional treatment.
Longer lasting Cat Flea Treatments
For Longer Lasting Results – Choose a flea collar, flea drops (applied between the shoulder blades) or a flea tablet (pill).
Instant Results To get rid Of Fleas
Instant Results – Choose flea spray, flea powder, flea shampoo, Diatomaceous Earth.
Best Flea treatments for kittens
If the kitten is less than 6-8 weeks old, do not use conventional chemically based flea treatments. If the kitten is over 8 weeks old there are a number of flea control options.
Note: There are some crossovers in the treatments mentioned above.
Some flea sprays for example need to be applied daily whereas others can give 30 days protection.
Flea Infestation In The Yard
1. Diatomaceous Earth For The Cat, The Home And Yard
For getting rid of cat fleas, this is a summarized pros and cons of using Diatomaceous Earth.
For in depth information this article explains how diatomaceous earth works and how to use it to effectively control fleas inside the home, on your pets and in the yard.
Pros
One of the uses of diatomaceous earth is the control of fleas for cats and dogs.
DE can be used throughout the home and yard and on pets. DE is very useful for treating the yard where fleas may be present.
Cons
It will take some work spreading DE, to ensure that all areas inside and outside the home are covered.
Avoid windy weather when applying as DE resembles a fine powder.
2. Cat Flea Spray For The cat And Yard
Cat flea spray can mean either a spray that you spray onto the cat or a spray that you use in the home and yard. Often the two are used in conjunction with one another.
Read the wording on the flea spray carefully to make sure you get the spray that you want. Some cat flea sprays are just for cats, some are just for use in the home/outdoors and some do both, the cat and the home/outdoors.
When using a flea spray that is directly applied to the cat, it’s a good idea to first of all spray onto a piece of cloth and rub onto the cat’s fur rather than spraying directly onto the cat. This will ensure that the spray actually goes where you want it to go. This is a useful method for hard to get to places.
Use the cat flea spray to treat other flea affected areas such as the cat’s bedding, scratching post and other places where the cat likes to hang out.
Pros
Cat flea spray works straightaway.
Cat flea spray is inexpensive.
Cons
Cat flea spray will need to be reapplied often although some flea spray is effective for up to 30 days.
Click here for in depth information about How To Use Cat Flea Spray and questions regarding using cat flea spray.
Flea Infestation On The cat
1. Long Lasting – Cat Flea Drops or Topical Treatment
This article gives detailed information about cat flea drops including the active ingredients.
Cat flea drops are without a doubt the gold standard of flea treatments for cats.
Cat flea drops are popular because they are effective, closely followed by ease of applying and only having to apply once per month.
For that entire month and often longer, there is excellent flea protection for your cat.
Cat flea drops are applied topically (onto the skin), between the shoulder blades. The applicator usually has a snap top. It is just a matter of snapping the top, parting the cat’s fur and squeezing the drops onto the skin. That’s it!
Pros
Cat flea drops (applied between the shoulder blades) are basically set and forget. It is a trouble free and effective solution for controlling fleas on cats.
Cons
Occasionally an animal will have an allergic reaction to cat flea drops. Always keep a close eye on your cat for 24 hours after applying this and any other flea treatment.
2. Long lasting- Cat Flea Collar
A cat flea collar is undoubtedly one of the best flea treatments for cats, along with cat flea drops and for good reason. A cat flea collar does the job it is supposed to do and that is keep the fleas away.
A flea collar may seem costly initially and I get that, however the Bayer Seresto collar has 8 months of protections from fleas. With this in mind, it actually makes it cost effective as well as convenient and reliable. This flea collar does double duty, as it also controls ticks.
This article gives detailed information about different cat flea collars including the active ingredients in each flea collar and the required age of the kitten/cat to safely wear a cat flea collar.
Pros
A cat flea collar is long lasting, giving 8 months of continuous protection.
Cons
Occasionally an animal will have an allergic reaction to a cat flea collar. Keep a close eye on your cat for 24 hours after putting the flea collar on. Check underneath the collar to make sure there is no skin irritation.
Instant Results To get Rid of Fleas
1. Cat Flea Shampoo
Using a cat flea shampoo followed by combing the cat with a flea comb will give an excellent and instant result.
If the thought of giving your cat a bath is scary, wear long sleeves for protection. Fill the bath or sink beforehand so that the running water does not scare the cat.
Some find the smell of certain cat flea shampoos overpowering.
This is a summarized pros and cons of using cat flea shampoo.
Read this article for detailed information about cat flea shampoo, including the active ingredients and what to do if your cat hates water.
The article also includes instruction for giving your cat a bath – necessary if cat flea shampoo is on your shopping list.
Pros
Cat flea shampoo is brilliant for getting rid of a flea infestation fast. Always have a bottle of cat flea shampoo in the cupboard, for flea emergencies.
Cons
Cat flea shampoo, although it works instantly, is not a long lasting protection.
Some people may find it problematic. giving the cat a bath.
2. Cat Flea Powder
Cat flea powder is not to make kitty smell nice, although it may have that effect. The primary purpose of cat flea powder, is to get rid of fleas fast.
Flea powder for cats is a quick and convenient choice. It works quickly, so brings fast relief.
It is a useful flea treatment to have on hand for when fleas appear and they will at some point.
Just bear in mind that you will need to keep reapplying cat flea powder for it to reamain effective in fighting fleas.
Pros
Cat flea powder is easy to apply.
Cat flea powder can be used as an added protection.
Cat flea powder is convenient and useful to have at hand when needed.
Cons
Cat flea powder will definitely need to be reapplied if the cat gets wet.
There is more information here about using Flea Powder and how to apply it so that it is effective for flea control.
3. Cat Flea Comb
A cat flea comb is usually used in conjunction with other products, for example always after a shampoo or after a spray or powder dusting.
Even if not a flea infestation, we really don’t like to see our kitties scratching with fleas.
A flea comb is inexpensive and useful to have for anyone who owns a cat.
Pros
A flea comb is inexpensive.
A cat flea comb can be used daily or whenever needed.
A flea comb can easily be used in conjunction with other cat flea treatments.
Cons
It does requires vigilance to capture all fleas and to give the cat a flea comb on a regular basis.
Some people may find it difficult to use a cat flea comb.
There’s detailed information here about the different types of flea combs available and an explanation explaining exactly how to use a cat flea comb.
Natural Treatment For Fleas
By natural flea treatments (in this article) we are referring to treatments that don’t contain chemicals, apart from naturally occurring chemicals. Do natural flea treatments work as well as flea treatments made using chemicals?
It is recognized that using natural or chemical free flea treatments is going to require more of your time to keep fleas at bay. If this is an issue for you then this is an important consideration.
Often natural products need to be reapplied frequently. They may take longer to apply and you do need to be vigilant about checking for the return of the fleas and then reapplying the treatment.
Click here to read detailed information about natural options and different types of treatments, and how to choose a treatment.
Best Flea treatments for kittens
Flea treatment for kittens under 8 weeks of age is best done, using a flea comb. Take care when using the flea comb, as the kittens have fine hair. When you have captured fleas in the comb, quickly dunk the flea comb, that is holding the fleas, into a bucket of water containing mild soap.
Swish the comb around in the water to loosen the fleas. Repeat the process
If your kitten is over 8 weeks of age there are other flea preparations that suitable and they are described in this article about flea treatments of kittens.
Check the weight of your kitten too as this is important when using chemicals on a very small pet.
Another popular cat flea treatment method is using a cat flea bomb in the home.
This is not a treatment for the cat however it is a treatment to treat the house for fleas where fleas have taken hold and can’t be removed.
It is an option however some precautions need to be taken. This article explains the safe way to use a cat flea bomb.
